Code-switching and the Writers Notebook

Emily Gibbons East Newark Public School Egibbons87@gmail.com

Let me introduce myself

Let me introduce myself

! Queen Elizabeth, I presume? ! Turn and introduce yourself to the person to next you,

giving your name, and what you teach.

! The catch, is you must speak as an alien that has just

landed on our planet.

How did this make you feel?

! Take a minute and write

about it in your handout

How did this make you feel?

! Zeebar says, that you likely felt pretty

uncomfortable about it
! You may have broken out into laughter ! You may have withdrawn and not

participated
! You may not have been able to continue

this voice for the entire exercise.

Okay, so who is this woman?!?

Teaching four years First three years in High Schools in Edison and Woodbridge Now, the middle school language arts teacher in East

Newark School, a small k-8 district in Hudson County

Okay, so who is this woman?!?

Previously
Mainly 9th grade remedial and 10th grade college prep

Currently
6th,7th and 8th grades 95% of students speak a language other than English at home

Taught diverse students- suburban kids facing urban issues

93% of my students are on free or reduced lunch

Okay, so who is this woman?!?

Studying at Monmouth University for reading

specialization

American College of Education for educational technology

Attended the National Writing Project at Rutgers 2012

How did I get here?

! In my first year teaching, I did not differentiate

between Academic English, or Standard Written English, and Everyday English.

! My students would insert Everyday English into

assignments rather inappropriately

! I once had a student write a persuasive essay on a

HSPA practice exam .FML and continue.

! He was an Honors student, who generally

achieved all As.

So, what do I care?

! I realized immediately that this was an issue ! I saw text-speak, and inappropriate grammar conventions too

often
! At the urging of my college mentor, who I had contacted, I

began to read Lisa Delpits The Skin We Speak.

! I began to understand that my students were unsure, or

incapable, of appropriately code-switching in the classroom.

! Inappropriate conventions are not necessarily the root of all

evil, we must validate our students.

! Meet them where they are, and pull them further as we raise

the bar.

Now what?!?
! It was decided that it was time to not only teach

students about code-switching, but find a way for them to practice it

! Code-switching occurs between linguistic models, as

well as between genres.

! Introduced the writers notebook as The

Neighborhood and the Journal as The Office

Lets Try It!

Youve had a terrible day at school. You have had an incident with your least favorite teacher, and really need to talk about it, but you are stuck there for two more hours. This incident has not only happened at school, but in front of all of your friends AND your worst enemies. Write an email to your BFF (best friend) telling all about this day that youre having.

The Rules: This is your personal email, sent on your own personal computer. Write in all caps, curse, write in fragments, whatever your instinct says to do!

Lets Try It! Pt II

! Now, take the same CONTENT of your email, and

write it again.

! This time, write it as if you are going to send it to this

teacher.

Anyone Willing to Share? !

! Code-switching is when we change what we are saying based on our

What just happened here? Code-switching!!

audience.
!

Most common examples Everyday English, or culture based dialectical English- Standard English, OR, The Neighborhood vs. The Classroom/Office within the neighborhood, despite her familys urging to use British English

! Joanne Kilgour Dowdy talks about using Trinidadian language

! She struggles between two worlds yelling Over There

in a baseball game with peers, rather than Ovuh Dyuh (Delpit & Dowdy 2002).
! It is important to consider ALL literacies of our students

Code-switching, continued
! Schools traditionally do not take into consideration

students home literacies. Not every student has the same background experiences, and this is vital when striving to reach all learners.
! By bringing local and vernacular literacies into the

classroom, we can validate the voices of all of our students. (Ben-Yosef 2003)
! Allowing students a space to utilize their own

vernacular within the classroom setting goes a long way towards encouraging all literacies for them

Lets Recap:
! Think back to your writing what did you do to code-switch?

! What did you change for each audience? What words did

you add or omit?

! Why would audience be necessary when considering our

teaching?

! How can we use this to help our students?

Soo?
! It is necessary for us to consider this other part of ourselves

in our writing, literally The Skin we Speak (Delpit)

! Once we have our own authentic voice in our notes, in our

private writing spaces, we can then begin to write in the sometimes artificial, academic language.
! Academic language does not often come naturally, so this

can help us to bridge the gap think of the ELLs in your classroom
! Kylene Beers asserts that we are all struggling readers given

the context.
! Consider when you learn a new or difficult concept. Is it

helpful to you to utilize your own terminology at the start?

Keeping a Writers Notebook

-In Brief

! A writers notebook is a safe space for a writer to get down his

thoughts and prepare for writing in the future.

! Students may use differently from one another to allow for

differentiation in a low risk manner (Harrell et al 2006)

! Lucky Calkins- When writers carry notebooks everywhere, the

notebooks nudge us to pay attention to the little moments that normally flicker into our consciousness (43)
! Writers notebook is a continual work in progress a collection

of sparks, thoughts, ideas, images, and lines words or phrases used to spark or enhance future writing.

Writers Notebook vs. Journal

Writers Notebook
! ! !

Journal
!

Generally a working document Place for random pasting, cutting, writing Includes words, lists, phrases, snippets of writing, ideas, pieces of conversations and pictures More similar to prewriting than finished work Includes freewrites and vocabulary words Generally informal, not in complete sentences, written in everyday English

Generally a personal, private account In the classroom, may be used as bell work, sponge activities, or a place to work on working drafts May be a place to complete reader responses, reading letters, or other activities Generally, although low risk, uses academic writing and standards

! ! !

Pictures of varied writers notebooks

What do I do with it?!?

! First, students write in their

notebooks daily, or at regular intervals

! They may be carried OR kept

in the classroom
! Students record thoughts,

ideas, lists, words, comics, fortunes, quotes, words, and more!

! Allow students to write

whatever strikes them, whenever they have the idea

What do I do with it? Contd

! Ages later, you open the time

capsule that is your writers notebook, and read what you wrote a long long time ago pictures, words, lists, ideas, or other gems, and write or otherwise note AND DATE the ideas that you have used. It helps the writer to keep track add to, edit, or otherwise work on something new!

! Select some golden lines, phrases,

! Its a good idea to circle, highlight,

! Use the mined pieces to inspire,

Fact Finding
! 5 facts or memories of the best friend that

you wrote about previous

! Since this is your writers notebook, feel

free to list, jot, doodle, draw, etc in English or any other language

REMINDER!!
! Code-switching is not just about cultureits

about any language or literacy that differs based on audience

Genre-switching
! Code-switching is not JUST about culture-based

language
! Pink eye vs. Conjunctivitis ! Code-switching is also done as we read, and listen ! We code-switch a million times a day without being

aware of it, because we have become adept, and achieved automaticity

Mining the writers notebook

! Lets take a look at that list about your BFF

! What does your list look like? What are some of the

things you listed?

! Now, what might your friend look like as a recipe or a

laundry care label? Try one of them!

My Mother
! Wash on delicate cycle no need to upset her more

often than required. Her job is heart wrenching and three children under 30 make her crazy enough, she says. isnt pinned downrepeatedly. Including you. She does not need any additional cleanser. has your back, and fully expects the same.

! Detergent, no bleach she will scrub everything that

! Cool dryer Do NOT leave her hanging on a line. She ! Gentle iron if needed There will always be wrinkles in

our relationship. This is to be expected, but sometimes its alright for things to be imperfect between us, like linen on a humid evening, after a day of wear and use.

Debriefing Room
! So code-switching is when we change

between two languages or literacies based on our audience and setting setting, age group, genre, technology psyche, and is no easy task.

! Code-switching for language, culture, ! Code-switching wreaks havoc on our ! Giving students a safe space to write

helps to bridge this gap, and ease this pressure differentiate and are a part of writers workshop

! Writers notebooks are easy to

References
Delpit, Lisa (2008). The Skin That We Speak. New York. The New Press. Ranson, L. (2012). Spanish Classes are the Perfect Place to Help Students Develop Cultural Comptetence. Teaching Tolerance. 41. 42-43. Raab, Diana M. (Ed) (2010). Writers and Their Notebooks. Columbia, South Carolina: The University of South Carolina Press. Fletcher, Ralph. (2001). The Writers Notebook; Unlocking the Writer Within You. New York. Wheeler, R. S. (2005). Code-switch to teach Standard English. English Journal, 94(5), 108-112. Jacobs, Gloria E. "We Learn What We Do: Developing a Repertoire of Writing Practices in an Instant Messaging World." Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 52.3 (2008): 203-11. Lewin, Tamar. "Informal Style of Text Messages Is Showing Up in Schoolwork, Study Finds." New York Times 25 Apr. 2008. 3 May 2008 Prensky, Marc. "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants." On the Horizon 9.5 (2001): 1-6. 11 Sept. 2008 Craig, Holly K;Zhang, Lingling;Hensel, Stephanie L;Quinn, Erin J African American English-Speaking Students: An Examination of the Relationship Between Dialect Shifting and Reading Outcomes Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research; Aug 2009; 52, 4; ProQuest Education Journals pg. 839 http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards/language/grade-11-12/