Writing to Witness, Writing to Testify - Grade 11
Writing to Witness, Writing to Testify is an invitation to students and teachers to consider a small, yet representative and diverse set of texts that do a particular kind of work. The literature studied in this text—excerpts from John Edgar Wideman’s Brothers and Keepers and Robert Coles’ Doing Documentary Work; poems from Charles Reznikoff’s Testimony; Gish Jen’s story “Whose Irish?”; and, as an optional unit extension, Elie Wiesel’s harrowing Night—has in common the aim to do something fundamentally essential and difficult: to witness or testify, to create what Coles describes as “reports of what was encountered for the eyes and ears of others.”
Table of Contents
Writing Tasks
Title: Tracking Brothers and Keepers
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 1-2
Students should use the “Tracking Brothers and Keepers” form to monitor and record the content of the selection.
Review the form with the class and explain that the work period of this session and the next will be set aside so that students can complete this work.
Negotiate with the class a way to read through the selection. You might, for example, read the first pages aloud and then have students read the rest of the text silently. Or, in addition to the initial read-aloud, you might decide to read aloud those portions of the text where Wideman reflects on the work he is doing in the other parts of the text. You may wish to inform students in advance that portions of this text are written from the author’s perspective, while other portions are written as though his brother Robby is speaking: It is important to pay attention to the shifts in the text.
Tell students that the closing meeting of Session 1 will be used to reconvene the class and to record information on the tracking charts.
In an effort to model smart approaches to the work of this part of the unit, you might decide to show students a way to mark, as they are reading, passages in the text that feature key people or that contain significant moments.
Title: Brothers and Keepers: Assignment #1
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 3
Place students in pairs or trios.
Students should work on “Assignment #1” in their pair or trio groups. Emphasize that as they reread for a specific purpose, it will prob- ably look different from the first read-through. Students may skim through some parts, flip around and read sections out of order, return to read some moments more carefully, etc. Suggest that as they start to think of ideas, they might use their other notes about the story, including the tracking sheets and sequencing work, to help remember where to look for more information.
Groups should use this work period to reread the essay, to “test” possible answers, and to make notes that they can use to participate in the upcoming whole-group discussion about the questions.
Suggested Student Materials: Informational_Explanatory Checklist
Title: Brothers and Keepers: Assignment #2
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 6
Place students in pairs or trios. Students should work on “Assignment #2” in their small groups.
Remind the class that students should use the small-group time to reread the essay, to “test” possible answers, and to make notes that they can use to participate in the upcoming whole-group discussion about the question posed in the assignment.
Suggested Student Materials: Interpretive_Argument Checklist
Title: Doing Documentary Work: Assignment #1
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 10
Place students in pairs or trios. Students should work on “Doing Documentary Work: Assignment #1” in their small groups.
Remind students that they should use the small-group time to reread the essay, to “test” possible answers, and to make notes that they can use to participate in the upcoming whole-group discussion about the questions.
Suggested Student Materials: Informational_Explanatory Checklist
Title: Doing Documentary Work: Assignment #2
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 13
Place students in pairs or trios. Students should work on “Doing Documentary Work: Assignment #2” in their small groups.
Remind students that they should use the small-group time to reread the essay, to “test” possible answers, and to make notes that they can use to participate in the upcoming whole-group discussion about the questions.
Suggested Student Materials: Interpretive_Argument Checklist
Title: Writing to Witness, Writing to Testify The Documentary Project
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 15
Review the assignment with the class. Students will likely find the idea of 6-10 pages fairly daunting at first, but take a moment to remind them of the kind of work that goes into documenting something—parts of it may be research-based, parts of it may be reflective in nature, and certainly some parts of it will read like a narrative as they write about “what happened.” Reassure students that as they think of ideas and work on planning “short assignments” for themselves in the coming sessions, it will help break the work into more manageable chunks.
Tell students that they will have this session’s work period to begin generating ideas for their projects. They should plan on sharing their ideas and progress with the class during the closing meeting.
Title: “The West”: Assignment #1
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 16
Suggested Student Materials: Informational_Explanatory Checklist
Title: Writing Like Reznikoff
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 22
Give students this time to work on the “Writing Like Reznikoff” exercise or on items on their short assignments list.
Invite volunteers who worked on the poetry exercise to report out on their progress.
Title: “Who’s Irish?”: Assignment #1
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 24
Students should complete the quick writes for “‘Who’s Irish?’: Assignment #1” as homework for Session 26. If any time remains in class, they may begin their quick writes now.
Title: “Who’s Irish?”: Assignment #2
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 26
Review the assignment with the class and answer any questions students have about it.
Place students in pairs or trios and tell them that they will have an opportunity to work on the task in small groups during this session’s work period. This small-group work should be viewed as preparation for the whole-class discussion.
Title: Tracking Wiesel’s Night
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 32-34
Students should use “Tracking Wiesel’s Night” to monitor and record the content of each part. The form asks students to record three types of information: characters, key events, and “significant moments.” Significant moments can be words, lines, or longer passages of text that seem to contain important information, or indicate patterns or symbols. Students should be encouraged to add page numbers to the information they place on the tracking form, as this will help them accomplish the upcoming work more easily. In addition, as they read, encourage students to notice and mark new or unfamiliar words, either for their own word lists or for the class to examine together.
Title: Reading and Writing About Wiesel’s Night
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 35
Place students in pairs or trios. Tell students that they will have an opportunity to work on the task in small groups during this session’s work period. This small-group work should be viewed as preparation for the whole-class discussion to be convened during Session 36.
Charts for Discussion
Title: Noticing Research
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 17
Tell students that during this session you want them to help you begin to build two “working” charts. Remind the class that a working chart is simply a chart that students will revisit and add new items to over time. They are charts that act as memory aids that students can use to capture things they notice and ideas they have and don’t want to lose.
Create two new working charts by placing one of the following titles on each one:
“Noticing Research”
“Noticing Writing”
Suggest to the class that the whole notion that “writers read other writers” is a straightforward one and that capturing information that helps students get ideas, solve (or prevent) problems, or think about projects is what the two charts are for.
Place the following question on the board:
“What kind of research did Wideman do while working on his project?”
Ask students to take a minute to go back and skim through Brothers and Keepers to look for moments that might give them insight into the research Wideman did—both the what and the how. The purpose of this is to provide a quick snapshot of what they’ll be doing in more depth during the work period.
After 2-3 minutes, reconvene the class and invite volunteers to share their findings. Push students to read the specific lines they noticed. Record items related to Wideman’s research on the “Noticing Research” chart. Be sure to include page and line numbers.
Title: Noticing Writing
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 17
Tell students that during this session you want them to help you begin to build two “working” charts. Remind the class that a working chart is simply a chart that students will revisit and add new items to over time. They are charts that act as memory aids that students can use to capture things they notice and ideas they have and don’t want to lose.
Create two new working charts by placing one of the following titles on each one:
“Noticing Research”
“Noticing Writing”
Suggest to the class that the whole notion that “writers read other writers” is a straightforward one and that capturing information that helps students get ideas, solve (or prevent) problems, or think about projects is what the two charts are for.
Place the following question on the board:
“What kind of research did Wideman do while working on his project?”
Ask students to take a minute to go back and skim through Brothers and Keepers to look for moments that might give them insight into the research Wideman did—both the what and the how. The purpose of this is to provide a quick snapshot of what they’ll be doing in more depth during the work period.
After 2-3 minutes, reconvene the class and invite volunteers to share their findings. Push students to read the specific lines they noticed. Record items related to Wideman’s research on the “Noticing Research” chart. Be sure to include page and line numbers.
Title: Short Assignments for My Documentary Project
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 19
Place the heading “Short Assignments for My Documentary Project” on a chart.
Invite students to help you think about your piece. What “short assignments” belong on your list?
As you create your list with students, make sure
The items on your list are specific enough that a student could complete them and cross them out. General items are the enemy of effective work plans.
You reference and consult all of the resources you would want your students to tap.
You ask all of the questions you would want students to ask:
What kinds of information do writers of this type of work use?
Who could I talk to?
What do I need to observe and describe?
How does the documentary essay I want to model start?
Remember that the point of this demonstration is to give students a compressed, rapid look at how a proficient reader/writer goes about creating a list of short assignments for him/herself.
Take a moment to review the list of short assignments you just generated. As you read through it, place numbers next to items, roughing out an “order of events.” Also, distinguish those items that can be done during class from those that must be accomplished outside of class time—an interview, for example.
Be sure to refer to the working charts, “Noticing Writing” and “Noticing Research,” that were created in Session 17 during this process.
Checks for Understanding
Title: Brothers and Keepers: Sketching the Sequence
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 2
Devote the closing meeting of Session 2 to reviewing the “Sketching the Sequence” work students completed. During this discussion, work with the class to develop a “class-version” of that work. Capture this on a chart titled “Brothers and Keepers: Sketching the Sequence” and post it in the room so that it can be referenced easily in the work ahead.
The purpose of this is to give all students a chance, once again, to review the structure and events of the text in advance of the interpretive work in coming sessions. By tracking information about key people and events, and then completing the sequencing work on their own or in pairs, and then working together as a whole class, students have multiple opportunities to anchor a basic sense of the text in their minds. Keep in mind that this is early review work—students do not need to have an “in-depth” understanding of the text’s significant themes or arguments at this time.
You may ask students to submit their tracking charts and sequence work for you to review. Skim to check for any significant misunderstandings that should be addressed with the class at the beginning of the next session.
Title: Small-Group Work: Problems and Solutions
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 3
Small-group discussions are an integral part of this unit’s work. Use this closing meeting to debrief the small-group work experience with the class.
Consider working with students to generate a two-column chart titled “Small- Group Work: Problems and Solutions.” Title the left column “Problems” and the right “Possible Solutions.” Encourage volunteers to offer items for the left column and then ask the group to help brainstorm responses to these issues to list in the right column.
Review the assignment with the class and ask students to share a few of the initial ideas they discussed in their groups. This is not meant to be a full exploration of the topic, but rather a quick sampling of ideas. The next session is dedicated to the whole-class discussion.
Title: During Text-Based Discussions….
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Session 4
Reconvene the class and ask students to help you retrace the text-based discussion. Ask students to help you recall what happened during the discussion: to notice how the class looked for claims; to notice places where a person ex- tended or critiqued another person’s interpretation; to notice what the facilitator did to focus and refocus the discussion; and to notice instances in which participants used the text to substantiate or explain an interpretation. In short, use this time to guide students to do the metacognitive work they need to do in order to notice what must happen for this kind of work to get done well.
Capture these “noticings” on a chart titled “During Text-based Discussions….”
Independent Reading
Title: Book Interview
Instructions:
Display a copy of the “Book Interview” sheet for the class to see and distribute copies to students.
Using one of the books from the classroom library, model for students how to interview a book and how to fill out the sheet. Answer any questions students have about the form and its terminology.
Give students time to interview three books and to enter their findings on the “Book Interview” sheet.
Title: Book Pass
Instructions:
Organize students’ desks into a circle (or, if this is not possible, determine a very clear path for books to pass through the group).
Explain the purpose of a book pass:
A book pass is another way to expose students to the texts available in the classroom library. A book pass requires students to use their book interviewing skills. A book pass is a chance for students to find titles to add to their “Books I’d Like to Read” list.
Display a copy of the “Book Pass” for the class to see and pass out copies to students.
Demonstrate for the class how a person goes about making an entry on the form. Since students will need to write quickly, show how an author can be listed just by last name and first initial, and demonstrate how a student can abbreviate a long title if necessary. What matters is that they have enough information to track down the book again later if they need to.
Give each student one book (or magazine). Tell them it doesn’t matter which text they start with, because they will see all—or at least many of—the books. (Be sure you have one title for each student in the circle.)
Choose a direction for passing.
After students receive a book, they should immediately record the author’s name (if the text is a book) and title on the “Book Pass” form.
Give students one minute to interview each book following the procedure established in the previous session.
At the end of one minute, call “pass.” At this time, students should make an entry in the comments column and pass the book to the next student.
Continue the book pass until each student has interviewed all the books.
Title: Book Recommendation
Instructions:
Distribute copies of the “Book Recommendation” form to students and give them time to craft or begin crafting their first review. Students can choose to write about a book they’ve completed recently or one they remember well from past reading.
Title: Goals for My Reading Life
Instructions:
Display a copy of “Goals for My Reading Life” for the class to see and distribute copies to students.
Use this time to review how to fill out the goals sheet. Be sure to show students how they can use the charts to generate ideas for answers to the “Goals” questions.
Take a moment to stress the value and function of the “Books I’d Like to Read” list. Point out that this list is a tool that serves the same function as a bedside table for some readers: It is a place to store up titles or books that are “next in line.” Remind the class that readers constantly have their eyes open for “next” texts. A “Books I’d Like to Read List” is a way to prevent aimless and unproductive castings around for new reading materials. It’s a planning tool.
Explain that at the beginning of each marking period, each student will fill out a new goals sheet; at at the end of each marking period, students will take a few minutes to review their goals statements and reflect on their efforts to meet them.
Answer any questions students have about the “Goals for My Reading Life” forms.
Give students time to complete the form and set a deadline for submission. You may decide to photocopy these to keep a set for yourself. Return the forms to students during the next session and have them attach the form to a page in their notebook or save it for their student portfolio (see Creating a Student Portfolio).
Title: Reading Log
Teacher Manual Instructions:
Show students how to set up a “Reading Log” in their notebook. They should be sure to enter it in their table of contents. You may decide to distribute sticky notes so that students can flag this page. Use the model on the next page to guide your efforts.
Notice the column titled “Date Completed/# of Pages Read.” This column is a place for students to record, and receive credit for, the reading of texts that did not require a “cover-to-cover” experience. Be sure to point out that reading sections of several texts for specific purposes is not the same as skipping aimlessly from book to book to book. The former often indicates purposefulness and interest; the latter can indicate confusion or disengagement.
After students have set up the reading log—including proper headings, creating the grid, etc.—demonstrate how to make an entry.
Answer any questions students have about the log.
Remind students that the reading log is a tool to be used in conjunction with the “Goals” sheets. Students track their reading in the log and then use the log to evaluate their progress toward their goals.
If you plan to use student portfolios this year, consider introducing them at this time using some version of the information in the section that follows. Review Creating a Student Portfolio in advance to be sure you have thought through some of the important questions for portfolio work.
Unit Resources
Title: Writing to Witness, Writing to Testify: A Documentary Project
Title: Writings That Witness or Testify: A Sample List
Title: Grades 11 and 12 – Interpretive_Argument Rubric
Title: Grades 11 and 12 – Informational_Explanatory Rubric
Title: Scaffolds and Modifications: Descriptions and Use