Week 8 Reading (Image, Language, and Sound: Making Meaning with Popular Culture Texts

 

 

Quote

 

“The day that Grady, a ninth grader who dislike reading, explained to us that he spent his Thanksgiving vacation poring over a Pokemon training manual in order to get ahead in his gaming skills was the day we recognized the power of popular culture texts to influence adolescents’ perceptions of themselves as readers and of what reading can do for them” (Alvermann, Hagood, & Williams, 2001, para. 1).

 

I had to respond to this quote because I had a student just like Grady.  He hated to read and wouldn’t complete any classwork without extensive prodding.  However, when I found out he enjoyed Pokemon, I went to the Goodwill and bought every Pokemon text, manual, or comic I could find.  It was the only reading material he would self-select and actually read.  That year, he went up five reading levels when previously he had made no visible progress.   As we all know, the more we read the better we get.  Sure, I would have like for him to have broadened his interests but; if for this child, reading Pokemon was the only way I could encourage him to read, then so be it.  It was interesting for him and helped meet our goals of increasing his reading ability.    Now I call that a success!

What is your stance on using popular culture texts in school?

As you can tell from my quote response, I am all for it.  Popular culture texts get kids excited about reading and thus, increase their motivation to read.  Reading popular culture text also addresses many new literacies skills.  For example, when reading a video game manual, a child is not merely reading a popular culture text.  That text becomes an activity for reading for information as the child reads directions or analyzes visual images to learn a new combo attack, read a map, or access game inventories.   If a child is stuck at a boss, he or she can access an online walkthrough on a website such as GameFaqs and receive tips and assistance from other gamers.  Likewise, that child may serve as a mentor by answering questions from other gamers in discussion forums.

 

What are your concerns about using popular culture texts in school?

My largest concern with using popular culture text in the classroom is making sure the popular culture texts used  are “appropriate” material for the school setting.  While I love  many of the same shows and fan pages my students do, I do not believe “The Walking Dead” would be an appropriate popular culture tool to use with my 2^nd graders even though many of them are avid fans (an entirely different issue I won’t delve into here).   I think teachers have to be very careful to research the popular culture icons and materials they are considering before allowing their students to bring in or access such material (digital or print) in school. 

How can popular cultural texts support school-based writing?

Popular cultural texts can be used in the classroom to increase writing motivation.  One of the easiest ways to utilize popular culture texts for creative writing is to have students write about their favorite comic, graphic novel, cartoon, TV show, or video game characters.  Students could continue where their text, shows, or games left off, write stories about the supporting characters, or write “what if” stories.  Students could also make submissions to fan websites or post to discussion boards if these sites are deemed appropriate.  A safer school method may be to have students create their own fan pages on school-approved sites.  Then they could collaborate more safely with other students. 

Teachers could also find contact sources that students could email or blog to.  This seemed to be a great incentive tool for Ned in the article we read.  Ned, a sports enthusiast, even left a basketball game early so that he could respond to an email written by a close friend of his favorite rap group (Alvermann, Hagood, & Williams, 2001).  Being able to communicate effectively in digital formats is a  21^st century skill students need to develop and an activity such as this would be a great tool to use.

 

Related Image

 

 

 

I chose this picture because it illustrates how people relate to popular culture icons.  Students may find it easier to put themselves into the "shoes," clothes, and hopefully then the minds of characters as they become engrossed in the stories they follow, whether these stories are told in a comic, book, movie, or video game.  The end result is that when students find material relevant and relatable, they are more likely to be motivated to write. 

Resources

Alvermann, D., Hagood, M., and Williams, K.  (2001, June).  Image, language, and sound:  Making meaning with popular culture texts.  Reading Online, 4(11).  Available: http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=/newliteracies/action/alvermann/index.html

Loika, P.  (2011, July 22).  (Tinkerbell & Spiderman).  [Image].  Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/patloika/5977719524/