“The Voice of Me”

 John Hill

This writing project unit and assignment - “The Voice of Me” - is designed as a real-world expression of composition that has as its foundation the biography-driven personal narrative and expressiveness of voice that was the basis of so many of our readings and videos – most notably David Kirkland and Gholdy Muhammad. The assignment is an open letter to a student’s past, present, or future self, family member, or other important person of choice (expressed in the assignment simply as “love one”).  The letter will be an extension of their prior personal narrative written assignment and will itself serve as a re-framing of that assignment.

Lamay talks about the “revised” personal narrative (6) and Kittle talks about revisiting the unit on personal narrative for the purposes of “re-teaching” and “making deeper connections” (106). Here I combine aspect of both in a “reframing” of the personal narrative writing assignment that students would have finished just prior to fall break. With an entire personal narrative unit introduced, and the foundation of frame writing as a craft already established, we re-approach narrative as a re-frame of their previous writing. For consistency, I will henceforth simply use the term “framing.” 

The frame will serve to tell the individual student’s story. It will serve as a focused sensemaking of the narrative (almost in a meta-perspective sense) that tells a specific “story” and is itself a frame for “their story” as a broader conceptualization. This framing is my invention, but is consistent with the notion that a person’s “story” is at the epicenter of all writing (Lamay, Muhammad).                       

At no point will this letter be referred to as an essay, project, or even assignment. This is critical. I want my students to lose themselves in this assignment (I will still use this term for my purpose here).  My choice of assignment and lessons was inspired by a multitude of research and pedagogical perspectives, all of which have one thing in common - connecting students to themselves and connecting that self to school and the world beyond school. This connection gives authenticity and voice and empowers for change (of other) and revision (of self).

The biography-driven personal narrative was initially inspired by Early as a counter to formulaic writing that has seemingly led to disconnected, dispassionate writing in students. Early counters this with the narrative to insert the “values, voice, and lived experiences of the writer” (90). I do not want to teach my students to write in a way that is mechanical, that involves plugging in facts and information to a formula. The disconnected trends Early was seeing in student writing is something I can relate to. As in my writing, I want my student’s voice to be ever present in all his or her writing, regardless of genre.                                                                                                              

As a reader, viewing the writing of students as banal, uninspiring, or simply detached from a sense of self and voice is one thing; however, Bronwyn Lamay shows us that this is a symptom of a phenomenon that can possible (and likely) go much deeper than simply an uninspiring read. For her this lack of voice is the very foundation on which a shaky “house” is built as it relates to a student writer’s engagement in the English class, with school overall, and even with themselves (and by extension their relationships with others, including the student-teacher relationship). Although I acknowledge the concern over what Lamay refers to as school gravity (12) as being a critical component in this notion, and interrelational aspects of self-realization are important; however, the main concern for me is instances where students lack of voice, and/or willingness to exercise of voice, is rooted in the student’s alienation from self and evidence of a potential failure to tap into the heart of what motivates them. To address this, I follow Lamay in further broadening the conceptualization of narrative in respect to both its breadth and depth of applicability. 

At the heart of my unit is the Heartstorm - a term I created (from my own heart) as a more personal and connected version of its counterpart, the brainstorm. The idea of the Heartstorm was inspired by Georgia Heard (2), an author and work cited by Early (Early, 93). With this assignment unit I take the traditional narrative as a starting point for writing and through the Heartstorm simply attempt to go a bit deeper as a set point from which to approach expressive writing. I have added a meaningful letter that connects an aspect of the student’s past, present, or future (their choice) in an effort to bookmark the meaningful initial stage of the unit with an equally meaningful end point of expression (I purposefully do not say “end product” here) that gives students the choice of audience that is highly personal and, again, thus meaningful. 

The personal narrative has always been the launching point of my class and is the first major assignment that culminates in a unit I label Self-Exploration. As inspired by Heard and Lamay, however, I realize I did not take it deep enough; I did not make it personal enough; I did not make it a shared, community endeavor. My students simply brainstormed topics and traits and we moved on - Kirkland’s pedagogical conveyer belt comes to mind (Kirkland). Instead of a brainstorm as the initial step of launching a personal narrative, I now will utilize the “Heartstorm.”

The Heartstorm is connected to Heard’s Heartstrings (2) and the notion that before you can express yourself or find meaning in writing (whether in school or out), we need to explore what it is that we care about; what resonates within us? What is that voice inside us that connects to the heart (hence heartstring)? I use Heard’s red or pink heart, with connections to things we love and care about, and I have added a grey heart to explore any tension or dichotomous juxtaposition in a writer as it relates to negative emotions or feelings and fears in things we do not love or care about. 

Like Heard, Lamay takes a very similar approach through writing about and exploring an understanding of love as a way to deeply connect with students and get them to care. For Lamay, finding the “caring” is what connects students to ultimately being intrinsically motivated to achieve in school as their work takes on a meaning that is personal and relevant to them. It also fosters a sense of community and shared understanding when done collectively. Our students connect to and understand themselves; we understand them (or are at least better positioned to understand them), and they understand each other (or at least the conditions are created for that understanding and attempt to understand). 

Lamay uses the blanket concept of love and “what is love” to forge this connection. I am choosing not to do this for two reasons: one, I am already using the love metaphor in my Heartstorm and I don’t want to overplay the theme and, two, like with my grey heart some students are not moved or motivated by love, they have a more neutral connection to themselves, or in a worst case scenario are moved by hate. While this, like the grey heart, might seem dark and run counter to Lamay’s focus on love for positive change (revision), I simply want to identify and unearth the emotion that is present, then work toward the “revision” of that self in a positive manner.  Love, or the attempt to tap into love, as a sole template will not always be feasible, and certainly not always inclusive, in the early stages of self-exploration as an authentic process. - and seeking authenticity at this stage is in my opinion the most crucial aspect of the experience otherwise you lose students to the very hate mechanism (“I hate this stupid assignment”) that is their default setting in viewing their world. I am not trying to connect them to love, I am trying to connect them to their true selves and then revise from that point as needed and desired. 

My specific assignment of the open letter to either themselves, a family member, or other important person from their past, present or future is inspired by Gholdy Muhammad’s notion of “writing is timeless” (Muhammad). The idea of our writing not being bound by time along with writing needing to be a process of discovery to “find yourself, love yourself” and create identity (Muhammad). For me, Muhammad’s notion of creating identify perfectly aligns with Lamay’s notion of personal narrative revision. In connecting with the past (and specifically our story within our past), we can revise the conceptualization of our current selves. And in projecting to the future, we are afforded that possibility of being whatever we want to be in the name of change - again, change of both other and self. We become changed and, in that transformation, become agents for change. 

For lessons 1, I will start with the prewriting process. But it is not simply “process” in the stone-cold sense of that term as a writing invention (which I feel places preeminence on the product rather than that which emerges and is shaped from that writing and learning experience). This “prewriting,” within the scope of the assignment plan, will appear to serve the purpose of the end product composition, but that is not its real purpose. Its main purpose is that which connects students to their inner voice. It is a discover process.  I will start with a free write prompt on the question of “What is your ideal world and what would you change to create it?” We will follow this with the red and grey heart heartstorming lesson.

As with all in class work, I write with my students (see Kittle; Gallagher). I also move around the class and interact with students, give feedback, and praise. This will segue into an in-class open discussion of what students wrote to lay a foundation of community, discovery (perhaps of yourself through others), and open acceptance of other viewpoints. The discussion portion will also provide a model of questioning, feedback, reflection, critical thinking, as well as an establishment of general class mores.

Lesson 1 segues into the heartmap activity and discussion, which further builds on shared understanding, inspiration, and community building. Day 1 ends with an assignment of homework, also inspired by Heard (26), where students must search the history and or meaning of their name. What does their name mean? How did they get it? What about nicknames? What would you name your child if you had one? This activity will connect them to an aspect of both their past and future as a way for setting up the past or present letter. Students will also need to collect an artifact such as a dairy, letter, or story about their family. In all these activities students are making a connection and thinking about their place in their story, but also their place in the greater “story” of their identity itself through their family history, who they are in relation to that, and perhaps where they foresee that as a projection of themselves in the future.

Day 2 begins with a prompt that encourages students to connect themselves to the story behind the photo or other personal artifact of their past that they collected and explored. This will lead into a sharing and discussion period. Of course, not every student will engage with their artifact in a purposeful and meaningful way at this point. This is understandable; however, the value in this process is that it is hoped through this discussion and exposure to the students that have engaged in a meaningful way, and shared that meaning, others will be drawn in (gravity) toward an understanding that I am giving them an opportunity to put their stamp on the class. I am carving out a personal place just for them. I want to acknowledge that who they are matters and do so in the most personal of ways possible – their very connection to themselves through their history and experiences as a linear continuum that works itself toward their presence in my class that day.

We will then move on to the Symbolic Recipe assignment. This assignment further explores and connects students to their true selves by having them come up with the ingredients, including portion sizes, of their attributes and traits, and adds instructions on how to combine them. This will be purposely connected to writing and rhetoric through the extended metaphor assignment that compliments this activity. The extended metaphor will be introduced as a rhetorical strategy toward having a writing device that can be utilized for purposeful, strategic magnification (both the metaphor as subject and that which it modifies as its object are magnified). This assignment concludes with a homework opportunity (“opportunity” not “assignment”).

Day 3 begins with the Open Letter writing prompt to future students at our school. This activity primes the students for the possibility of their framed letter to project to a future self and an aspect of change inherent in that possibility. I am attempting to tap into the “revision” (Lamay) aspect of their “story” and this activity can work towards this realization of self as an agent of not only introspection but change. Purposeful grammar (the participial phrase) is introduced here, not simply as a craft for writing but, specifically, for rhetorical purpose and effect. The participial phrase has inherent in its functionality the ability to magnify and deepen a connection with that which is modified (just like the extended metaphor); thus, students have a tool in their kits that can be utilized for meaning making (deepening of their own thought process), meaning conveyance (as expressed to their audience) and simply rhetorical flare.

Both the participial phrase grammar and metaphor writing craft lessons were inspired by Rowlands (57) in spirit, but the content and theoretical conceptualization behind each is mine. These lessons also focus on two aspects of craft - show don’t tell and developing emphasis as a literary device/strategy. Participial phrases, for example, serve the dual purpose of creating both sentence flow and emphasis. This falls under my categorization of Rhetoric Rules for grammar and craft with which my students are familiar.

Day 4 begins with a review of mentor texts handed out at the end of day 3. Here I seek to demonstrate how the mentor texts show a strong sense of self and voice while also incorporating a sense of the individual’s past/future in reflection of who they are, where they are going, and/or what they want to be. We conclude with a Writing Workshop. I do this so I can connect with students (Kittle) and write with them (Gallagher) as well as have peer review be a part of the process of shared understanding (Lamay), meaning making, and inspiration to simply write and express.    

My broadest influences from the course in my curriculum design overall are Gholdy Muhammad, David Kirkland, and Bronwyn Lamay. Muhammad and Kirkland made such a powerful impression on me and spoke of writing within a broadly conceived perspective that really resonated with me. Specific lesson plans will not always reflect their names, but their fingerprints will be all over everything I do. More specifically an influence as it relates to pedagogy is Bronwyn Lamay. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to her amazing work. It will affect the trajectory of teaching going forward, as will be clear in my assignment objective and lesson plans. In the words of David Kirkland, “What we teach is influenced by who we teach” With that, I present my lesson plan for connection, empowerment and change.

. MY LETTER, MY VOICE LESSON PLAN

DAY 1

Teacher: John Hill                   Class/Period:         Date:

 Objectives: Students are to build a connection to themselves (their inner voice) and that which motivates them. To build a sense of community among various “selves” in the class (peers) based on inclusion, mutual respect, and shared understanding

 Materials Needed: Journal Notebook, Pen, Colored Pencils/Pens, Chromebooks
Activities:

 Student Learning is Assessed and Analyzed:

Students are informally assessed based on having an understanding of and motivation to complete in-class tasks. Participation/sharing informally assessed to determine engagement with topic.  

 MY LETTER, MY VOICE

LESSON PLAN

DAY 2

Teacher: John Hill                   Class/Period:        Date:

 Objectives: Students are to continue to build a connection to themselves. Today we establish how your history is part of you and a result of the past as well as lending itself the possibility of who you can be through projection into the future. We continue to build a sense of community among various “selves” in the class. A foundation is firmly laid where YOU matter and ways in which school can be about you.

 Materials Needed: Journal Notebook, Pen, Chromebooks

 Student Assessment:

Students are informally assessed based on having an understanding of and motivation to complete in-class task. Students are also assessed in relation to ability to build on the foundational work completed and demonstrated ability to think, express, and connect it in a way that is both more narrowing/specific or broad depending on purpose.

THE VOICE OF ME

LESSON PLAN

DAY 3

Teacher: John Hill                   Class/Period:          Date:

 Objectives: To model assignment of letter through future projection of self and empowerment to institute change. Add to grammatical structures and rhetorical strategies to write purposefully based on audience and purpose.

 Materials Needed: Journal Notebook, Pen, Chromebooks

Student Assessment:

Students are informally assessed based on having an understanding of and motivation to complete in-class tasks. Participation/sharing informally assessed to determine engagement with topic and continued development in relation to materials introduced.

THE VOICE OF ME

LESSON PLAN

DAY 4

 Teacher: John Hill                   Class/Period 1A          Date: October 15

 Objectives: To take all we have worked on and attempt to put it all together toward a finished, polished 1st draft of letter opportunity. We have deepened our exploration of self through writing prompts and our Heartstorm; we have specifically practiced connecting with a personalized, introspective past as well as a personalized, envisioned future; we have learned specific grammatical and rhetorical tools to be utilized in conjunction with drawing our reader into the depth of our thought; we have reviewed mentor texts where this type of writing has been successfully implemented and purpose achieved. Now we start to put it all together through a teacher assisted and two peer reviewed Writing Workshop toward completion of draft and final letter.  

Materials Needed:   Journal Notebook, Pen, Chromebooks

FRAMED LETTER - THE VOICE OF ME

Lesson Plan

With this letter you are being afforded the opportunity to “revise” your first personal narrative writing assignment in terms of the framing of yourself in relation to who you are and want to become. We have built on your first narrative assignment by attempting to make deeper introspections with identification of self through discovery of your “past self” and projection of your “future self.” You will now revise your personal narrative by writing it as a letter to a past, present, or future loved one (which could include yourself) keeping the narrative story but framing it as a substory within a general letter that makes sense of the event in relation to who you are or want to become. This account will give your recipient an idea about who you are, what you want to be, or how you see yourself. Your letter is a window into who you are and sharing this will provide your reader an insight into the authentic and unique person that is you. The audience that you are writing for is whoever you intend to read your letter (which can go beyond the actual recipient to include the hope that it will even be left for others to see, such as in the Brencher readings).

 Requirements:

• Utilize your unit 1 personal narrative as your framed story (unless otherwise consulting with me)

• Produce a letter to a past, present, or future loved one that puts your narrative in perspective

• No rubric for this assignment, but you should attempt to frame your narrative in a way that demonstrates the deeper connections to your past self and/or projections of your future self.

• The who are you, what do you want to become, and where do you want to go should be evident to your recipient.

• No restrictions on font type or size (as I can change these on my end and I want you focused on purpose not format)

Works Cited

Brencher, Hannah. If You Find This Letter. Howard Books, 2016.

Early, Jessica Singer. "A Case for Teaching Biography-Driven Writing in ELA Classrooms."  

     English Journal 108.3 (2019): 89-94.

Gallagher, Kelly, Write like This: Teaching Real-World Writing through Modeling & 

     Mentor Texts. Stenhouse Publishers, 2011.

Heard, Georgia. Heart Maps: Helping Students Create and Craft Authentic Writing. Heinemann, 

     2016.

Kittle, Penny. Write Beside Them: Risk, Voice, and Clarity in High School Writing. Heinemann,    

     2008.

Lamay, Bronwyn. Personal Narrative, Revised: Writing Love and Agency in the High School 

     Classroom. 

Rowlands, Kathleen Dudden. “Slay the Monster! Replacing Form-First Pedagogy with Effective

Writing Instruction.” English Journal, vol. 105, no. 6, 2016, pp. 52-58

“Writing Matters with Dr. Troy Hicks ft. Dr. David E. Kirkland. YouTube, uploaded by Writables, 

     10 August 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1HfpEQ7Ih4

“The Write Time with Gholdy Muhammad & Chris Rogers”. YouTube, uploaded by National 

     Writing Project, 22 January 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp6uwitQVlY.