Fearless Voices: Engaging a New Generation of African American Adolescent Male Writers

by Alfred Tatum

Overview

Tatum addresses the power of writing to connect young people with the deeper meaning in their own lives as they put their voices on record, exploring, in particular, writing as a tool to navigate lives in “communities of turmoil” and build positive relationships. Additionally, he explores the power of writing to help students construct meaning as readers as they explore the enabling literary works of their textual lineages. The book also addresses the practical implications of supporting students as writers and, to that end, targets teachers as writers!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545631549
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/01/2013
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Alfred W. Tatum is an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He began his career as an English/Language Arts eighth-grade teacher, later becoming a reading specialist. Currently, he serves on the National Advisory Reading Committee of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. He provides professional development support to schools across the nation interested in addressing the literacy needs of diverse students, particularly African-American adolescent males. He is the author of the Scholastic literacy program ID voice: vision: identity and several books, including the NCTE James N. Britton Award–winning Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males and Reading for Their Life: (Re)Building the Textual Lineages of African American Adolescent Males. Tatum’s research centers on the literacy development of African-American adolescent males and teacher professional development in urban middle and high schools.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Foreword 7

Part 1 Writing Their Lives 9

Introduction 9

Chapter 1 On Defining Self 17

Chapter 2 Nurturing Resilience 37

Chapter 3 For My Brethren: Engaging Others 61

Chapter 4 In The Spirit of Building Capacity 79

Chapter 5 Be it Resolved: Voice and Vision 99

Part 2 Turning Your Classroom Into a Literacy Collaborative 115

Principles, Promises, and Platforms 116

Guiding Principles 116

Our Goals 118

What We Write 119

The Daily Schedule and Structure 120

The Writing Environment 122

The First Day and the Preamble 123

PowerPoint Presentation on African American Male Writers 123

Getting Started in Your Classroom: Creating Your Own Literacy Collaborative 124

The Essential Literacy Content and Understandings 124

Enabling Text 125

Mentor Texts 125

Guidelines for Discussing Mentor Texts 126

Raw Writing 127

Multiple Stances 128

Writing Journals 128

PowerPoint Launch 129

Independent Reading and Raw Writing 129

Teacher as Writer 130

Setting the Tone 130

Putting It All Together: How It Unfolds in the Classroom 130

Writing Warm-Ups and Explicit Instruction 130

The Launch: PowerPoint Presentation 131

Enabling Text and Vocabulary Study 131

Reading and Writing Deeper 131

The Author's Chair 132

The Questions That Guide Our Writing 133

Assessment 133

Professional Development 134

Becoming Writing Teachers of African American Males: Critical Questions to Consider 135

A Note About the Common Core Standards 135

Book References 139

Appendix

Appendix A Graphic Organizers 141

Story Matrix 141

Research and Prep Chart 142

Rubric 143

Appendix B Daily Agenda: Five Samples 144

Appendix C Writing Warm-Ups: Four Samples 145

Appendix D Photographic Timeline of Black Male Writers 159

Appendix E 12 Sources That Capture the Wide Range of Writings of African American Males 168

Appendix F Letters to Future Brother Authors 169

Index 173