The Four Lenses
By: Louise Barikian
October 14, 2002

As a special education teacher, I spend most of my time dealing with students whose learning disabilities prevent them from becoming adept readers without major modifications to the curriculum. As a result of many years of frustration, they look to reading and writing activities as tortuous. Many of them end up being pulled out for this instruction, further reinforcing their view of themselves as failing to measure up. As a person who loves to read, it breaks my heart to see children unable to derive pleasure from an activity that I love so much. I was looking for a change from the basal reader approach and a way to instill a sense of accomplishment in my students.

I am taking this course as a result of working as an inclusion teacher in the fifth grade classes that were utilizing this approach to use novels in reading and language arts instruction. I sort of jumped in with both feet last year after some quick background knowledge and was very pleased with the results. For the first time ever my students were able to stay in class and participate in the same activities in reading and language as the "regular fifth graders". Not only did they participate, they also succeeded in reading, writing and talking about several novels. For the first time ever some of them actually looked forward to reading time. They also sought out additional books by an author they had enjoyed reading while in group. It was one of my most enjoyable years of teaching reading and I hope never to have to go back to basals again.

This year, when I signed up for this course, I decided to utilize this same approach with my pull out students. I am anxious to see if it proves to be as successful with them.

The activity I chose was a literature role for the book "Socks." The students had read chapter one about a kitten who is adopted and going to a new home. We discussed that this was a transition for Socks and talked about how his life had changed. We tried to imagine how he was feeling. We discussed the meaning of the word " Transitions" and brainstormed transitions that can occur to change a person’s life. I related it to my life by explaining the transition my life was going through now that my youngest son has gone to college. The students volunteered many ideas of transitions that they could see affecting someone’s life. Each student then wrote a personal narrative about an important event that had been a transition in his/her life.

Next we completed a graphic organizer. On it the students compared and contrasted their transition with the one Socks was undergoing. Finally, they wrote a compare and contrast piece comparing their life transition and Socks.

In looking at these activities, I envisioned the four lenses and how I had utilized them in my class.

I felt they were meaning centered. The pupils had to connect with Socks. They had to try to imagine how he felt and identify with those feelings.

One student related that her mother had recently returned to work and she saw very little of her during the week. She stated that she missed her mom just as Socks must have but at least she saw her mom on weekends. Another spoke of the death of his grandfather and how Socks must have felt that same loss when he was taken away from his mother. They had to designate an event in their life that was a transition, and explain why it was a transition for them.

These activities also were social. The advantage of such a small group is that it allows a great deal of interaction. Everyone gets a chance to share their thoughts and discuss them with their peers and me. We brainstormed ideas as a group. The students paired up with a partner for revision and editing before completing the final draft of their personal narratives. They provided feedback to their partner and gave suggestions for improvement. Then they shared their final copy with the group.

The lessons were also language based. They transacted with the text in a variety of manners. They read the chapter to identify the emotions Socks felt. They then connected it to their own life by comparing it to a transition they had encountered in life. They were discussing the text and then writing personal narratives to reflect their connection with Socks. They were making predictions about the changes Socks would encounter in his new home.

Finally I believe the lessons were human. They had to reflect upon their lives and share those insights. The students were very supportive of each other and I know they felt successful in their endeavors. They were enjoying the story! I was so pleased when two of the asked to bring the book home to read over the long weekend. That’s a question special education teachers are seldom asked and made me realize the value of this method of teaching.