Please reflection on your students' experience of The Arrival Literature Cyberlesson in light of the following questions:
What was their overall reader response and understanding of the book The Arrival.
Please write about their experience of engaging in The Arrival Literature Cybereslesson.
Please reflect on their thinking about The Arrival Before, During , After and Beyond the reading components.
How might their understanding of the book been different if they had not engaged in the Literature Cyberlesson?
What were the benefits of the cyberlesson that supported their understanding of The Arrival?
What were the drawbacks of the cyberlesson that detracted from their understanding of the Arrival?
What was the most evocative part of The Arrival for them?
Please include any memorable anecdotes of students' response and stduent thinking during the implementation.
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Although I used the lesson with a small group of six students who all struggle with literacy skills, there was still a significant range of understanding. Within the first chapter, one student recognized this as an Ellis Island story, although we had not yet discussed Ellis Island. Another student believed that the Ellis Island station had rejected the main character, and he was sent to some strange place instead. His understandings were adjusted through whole group dialogue. Most did understand that it was about how an immigrant must feel when he leaves his home. Again, because the images were so surreal and abstract, these understandings emerged after much examination and discussion.
Before reading, prior to filling their heads with information on Ellis Island, I had them examine the first half of Chapter One. I did not want to tell them what to think; I wanted them to share their initial, gut responses to the images. While they did not fully understand what to make of it all, they thoroughly (and I mean thoroughly) enjoyed the challenge of making sense of it. Some were almost giddy, as they adjusted their ideas from page to page. We stopped and looked at the Ellis Island website, books and film clip, and about half of the students could make the connections, and half could not. Discussion assisted students who were having trouble seeing this as an immigrant story.
During reading, students made predictions, connections and inferences. They spent about three days going through the images meticulously, enjoying the smallest details and what the significance might be. For some, their background knowledge wasn’t sufficient enough to understand when the man was searching for a job, or that he was trying to communicate. Again, the small group discussion was critical for these students, for once other students explained, everyone seemed to concur.
Students are currently involved in the “After Reading” group project. They are developing an ABC book of The Arrival using PowerPoint. They chose words out of a bag, words I developed based on their own list of words, and they are to learn the word and explain how it relates to the story. This was an activity that would help them develop their vocabulary, something that they all struggle with. As they think about how “acclimate” and “compassion” and “universal” relate to the story, they continue to develop their understanding of the story.
Given time constraints, we might not have time to engage in “Beyond Reading” activities. I did not want to abandon the interview activity, because most of these students have shared that they have relatives from another country (it is truly a multicultural class). I would like to find the time to do this. Although I can’t commit, I would also consider a literature circle with an immigrant story. Again, the entire cyberlesson, then, could conceivably take two months.
The cyberlesson structured their experience such that they were engaged in a slow, contemplative read, and were required to focus on specific strategies. The cyberlesson also incorporated opportunities to build background, and opportunities to discuss. As long as other units include these opportunities, I am not sure if the students’ understandings would be any different. But what the cyberlesson does is help students have control over the process, and pace their own learning.
The only drawback is only an initial drawback, I believe. Students, in other words, had to become acclimated to the use of the cyberlesson. I don’t think they ever sat down to a PowerPoint lesson that they could control. So it took a little getting used to. This did not, however, detract from their understanding.
Students were, in general, moved by several aspects of the story. First, they were moved at the realization that the man’s family was not coming with him. At first, they thought they were all going on a trip. Then they adjusted their understandings, realizing he was saying goodbye. They were also excited when they started making the Ellis Island connections, recognizing images. Second, they all loved the unusual creatures, especially the strange tadpole-like animal that befriended the man, even handing him his had and pointing the way with his tongue. They wanted to know more about these creatures and what they represented. They noticed that many of the characters had a “pet” who sat on their shoulder, or followed them around. Although not part of the cyberlesson, students began sketching these creatures. Their sketches now decorate my classroom.
There were moments when suddenly a student would notice a small but important detail, like the wife’s hand over the husband’s before he left on his trip, or the amputee. Sometimes a series of images would trigger a five minute discussion where students would construct meaning together, like when they developed an understanding (without my input) that the people the man met along the way were “flashing back,” telling their immigration stories. At first glance, it looks like they are both of his hands. Some predicted then that she was not going with him. During one of the discussions, one student started talking about his uncle from Italy who came over, and how hard it was for him. Then another student shared some stories about her relatives from the Ukraine, and another talked about her family members from Puerto Rico. This was one of the most meaningful discussions, and triggered by the book and their associations, not by prompts from me.
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