Case Study Outline

General Information

• Pseudonym: Deanna
• Student at Cedar Shoals High School
• 15 year-old African American female
• In Mr. Ginsberg's 9th Grade Collaborative English class
• Brief overview of personality in the classroom
• Has a loud personality when conversing with peers
• Can come off as rude or aggressive when in a situation she is not happy with
• Pull examples from classroom observations
• Polite and respectful when conversing with "authority-figures" and is thoughtful with responses 
• Pull examples from classroom observations
• pull examples from interviews
• Brief overview of family background
• religious background
• Note to self--obtain more information when possible
• survey
• questions

Literacy Background and Current Literacy Practices

• Observations on Reading Behaviors
• discuss reading selections
• discuss in-school vs. out-of-school reading practices
• pull examples from interviews
• discuss reading comprehension
• can fill out a plot diagram with ease
• does not like reading out loud
• references from "Adolescent Literacy: Myths & Realities"
• pull examples from student work
• Observations on Writing Behaviors
• discuss her opinion of herself as a writer
• discuss her idea of "real" writing
• example essay
• does not follow five paragraph model
• can find focus and expand on her idea
• tends to be repetitive 
• discuss struggle to use what the school considers "Standard English"
• uses slang/incorrect grammar/"text talk" 
• writes how she talks
• references from Nieto's "Culture and Learning"

Revelations and Recommendations

• discuss role of literacy in student's life (in-school and out-of-school)
• discuss what she considers her favorite classes
• what does she like/dislike about class 
• what writing and reading occur in each class
• discuss what she considers her least favorite classes
• what does she like/dislike about class
• what writing and reading occur in each class
• freedom in classroom vs. structure
• options on how to better help Deanna with writing practices
• references from "Writing Conferences"
• references from Fletcher's "Craft Lessons" 
• discuss book options
• YA literature vs. canonical literature

Lingering Questions

• How can I better teach the writing process to someone who has the creativity but has not mastered the structure? 
• Explore reading comprehension and how it affects being able to put words onto paper.
• How do you grade writing such as this? 
• references from Spandel's "Creating a Vision"