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Updating the High School Literary Canon

Learning Module

Abstract

This learning module aims to bring high school ELA students into a community of practice that seeks to adapt and update the literary canon taught in high schools. It seeks to legitimize the reluctance students have had finding relevance in assigned texts and acknowledge their place in the continuous conversation that is updating the canon. The module makes use of Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner’s work in communities of practice, making the end product, a canon proposal, a social process from beginning to end. The module also embraces Vygotsky’s argument that learners cannot detach emotions from learning, and thus seeks to provide positive reading experiences to learners, many of whom may have more negative opinions of reading in school and even reading in general.

Keywords

Literature, ELA, genre, canon, community of practice

Overview: Expanding the High School Literary Canon

In the two decades I have been teaching English/language arts (ELA), I have seen a growing reluctance among students to engage with assigned texts, many of which hold little relevance, at least on the surface, to 21st century students. And while the course I teach is called "British and WORLD Literature" (emphasis mine), there are few works that were not written by English men, and none were written after the end of the first World War. These texts vary little from what was assigned when I was in high school, or even when my parents were in high school. Collectively, these texts and the others taught in high schools around the country are known as the literary canon: "that set of authors and works generally included in basic...courses and textbooks, and those ordinarily discussed in standard volumes of literary history, bibliography, or criticism" (Lauter, 1983, p. 435). The canon as we know it was developed starting in the 1920s, by "for the most part, college-educated, white men of Anglo-Saxon or northern European origins" (p. 442). The homogeneous makeup of this unofficial cohort led to a canon that was similarly monolithic; works by people of color and white women were rare in anthologies in the first half of the 20th century, if present at all. Yet because this canon "encodes a set of social norms and values" (p.435), it also conveys not just what is important but who is important. It is "a means by which culture validates social power" (p.435).

We can see this in E.D. Hirsch's work to create a "cultural literacy," a phrase coined by Hirsch in the late 1980s, meaning "when you know what an average member of that culture would be expected to know, which is usually assumed and often unstated” (What is cultural literacy, n.d.). His compilation of what constituted an American cultural literacy, published in his book Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, reflected a culture that was as uniform as the literary canon by which he was likely inspired. Yes, even shortly after its publication, critics noted that Hirsch's list smacked of "elitism" (Riley, 2020).

The foundation of the literary canon on which Hirsch, in part, built his list, was unlikely exclusive to mostly white men for malicious reasons, although considering racial segregation laws that lasted far beyond the 1920s, it is impossible to say that there was no purposeful exclusion of authors of color. However, what we can more likely infer about the members of what Lauter calls the "professoriat" (1983, p. 442) that developed the canon is that it was a group of people who came together for the purpose of developing American literature college courses, really for the first time. In essence, this professoriat was what Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner would call a community of practice. Certainly they demonstrate the three characteristics necessary for one: domain, community, and practice (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015). They shared a domain of interest - literature, and more specifically, the teaching of literature. Lauter asserts that they were all "devoted" (1983, p.446) to this endeavor, and through organizations such as the Modern Language Association, these men engaged and shared ideas with one another. These ideas evolved into anthologies of literature that continued to be revisited and revised, evidence of a shared dedication to improvement. 

It is only fitting that my students continue along in this community of practice, and this unit aims to offer students the opportunity to embrace their shared frustration with existing canon, along with their desire to find academic success in a required ELA course, and engage with one another to address the problems they see in the existing literary canon. Not only will this offer my students autonomy and ownership in what they do and what they read later on in the course, success in this unit supports the Wenger-Trayners' assertion that "learning does not rest with the individual but is a social process that is situated in a cultural and historical context" (Farnsworth, et al, 2016). By working together to revise and add to the traditional literary canon, my students will be sharing their cultural and personal knowledge with one another, allowing for greater diversity within the canon, and exposing the students to more than they might ever have considered all by themselves.

This module was created with the intent to implement in the fall semester of 2021 as a modification of the existing course. In order to offer students appropriate time, each update is intended to take a minimum of 3 school days, although each instructor may need to adjust that timeline in the best interest of students.

Work icon image from Eli Digital Creative on Pixabay

Intended Outcomes and Expectations

For the Learner

Required Materials

  • A computer (desktop or laptop) with Microsoft Office 365 capabilities. If you do not have Office 365 on your computer, please contact your advisor to download it for free.
  • A working internet connection

Optional Materials

  • Printer (you're not required to print anything in this course, but you may find that printing some items are helpful)
  • Headsets or ear buds (depending on your needs, having a headset may allow you to better focus on the videos)

Tasks

  • Complete the Reader's Survey. This is your "pre-assessment" for the unit.
  • Complete each lesson, watching all videos, downloading any documents, and accessing the supplemental reading materials.
  • Submit your own, original discussion post for the discussion requests.
  • Comment on at least two classmates' discussion posts for each lesson.
  • Return to the different discussions regularly to engage with your peers, answer questions, and address comments.
  • Complete a proposal of literature to add to the literary canon.
  • Complete peer reviews for two of your classmates' literary canon proposals. These drafts will be assigned to you within the course lessons.
  • Complete a post-peer revision of your proposal, along with a self-review, and submit for approval.
  • Complete a review for each of your peer reviewers.

Expectations

  • Discussion posts are expected to be a minimum of 100 words in length. They must address the question(s) in the prompt (depending on options) and offer appropriate elaboration and details. Posts may include school-appropriate images, videos, etc.
  • Any images, videos, etc., should be appropriately cited. Students may use either APA or MLA format, as long as they are consistent throughout a post. Citations may be created with the help of websites like the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), Scribbr, using software like Zotero or at citation generating websites such as Citation Machine.
  • Comments on classmates' posts are expected to be a minimum of 50 words in length.
  • Comments are expected to be helpful, respectful, and specific. Students are encouraged to give praise but elaborate on it. Additionally, ask questions for clarification or offer suggestions to help the original poster (OP) guidance or new insight. If students disagree, they are expected to do so civilly, explain the disagreement, and remember that the disagreement is with an idea, not the person. 
  • If you need help with discussion posts or comments, check out this three-part playlist on YouTube; it has some excellent advice.
  • Dropbox submissions should meet the objectives spelled out in the appropriate rubric by the time final drafts are submitted. Students will have the opportunity to complete a review using this rubric before their submission.
  • Peer reviews will follow a rubric. The purpose of a peer review is to offer specific, constructive feedback to help the author improve. While it's tempting to offer praise like "good job," be prepared to offer suggestions for how the author can clarify or support their argument and improve their overall writing. When you do offer praise, be specific in that, too.
  • This course was designed with students' busy schedules in mind, so there is flexibility for much of it. However, remember that submission of major works and subsequent peer reviews are time sensitive, so be considerate of your classmates' time and efforts.

Timeline

  • DATE A: this unit starts (per the Class Plan); students should begin participating in the discussions
  • DATE B: literary canon expansion proposal draft is scheduled due
  • DATE C: proposal draft locking date
  • DATE D: peer reviews (2) are scheduled due
  • DATE E: peer reviews locking date
  • DATE F: proposal revision/final draft is scheduled due
  • DATE G: self review and reviewer reviews are scheduled due
  • DATE H: proposal final draft, self review, and reviewer reviews locking date

This timeline may overlap with other course work; students are encouraged to follow the Class Plan and to contact their teacher should they need assistance in modifying their schedule.

Assignment

Now it's time to complete the Reader's Survey. Please answer all the questions honestly and completely so that we can use the information to help you succeed in this unit and this course.

For the Instructor

This unit is intended for students in the 12th grade level of ELA, which is often a course in British and World literature, although it could be scaffolded for students from ninth grade up. Most high schools in the United States require four years of ELA for graduation, and students are expected to demonstrate competency via the Common Core State Standards, or state-specific standards for ELA.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) addressed throughout the unit:

While this unit stems from the literary canon, the CCSS to be addressed are actually some of the writing standards. Certainly students might be expected to have some concept of the various reading literature CCSS to have a functional knowledge of the literary canon itself, but I do not expect them to demonstrate knowledge or mastery specifically within this unit. Further, because of the nature of the CCSS for ELA, most of the writing standards are addressed in some form or another, so instead of listing them all here, I would like to note the most relevant ones:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2.B: Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. 

The module focuses on these three because state assessment data indicates students struggle to support their arguments due to lack of elaboration. In order to make the most of this community of practice, something many high school students may be unfamliar with, especially online, their ability to elaborate, support claims, and take feedback into account will be vital.

Additionally, while it's important for students to meet state standards, overall they find this information unimportant; their concern is what they'll be doing. Thus, lesson objectives for students are stated as action items based on Bloom's Taxonomy.

In this introductory update, students are presented with the unit expectations and the tasks they'll be completing throughout the unit. It culminates with the Reader's Survey, which begins the self-reflective process for students and offers me some insight into everyone's feelings about reading/literature. Instructors using learning management systems (LMS) that have surveys available may find it easer to implement the questions within their respective LMS and assign a gradebook item to it. Instructors who need to adapt the survey in a platform like Google Forms should recognize that asking for a Student ID number (SID) is FERPA-compliant and avoids requiring students to use deadnames that might appear on rosters.

The following rubric will be part of the gradebook as a single item, taking into account the three discussion posts for this unit. There are both quantitative and qualitative elements that provide guidance for students. Because I intend for the discussions to be available throughout the term to be determined if that term is a quarter or full semester), students may go back and revise/update to improve, based on this feedback and the feedback of others. It purposely does not include the traditional rubric elements of conventions and grammar because these discussion prompts are intended to "use writing a a way to think through a problem" (Smagorinsky, 2013), and to expect "proper" or "formal" grammatical use in a discussion would be antithetical to Vygotsky's ideas about the importance of "exploratory speech" in which "thinking itself may undergo change" (Smagorinsky, 2013).

Expanding the Literary Canon Discussion Rubric

Additionally, the following rubric can be used to offer quantitative assessment for participating in all the steps in the proposal process. It may be updated throughout the process or at the end of the unit.

Expanding the Literary Canon Participation Rubric

This learning module, while published in CG Scholar, was created with the intent to be executed within the D2L/Brightspace platform in a mostly asynchronous course, so vocabulary and instructions assume for the protocols allowed within that particular LMS. Instructors using a different LMS, or those adapting this for a brick and mortar setting, will want to adjust as necessary.

A timeline template is provided for students that can be adapted and modified as the instructor needs. This allows students to plan ahead to balance all course work and personal obligations.

"Reading is FUNdamental"

For the Learner

Lesson Objective: You'll understand that reading is often done for pleasure, not for school work, and you'll tell your classmates about the best thing you've ever read. 

"What's your favorite book?" For some people, this is an easy question. For others, it's a struggle. Not everyone loves to read, especially when a great deal of reading is assigned work for school. Some people, like the Davis Tong, the YouTuber in the video below, argue that assigning reading in school ruins reading for fun for many people:

Media embedded November 21, 2020

(Tong, D. (2019, April 26). How to read more books for fun | ~3 books a month | [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beoxVN38ZXw)

Today, we're going to take some time to filter out all those required readings and think about a time when we were able to sit, read, and enjoy the words and pictures on the page, and really enjoy reading. After all, reading is intended to be enjoyable as well as informational!

Watch this video from author John Green; he's clearly passionate about all the books he talks about. Most of them are not ones you'd find on any English teacher's list; that's actually my favorite thing about this list.

Media embedded November 18, 2020

(vlogbrothers. (2014, February 18). 18 great books you probably haven’t read [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgDwaJ0WCVE)

What a variety of book titles, right? Did one catch your attention? Maybe one title reminded you of something you have interest in.

Further reading material: 

Assignment

Discussion: You have two options for this discussion.

It's time to respond to John Green's challenge.

  1. Tell us about the best book or books that you've ever read. Not just for school - just ever.
  2. Create a John Green-esque video that tells us about the best book or books you've ever read and share it here (it does NOT need to be 18...4 is probably a good maximum). 

Give each book title and author's name(s), and then tell us a little about the book, how you came to read it, and why you think it qualifiies for a "best" rating/list. Avoid spoilers as much as possible (as applicable, of course). If you've got images or Goodreads/author website links, feel free to share those, too.

Please note - this is not asking you about the best book you've read for a class. This is the best book(s) you've ever read. It can be a book you read in school, but it doesn't need to be. It can be any book, about anything, that you read at any time. It can be fiction or non-fiction. It can be a comic book, or a board book, or a thousand-page book. It can be a book of poetry; heck it can be a book that reads like stereo instructions.

Note. Lydia looks through Adam and Barbara Maitland's copy of Handbook for the Recently Deceased in the film Beetlejuice (Burton, 1988)

The important thing about it is that you enjoyed reading it.

Be sure to come back to the post frequently to engage with your peers' comments. Discussion posts are expected to be a minimum of 100 words in length and need to address all questions in the prompt as well as provide elaboration and details as necessary.

Response: Comment on at least two classmates' threads, asking clarifiying questions, offering additional observation in agreement or a contrasting perspective. For this discussion, you may want to ask a little more about the book if it piques your interest; you could also suggest similar books if you're familiar with the one discussed. Feel free to respond to other classmates' comments as well. Be sure to come back to the post frequently to engage with your peers' comments and responses. Comments on posts are expected to be a minimum of 50 words in length.

For the Instructor

After students complete their reading survey, which measures, among other things, students' attitudes toward literature and reading in general, it is important to present information that may help direct and, if necessary, redirect, students toward a positive reading experience and memory. Vygotsky noted that we cannot separate our emotions from our thinking (Smagorinsky, 2013); students who have negative experiences with reading assignments will learn to think negatively about reading. In order for all students to join this community of practice, that is, to share the domain of interest to solve the problem of what to add to the literary canon, effort will need to be made to reshape thinking toward literature and reading.

Struggling and reluctant students should be invited to synchronous sessions to continue engaging with reading in a safe and affirming space; students who identify positively to reading may be encouraged to attend as well, not to be held up as models of what other students "should" behave like - this would result in more negative identification - but instead to acknowledge and legitimize reluctant students' "provisional" (Farnsworth, et al, 2016) membership in the community being built. Hopefully, reluctance gives way to enthusiasm.

The instructor can and should participate in discussions, asking questions and using tentative language to draw out specific details from students as needed. Reluctant and struggling readers especially may benefit from being encouraged to elaborate and refine their thinking. For this first discussion, the instructor should also make their own post with a non-canonical favorite book to acknowledge a power balance among instructor and students in solving the problem of the literary canon.

What is Genre?

For the Learner

Lesson Objective: You'll define literary genre and either explain the genre(s) you think your "best book" from the previous lesson falls into OR tell your classmates about a genre you enjoy participating in (literature or otherwise).

What do all the books on John Green's list of 18 books you probably haven't read but he thinks you should read have in common? Not much, except that they all made it onto John Green's list of 18 books you probably haven't read but he thinks you should read.

That fact alone makes these 18 books a genre of literature. It's a very, VERY specific genre, but a genre nonetheless.

What exactly IS a genre of literature? I'm glad you asked!

Media embedded November 18, 2020

(Oregon State University - School of Writing, Literature and Film. (2020, February 12). “What is a genre?”: A literary guide for English students and teachers [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go0Mto2fOXY)

Britannica defines genre thus:

Genre, (French: “kind” or “sort”) a distinctive type or category of literary composition, such as the epic, tragedy, comedy, novel, and short story. (Genre | Literature, n.d.)

Understanding genre takes some effort, because, as Britannnica notes, categories can be broken down, and new genres can arise. For example, fiction is a genre. But within fiction, we have subgenres like Romantic fiction, and among Romantic fiction we have even more specific subgenres, such as Gothic literature.

Making things even more complex is the many ways we can find similarities among texts to determine genre. You're probably most famliar with the different literary periods and movements that you've studied in your language arts classes, including Romanticism, Naturalism, and Modernism:

Note: Literary periods timeline. Reprinted from The Literature Network, n.d, http://www.online-literature.com/periods/timeline.php#. Copyright 2011 Jalic, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

Nothing we read falls into just one genre. In the image above, Walt Whitman is considered one of the American Romanticists, yet he might also be considered a Naturalist or a Transcendentalist. And that doesn't even take into account the fact that he wrote poetry, its own genre! 

This document from a school district in California offers an extensive (but very much NOT exhaustive) list of several genres you have likely been exposed:

Literary Genres List (Fulsom Cordova Unified School District, n.d.)

Use this list as a guide, but remember - in the end, if you can categorize it, you can determine the genre!

Further reading:

Assignment

Discussion: You have two options for this discussion.

  1. Go back to your previous "best book(s) ever" discussion post and explain what genre(s) your book(s) fall into. These can be existing genres, like the ones on the list you downloaded, or it can be a genre you aren't sure "officially" exists (like "books written by left-handed people born in Washington State) but you think the book falls under.
  2. Explain/describe a genre of writing you enjoy. Think about information and titles you are drawn to, not just in the sphere of "books" - think drama, music, television, film, and even social media. What pattern(s) do these interests share? Again this genre can be existing, or it can be one you determine based on the similiarities among the works you enjoy.

Be sure to come back to the post frequently to engage with your peers' comments. Discussion posts are expected to be a minimum of 100 words in length and need to address all questions in the prompt as well as provide elaboration and details as necessary.

Response: Comment on at least two classmates' threads, asking clarifiying questions, offering additional observation in agreement or a contrasting perspective. For this discussion, you may want to suggest additional genres the book(s) that the OP mentioned may fall under, if they chose the first option. If they chose the second option, you may have some titles - books or other media - that you could suggest. Feel free to respond to other classmates' comments as well. Be sure to come back to the post frequently to engage with your peers' comments and responses. Comments on posts are expected to be a minimum of 50 words in length.

For the Instructor

Because many high school ELA courses present literature by genre, it's important for students to understand the broad strokes and the complexities of this categorization. While genre is not specifically noted within the CCSS for ELA Literature, the ability to draw inferences often relies on students' understanding of the genre(s) into which a work is classified. Additionally, the proposal the students will write will include an expectation of genre classification for the texts they select.

Small group sessions for struggling and reluctant readers may be required; instructors may take a reading selection volunteered by students to help them determine genre based on how the students themselves describe the book and what other books might fall within the same category. It is important that instructors acknowledge more canonical genres, such as the ones mentioned in the lesson, and ones that are more specific subgenres that might feel more "made up" to students.

The instructor may also offer students the opportunity to classify familiar books into their respective genres if they need such scaffolding.

The instructor can and should participate in discussions, asking questions and using tentative language to draw out specific details from students as needed. Reluctant and struggling readers especially may benefit from being encouraged to elaborate and refine their thinking. 

What is Canon?

For the Learner

Lesson Objective: You'll define canon in terms of literature and explain your relationship with the literary canon assigned/presented in schools.

Now that we've defined genre and identified some of the genres/sub-genres, it's time to look at everything commonly assigned and read in those respective genres: the literary canon.

To understand what a canon is, it's best to start with a different question: why does everyone seem to read the same books in high school, no matter where they live?

Media embedded November 18, 2020

(Ellis, L., & Meehan, A. (2018, September 4). Why did they make me read this in high school? (Feat. Lindsay Ellis) [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvdQ2XSGRxk)

At its most basic definition, the "canon" of literature is the collection of texts that are deemed "important" or "valuable," thus becoming commonly assigned as reading material in schools. Shakespeare's Hamlet, Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and Poe's "The Raven" are all considered part of the literary canon for high schools in the United States.

Of course, what belongs in the canon is continually debated and argued among scholars and high schoolers alike. 

Book Riot contributor Josh Corman defends the canon by suggesting that it's not something that should be ever-changing but evolving as part of a "conversation":

Maybe there are some conversation-dominating critics or academics who see the canon this way, and that’s why it’s gotten such a bad rap, but I would argue that those folks have miscast the canon as a dictate, when it’s really a conversation, a window into what the culture has valued and how that has changed – or not- over time. It’s an exercise in description, rather than prescription, a chance to work out our generation’s own ideological and intellectual place in relation to those who have read before us and those who will read after us. (Corman, 2013) 

This idea of the canon being an ongoing conversation is important, since it means many voices and levels of expertise are a part of the evolution that the canon has seen over the years.

Further reading material:

Assignment

Discussion: You have multiple options for this discussion. Select at least one, but you may find that you address more than one of the prompts. This is perfectly acceptable and totally encouraged, since the ideas overlap a little.

  1. Discuss your own experience with the literary canon to which you've been exposed in your English classes. Did you enjoy the works you were assigned (maybe there were some you liked and some you didn't)? Why/why not? How did this affect your growth as a reader/learner of English/literature?
  2. Support the use of the literary canon in schools. What is the intent behind installing a canon, and what benefits does it have? What are some canonical books you've been assigned that you enjoyed? Additionally, what are some ways to enhance the existing canon with various assessment/assignment opportunities outside of writing the traditional paper?
  3. Was there a moment for you when reading ceased to be enjoyable (or went from being more enjoyable than not to the other way around) because of the canon that was assigned in your school(s)? Explain that shift. When was it? What was the tipping point? Was it an assignment or something that was said that made the difference? What do you wish your district/school/teachers did differently to make it less of a "chore"? 
  4. Considering that Spanish classes teach Spanish, French classes teach French, and English classes teach...literature, support the idea that English classes focus too much on the literary canon (and literature in general, maybe) and not enough of other elements of the English language. Be sure to suggest what a "better" high school English class might look like.

NOTE: some of these prompts may bring up some negative memories or feelings about English/language arts class and school in general; those are valid memories and feelings. That said, I encourage you to communicate/include those memories more objectively, in accordance with the prompt(s) you address instead of simply using this platform to complain about someone or some thing (that's not what this forum is for).

Be sure to come back to the post frequently to engage with your peers' comments. Discussion posts are expected to be a minimum of 100 words in length and need to address all questions in the prompt as well as provide elaboration and details as necessary.

Response: Comment on at least two classmates' threads, asking clarifiying questions, offering additional observation in agreement or a contrasting perspective. This is the time to acknowledge that everyone has a different relationship with the literary canon of the US depending on their own background and personal cultural identity, so keep that in mind when reading and responding. Feel free to respond to other classmates' comments as well. Be sure to come back to the post frequently to engage with your peers' comments and responses. Comments on posts are expected to be a minimum of 50 words in length.

For the Instructor

Hopefully during their examination of genre, students will begin to understand that specific works within genres are more commonly taught. This lessons seeks to provide students an explanation that many students ask their ELA teachers - "why do we read this?" Further, it acknowledges the concern many reluctant and struggling students bring up: there is a lack of diverse works within the canon. This will be an important element to convey via asynchronous and synchronous means to reluctant students especially, as the canon itself is more likely to have affected their feelings toward reading in general.

Small group synchronous sessions may be necessary to help students refine their comprehension of the literary canon and determine their own relationship (positive or negative) with it. Larger group sessions may offer opportunities for all students to acknowledge their part in the community of learners who were assigned canonical works.

The instructor can and should participate in discussions, asking questions and using tentative language to draw out specific details from students as needed. Reluctant and struggling readers especially may benefit from being encouraged to elaborate and refine their thinking. This is especially important for this discussion assignment, in which students may run the risk of using their posts to "vent" rather than discuss and reflect.

Expanding the Canon

For the Learner

Lesson Objective: You'll create a proposal to add at least five works to the literary canon, giving appropriate support and placement, and identifying genre(s).

Chances are, you've been assigned to read something for an English class and thought "there has to be something better than this." And chances are, while there may not be something better, there certainly is an alternative option out there somewhere!

So, let's look for those alternatives, and expand the literary canon ourselves.

Media embedded November 21, 2020

(adlit. (2016, December 12). Expanding the literary canon [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHgzEDFRXJY)

  • A brief note about Charles Dickens, whom the author in the video above mentioned: the works we know as novels today were originally published in installments by popular periodicals at the time. The same is true for many Victorian authors; their works were highly commercialized and sought after (which is why many of those novels have so many chapters - the authors were often paid by word or chapter). We might think of Dickens as important literary canon today, but in the 1800s, he was just someone who wrote what the masses wanted to read.

As we saw in our last discussion, there was a small cohort of people a century ago who determine the literary canon for American schools. Little by little that has adjusted, but as the author in the video above noted, there is always opportunity for more adjustment to be made.

Further reading:

Expanding the Canon (Zapata, et al, 2018)

 

Assignment

It's time to propose an update to the literary canon. Taking what you have learned about the existing canon and literary genres, and taking into account what you might wish you'd been exposed to in your own courses, create a list of texts that you think can and should be added to the literary canon of high school ELA courses.

(trekkifemminist, 2019)

Proposal Requirements:

  • Include at least five (5) texts for this list. At least one needs to be a longer text (drama/play, novella, novel, or non-fiction book). The others can be a combination of longer texts, short stories, collections/anthology of short stories, poems, collections/anthologies of poetry, etc.
  • Support your assertion. Why do these five (or more) texts belong in the high school canon? You may use evidence from the sources provided in this unit; you are encouraged to find additional resources that support your argument as well.
  • It's been argued that we can't replace the existing canon; we can only add to it. However, considering any high school ELA course has a mere 180 days to present its material, something has to give. For each proposed text, suggest the appropriate grade level to include it (they do not have to go together as a "unit," although that's an option). Suggest what existing texts in that course (use your own experience as a guide) these proposed texts could (or should) replace, OR suggest complementary texts that are already offered in these courses.
  • Together, these five (or more) text should reflect some sort of genre or genres. Assign and explain the genre(s); justfiy your assignation. While the genres noted may be exisiting genres such as "fiction" or "post-Modernism," you may assign non-canonical genres as well (if we're expanding the canon, we might as well expand what qualifies as a literary genre, right?), so long as you support this with evidence and explanation.
  • Include the full titles and authors' names of all works. As a reminder longer texts are noted in italics, while shorter texts use quotation marks.
  • Include appropriate citations for any quotations or use of sources within your proposal, and include at the end a references/bibliography section. You may use MLA or APA format, as long as the format used is the most current version and consistent throughout. Citations/references may be created with the help of websites like the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), Scribbr, using software like Zotero or at citation generating websites such as Citation Machine.

You are expected to take this proposal seriously; imagine that it will ultimately be presented to the board for approval. That doesn't mean that the texts you choose can't be fun and filled with variety, so I encourage you to really think about the "fun" factor in the learning (and reading) process!

Here is the rubric on which your final draft will be scored. Your peer reviews will also use a version of this rubric. Use it as a guide while writing your proposal.

Expanding the Literary Canon Final Draft Rubric

 

For the Instructor

For this update and the next, students are not asked to submit a post to the discussion forum. While there are some limitations within the D2L/Brightspace platform that informs this decision, adherence to FERPA regulations is of greater concern here. By having students submit both their proposals and peer reviews to individual dropboxes, the instructor can ensure that reviews and feedback will be anonymous, private, and FERPA-compliant. Students are assigned a unique "ORG ID" within D2L/Brightspace that can be used as identification of the authors and peer reviewers. Assigning dropboxes also provides the teacher an opportunity to hold interventions for students who miss their deadlines. This does take additional effort on the instructor's part; it is recommended that the instructor have a spreadsheet of student names and ORG IDs before the start of this learning module in order to easily and swiftly assign peer reviewers as proposal submissions some in.

The final draft rubric is offered for students in this update for full transparency. 

Since high school students are expected to spend a state-determined amount of "seat time" for attendance each day, the instructor should schedule work days on the class calendar to offer students the time to complete work.

Additionally, synchronous sessions should be scheduled for both small and large groups. Small group sessions can provide support for struggling students, while larger groups can function as workshops for idea sharing and research methods. Reluctant readers should be encouraged to attend to continue feeling less like provisional members of the community; their examples may prove the most valuable to both advanced students, who often find comfort with the literary canon, and for struggling students, who may worry their ideas won't meet high school rigor expectations. Finally, the instructor will want to offer support for all students in appropriate citation and formatting.

 

 

Peer Review

For the Learner

Lesson Objective: You'll complete a peer review for at least two of your classmates, making specific, critical comments and offering supportive feedback. You'll use a rubric to guide your comments; you'll use Microsoft Word tracking changes to add comments to your peers' documents.

Your proposal draft is in. Now it's time to help one another out by completing your reviews of one another's proposals. This is an important step - sharing our work with others and collaborating on solving a problem - in this case, the problem is expanding the literary canon - is vital to really comprehending the complexity in anything worth learning. I encourage you to take your role as peer reviewer seriously; we are all in this process to learn as much as possible!

Each student will complete two anonymous peer reviews. You won't know whose proposal you are reviewing, and you won't know who reviews your proposal.

Use this rubric for each peer review:

Expanding the Literary Canon Peer Review Rubric

Follow the instructions that are in the gray area on the top of the rubric. Use the Tracking Changes feature in Word to give annotated feedback on the reviews. Make no fewer than eight annotations using the code noted in the rubric. Highlight the are you want to discuss (try to highlight phrases or sentences), and make a comment that will help the author make any necessary revisions. Focus specifically on the criteria you mark with a 2 or less on the rubric, but it's also helpful to mention those elements you think the author is strong in, too.

Remember, your feedback (comments/annotations) should be specific and helpful. You can ask a clarfiying question, make a suggestion, etc. Simply saying "this is good" is neither specific nor helpful, even though it's "nice." If you're not sure how to structure feedback, you can check out the information available here and here. You can also attend tutoring sessions for more specific guidance.

Completing a peer review takes time and effort. Your classmates have taken great care to complete proposals, and now it's time to give that same care and attention to your review. Read each proposal at least once before you start making annotations and comments. Expect to spend no fewer than 30 minutes per proposal, although you may find that an appropriate review takes more than that and requires you to come back to it at different tim

When you have completed your peer reviews, submit them to the appropriate dropbox.

 

For the Instructor

In preparation for this step, the instructor should prepare dropboxes into which the documents for review can be uploaded to each individual student/peer reviewer to access. This should only be done one the instructor has verified that all information that could identify a student is removed from the document in favor of the ORG ID. Students will retrieve documents and submit completed reviews to this dropbox.

Once the reviews are submitted, the instructor will need to release the them to the original authors for revision.

Students should have at least a week to complete these peer reviews. This allows for busy student schedules and for consultation with the instructor at tutoring sessions. Students should be encouraged to spend no fewer 30 minutes on each review.

In addition to tutoring sessions for students to seek out assistance in giving feedback (again, steps should be taken to ensure anonymity), instructors will want to schedule sessions for students who need assistance in using Microsoft Excel or Tracking Changes in Microsoft Word.

Revision and Publication

For the Learner

Lesson Objective: You'll use the peer reviews to revise your canon proposal before submitting to the dropbox. Then you'll complete a self-review/reflection and give your peer reviewers feedback.

Revise

Now it's time for a most important step in the process - editing and revising. This is why we have the peer review process. Just as you hope the people whose proposals you reviewed take your feedback into account, those who reviewed your proposal expect you to incorporate theirs (as appropriate).

Look through the annotations made throughout your document, and through the comments made in the rubric. Where are your areas of strength? Where are some areas that have noted weaknesses? What are some suggestions for strengthening and clarifying your argument? Make the necessary adjustments and corrections to your assignment.

Then, and I cannot stress this step enough, put down your proposal and walk away from it for at least 24 hours. Do something else - anything else - besides looking at or even thinking about the proposal. Allow yourself to (almost) forget that you're writing one.

Then 24 or more hours later, come back to it. Hopefully, the separations has allowed your brain to avoid glossing over proofreading errors that you may have missed because you know what you mean, so you look for that instead of what it actually there.

Submit for Publication

When you've completed your revisions, submit your final draft to the appropriate dropbox. Check your updates regularly to see if any other revisions are requested by your teacher. 

If there are revision requests, take care of them, attending a tutoring session or otherwise contacting your teacher as necessary, and resubmit.

Publish

Discussion: When your final draft is approved for publication, post it here in a final discussion post.

  • ​Please save/export your proposal as a PDF, and include your first/preferred name and last initial at the top of your document before posting.

Additionally, explain how this process helped you better understand the concept of genre, the literary canon, and how collaborating with your classmates allowed you to work toward solving a problem so many students see in that canon.

Be sure to come back to the post frequently to engage with your peers' comments. Discussion posts are expected to be a minimum of 100 words in length and need to address all questions in the prompt as well as provide elaboration and details as necessary.

Response: Comment on at least two classmates' threads, asking clarifiying questions, offering additional observation in agreement or a contrasting perspective. This is the time to celebratgive praise for your classmates' efforts in addition to all of that! Be sure to come back to the post frequently to engage with your peers' comments and responses. Comments on posts are expected to be a minimum of 50 words in length.

Reflect

You've submitted your final draft - you're almost finished! Two small reflection assignments are left.

(Crushed it meme, n.d.)

Complete this self-review of your work, using this rubric that will look similar to the one you used for your peer reviews. This is, in some ways, you grading your own work; it includes a justification of this "self grade" rather than an annotation requirement.

Expanding the Literary Canon Self Review Rubric

Finally, complete a review of your peer reviewers, using the rubric below. This review gives them feedback about how they can improve in giving feedback. Did you find the feedback helpful? Was it submitted in enough time for you to make revisions? Was there something you would have liked to see in the peer review that you didn't?

Expanding the Literary Canon Post-Peer Review Rubric

Submit each of these review assignments to their appropriate dropbox.

For the Instructor

The following rubric should be attached to the proposal final draft dropbox to score the final drafts and to notify students of any further revisions necessary or for publication approval. 

Expanding the Literary Canon Final Draft Rubric

Ultimately, there is no public forum for final, published drafts within the D2L/Brightspace platform, so once students submit their final drafts to their respective dropboxes, the student participation process is essentially complete. Students will add their approved proposals to the final discussion post, and there will be an opportunity for students to view one anothers' works.

This learning module creates an opportunity to continue the examination of an expanded canon, as students could then take these proposals and create a sort of pacing guide for a semester-long literature course, using the works listed in their classmates proposals develop a diverse selection of genres. If both this existing module and this suggested one were to be implemented in the fall semester of a school year, the students may then have the opportunity to examine those exact texts in the spring term. This, of course, would be dependent on instructor and text availabilty.

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