Between Bitter & Sweet: Controversial Texts

TORDA'S SPRING 2023 TEACHING SITE

Between Bitter & Sweet: Controversial Texts

12/5/2022

Our Test Class for the Week: I'm returning to Brockton High, the single largest high school east of the Mississippi that is not in New York or New Jersey. You can check out the information about the high school in general from that post.

I would love to see this novel taught in a College Prep 12th grade class. Their are certain elements of this novel about young adults that I think will resonate with seniors in college (the main characters are that age or a little older) and, also, the subject matter needs a class of more mature students to manage.

Your Prompt: For this prompt, I have a very specific question for you, a two parter. Question 1: what would you do in a classroom, what assignments, structures, class activities, assessments, etc would you design to help your students be better readers of other texts they might encounter in school and beyond? Question 2: What would you do, assignments, structures, etc. to help students develop a meaningful thematic relationship with this specific text, the story and its characters.

You can privilege answering one or the other of the two parts, but I would appreciate it if you at least in passing address both parts of the prompt.

30 Comments

Megan Moore

12/5/2022 04:26:30 pm

I think the two most important close reading skills to teach high schoolers are character and theme analysis. For character analysis, I love the idea of assigning character profiles. I would begin by asking students to write profiles of themselves. What are their likes, dislikes, goals, character traits, weaknesses, etc.? Once they have completed this assignment, I would ask students to write a profile of a character of their choosing from whatever novel we are reading. Finally, they would compare their profile to that of the character. How are they similar or different? Do they relate to the character, and if so, why? I think that activities like this help students to view characters as more complex people and can help students relate to the literature they're reading.
As far as theme analysis, I think that good old-fashioned theme-tracking sheets can be useful. They help students think of broad themes and find evidence to support their claims. These reference sheets are also very helpful for organizing ideas that can be revisited in class discussions and broader projects.
As far as "Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet," I think an assignment that would get students to connect with this text would be having the final project revolve around comparing their life experiences to that of a character in the novel. This could be completed through an essay, presentation, or other creative project of the student's choosing. I would introduce this prompt at the beginning of the unit so that students could have the entire unit to form their ideas. Students would be required to complete a journal entry at least one paragraph long for each chapter discussing how they do or do not relate to the main characters. I hope that this will be a more interesting and open-ended way for the diverse student population of Brockton High to find an element of the novel that resonates with them specifically.

Meaghan Cook

12/5/2022 05:48:15 pm

Hi Megan,

I definitely agree that character and theme are crucial to understanding a novel as a whole. I think especially in the case of Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet, the characters compliment and contrast each other in interesting ways. I think that having your students compare their own experience is a great way to be sure they’re truly understanding the characters and their storylines. I think it would be especially interesting to see the papers from the students who connected with Pen’s character, especially given how open she is about her struggles with mental health. I’m sure that given the diversity of Brockton High’s student body, there may be more than one student who knows someone who is undocumented, or is possibly undocumented themselves. Making that connection to this sort of story may offer the students a validation that they are not alone.

Nicole Shepard

12/5/2022 07:01:31 pm

Hi Megan!

I think you have a great approach to this novel by focusing close reading skills on character and theme analysis. The character assignment profiles sound really engaging and a great way to have your students really connect with characters in the story. Would you ever consider having your students share their character profiles with the class? I also liked your idea for a final project for this book. Since there are so many different characters in this novel, your students would have a variety of choices in who they want to compare their life experiences to. Giving your students multiple options on how they want to complete this assignment really opens them up to be creative and have fun with their responses. Great job this week!

Samantha Tyrrell

12/6/2022 05:07:52 am

Hi Megan,
I definitely agree that character and theme analysis are important skills for students to have in the classroom. These skills help students understand the text that they are studying, and help them build critical thinking skills. I think having students compare and contrast their lived experiences to that of the characters in the novel is a great way for the students to engage with the book. I also like how you would give your students multiple options fr a final project. This would really help students engage on their own terms.

Sydney Blair

12/6/2022 08:05:32 am

Hi Meagan,
I really enjoyed reading your post and how you would approach Between Bitter and Sweet. I think that character profiles can be so beneficial to students, especially when there’s a lot of characters involved. I think a great way to dive even further into the idea of character profiles is having each student pick a character and creating some sort of social media account for them. This is something I would do in some of my English classes in high school and it really helped me understand the character more by doing a closer read on them. We would create twitter accounts for a specific character and do a certain number of tweets and hashtags from the characters perspective. This could be a fun assignment for your students that’s an extra way to do a character profile!

Meaghan Cook

12/5/2022 05:43:01 pm

In a perfect world, my classroom would be a place that would encourage all readers to seek to understand text on a deep and meaningful level. I’m aware, however, that not everyone has a passion for reading. In order to facilitate a deeper connection with texts in general, I would encourage more group discussions in class, in which we identify the themes of the texts, the defining characteristics of the main and secondary characters, and come to an agreement on the central message of the text.

I definitely agree that this novel would be an excellent addition to a 12th grade college prep English course, as it offers students a look into the options for their futures beyond college. In the case of Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet, I would encourage my students to choose one word to define the characters of Pen, Xander, Angel, and Chloe, as well as Pen’s mother and father and Xander’s grandfather. Through this analysis, they will get an understanding of the role that each character serves within the story. For instance, Pen is a complex character. She is anxious as well as confident, strong as well as weak. I would encourage my students to explore the duality of Pen’s character and what it means to us as readers for her to be so open about her struggles with mental health. In the case of Xander’s grandfather, he is a quiet, stubborn man who does what he feels is best for Xander, even if it’s not what Xander wants. This would be an interesting way to show the students that adults don’t have all the answers, something I think young people learn far too late.

I would then give the students an independent writing assignment in which they would compare and contrast the struggles of Pen and Xander, both of whom have issues with their fathers and the uncertainty of their futures. What I would hope for the students to take away from the novel is that while Pen has a supportive family, a job she loves, and the opportunity to pursue an education, she still struggles with her mental health. Conversely, Xander was abandoned by both of his parents, sent to live with his grandfather, as an undocumented immigrant in America, causing him to be stuck in the past, in search of his father, as search which he ultimately gives up.

Mary Viera

12/9/2022 03:45:26 pm

Hi Meaghan! I agree that it’s important to open up assignments to all kinds of readers. As someone who loves to read I have to be aware that not everyone is going to find that same passion, but I hope they take away something positive from it. I like your idea of having the students use characterization to find what the character’s roles are in the story. This would be an interesting way to differentiate instruction too because you can expand it in multiple ways. What are the character’s roles in their community? In the story? You can even zone in on Pen and Xander specifically since they both realize how they influence each other’s lives and serve different roles when they’re together versus apart.

Nicole Shepard

12/5/2022 06:56:08 pm

In my classroom, I would stress the importance of being able to close read any text in order to better understand the plot and the message the author is trying to convey. Being able to close read any text is important and useful not just for English classes but all other classes as well. In order for my students to be better readers of all other texts, I would start with Some Where Between Bitter and Sweet. I would break the novel up over the course of a week or so just because it is a longer book and have my students pick one chapter a day to actively read. I would have students pair up in class and share their close reading notes. Hopefully by giving students the option to pick which chapters they want to actively read, each student will have something somewhat different to discuss in class. My goal with this assignment is to teach students the importance of close reading and picking out elements of the text that are especially important. I also hope that this assignment will teach my students that they can close read any text they come across.
In regard to theme, this is one aspect of reading that can be more challenging for students, especially those that can’t relate to the book or those who don’t particularly love reading. One way I might structure my class to help my students build a thematic relationship with this specific text is to divide the class into 4-5 groups. Each group would be given a theme of the text and told to find evidence in the book of this theme. Since this book wasn’t very challenging and is split up by character points-of-view, my students should be able to find at least some evidence in the text. My goal with this assignment is to teach my students that there can be more than one theme in a novel. The most important part of finding a theme is having evidence to back up your claim.

Patricia Diaz

12/5/2022 08:50:37 pm

Hi Nicole,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with all of us! I really enjoyed reading about the different techniques that you would like your students to master. I think they are creative and fun. I think having students close read a particular passage is useful because it will teach them how to pay more attention to the text and how to construct meaning around it. I would maybe advise you to assign more than 1 chapter for them to read a night, so they have more choice in which passage to pick. Students particularly enjoy paying attention to things that catch their attention—may be doing this for them can help them gravitate more to the text. Modeling how to perform close reading can also be beneficial for them, especially depending on if some of them are at different levels.

Megan Keller

12/6/2022 08:47:13 am

Hi Nicole!

Thanks so much for sharing your ideas on the matter. After reading your response, I see a lot of similarities to my own response. I also discussed close reading and how important it is to students. In terms of your structure for your class, I really enjoyed how you decided to split your students up into groups. Group work where students are able to actively discuss what is going on, adds great depth into their own knowledge on the subject. I loved your set up for your classroom and I feel it would allow your students to grow and shape their own ideas based on the close reading knowledge they would have. Great work!

Megan Moore

12/6/2022 09:03:42 am

Hi Nicole, I love your idea of having students present on their assigned chapters. This is a great way to ensure that students are closely reading the text (and even reading it at all). By sharing with the class, students are also building public speaking and presentation skills, which are crucial! Theme groups are a great way to get students to engage in peer learning and discussion, Having students focus on one specific theme ensures understanding and gives them a jumping off point for a final project topic. I think that a twelfth-grade classroom would respond really well to these opportunities to make their own choices when analyzing the novel. Great job this week!

Patricia Diaz

12/5/2022 08:42:43 pm

If I was teaching Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp in Brockton High School, there would be a few assignments and informal assessments that I would create for this diverse student population. One informal assessment that I would like to emphasize during each class period is journals. I would like students to come to the classroom prepared to share their thoughts for a few minutes about prompts written on the board. These entries don’t have to be grammatically correct. All I would like is for them to try and show me that they have thought about the questions imposed on them. This writing prompts would revolve around answering questions about their aspirations, goals, feelings about going to college or pursuing a trading career, how they navigate the line between what their parents want them to do vs what they would like to do, and more. I would encourage students to share with their peers in hope that we can establish a safe class culture based on trust and mutual respect.
If I was assigning any complemental readings, I would probably assign House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, which offers a series of vignettes regarding different issues in Esperanza’s Chicano-Hispanic neighborhood. I would also assign students a short reading titled “Borderlands/La Frontera” by Anzaldua, which offers the perspective of how it feels to cross the Mexican American border and what it represents for many immigrants. Both of these texts can be paired with the problems that many of the characters in the novel are experiencing, especially Pen and Xavier.
For a final assessment, I would like to have students create their own stories. I feel like, at that age, students are struggling with many factors, especially the future. Writing about their life and what they hope to accomplish one day can bring some enlightenment into their lives and help them see that they are worthy of sharing their story.
All of these assignments build one another to compare and analyze the characters in the story. Providing students with a key to understanding the characters and their struggles as well as comparing them to their own experiences can give them the foundation to create a thematic relationship with the text.

Jenivieve D'Andrea

12/6/2022 09:15:56 am

Hi there Patricia,

I think your ideas for students at Brockton High to keep journals as they read "Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet" is a fantastic way for them to manage the plot, characters, and also their interpretations and reactions to the text.

By asking questions in the journal prompts that provoke students to make comparisons between Penelope's struggles with her career versus her family's expectations for her future, students are forced to make valuable text-to-self connections. These also are low stakes which helps students to just focus on writing their reactions which is a beneficial form of writing instruction for high schoolers.

This text would work seamlessly well with Cisneros' "The House on Mango Street". They hold similar themes and cultural connections.

Samantha Tyrrell

12/6/2022 05:15:40 am

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet is a great novel to introduce to high school-aged students. Brockton High is a diverse school, so teaching diverse material would have that more of an impact. If I were to teach this novel in this high school, I would emphasize theme analysis and close reading. These skills would help my students become better readers, and better critical thinkers. I would invite my students at the start of each class to write a question they had about the reading on the board. Those questions could be about plot, theme, characters, etc. I would then have the students free write their thoughts on the parts of the novel that they have read so far. We would have a lesson discussing what theme is. I would then divide the class into groups and ask each group to pick a theme of the novel and find evidence in the book to support it. Then we would have a lesson on what close reading is and how to do it. Finally, I would pick a few passages from the novel, and give the students a choice as to which passage they would like to close read. These assignments would help the students become better readers, writers, and critical thinkers.

Chloe Tavernier

12/6/2022 09:26:28 am

Hi Samantha,

I think that is a very unique activity having the students write a question on the board after reading the text. This is a great way to encourage discussion and validate varying interpretations.

Alexa Delling

12/6/2022 07:36:35 am

I’ve mentioned before the most important aspect I find when reading YA is the ability to relate to the characters whether that be their struggles or their successes. Even if students cannot directly relate to what the character is experiencing, they can have empathy for them which only allows the reader to indulge into the story more. In the novel Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet, characters Penelope and Xader definitely encounter firsts within the novel as well as navigate themselves through their own communities and within their families. I liked how their family dynamics differ since this gives each student the opportunity to relate to one character more than another or possibly even both. Penelope takes more risks and comes from a whole family whereas someone like Xader struggles with his origin throughout the novel.
The best way to develop thematic relationships with the story is to take a look at the characters and explicitly define their similarities and differences. For an assignment, the students could make a chart identifying the differences between the characters but also what they share in common with one another. To make it more personable, they could then right a quick 350-500 word YA story (kind of like a flash fiction) stating how they relate to the novel and what characters spoke to them. When we relate and have the power of empathy, nothing is stopping readers from diving into the novel and putting themselves in the characters shoes. I would want this novel to be defined on my students’ own terms and find out what this means to them. This story not only emphasizes on character development but also highlights race as Penelope is Mexican American. Pen struggles to follow her path or follow what her parents want for her which could be relatable for students within this class.

Catie Mullen

12/6/2022 10:20:02 am

Hi Alexa! I am fully connect with everything you wrote about in your response to this teaching discussion because I also feel that the best way to properly comprehend or enjoy a text is to connect with it in some way. You had the great idea of using the feeling of empathy for the characters in the book, even if you don't relate to what the characters are experiencing. This specific text is great for this specific school and class because the thematic elements within it are super relatable to this age group and demographic. There is room for great discussions and reflection. There is also room to grow and do more research on topics such as race, priviledge, and family expectations of young adults.

Sydney Blair

12/6/2022 08:04:30 am

No matter how old we are, where we are from, and who we are, we have all felt at some point or another that we don’t belong. Finding a place in the world and in their community is a common theme throughout Between Bitter and Sweet and is something that is also a theme throughout many high schoolers. Senior year is a year full of firsts, lasts, changes, and big decisions. This is why if I were to teach this text in my classroom I would really dive into this topic. I would introduce this text around the same time we start discussing the idea of college applications as the personal essay portion of the college application could bring up similar topics. With this being an AP class, many have the intention of attending college after graduation. If not, they can use these skills and ideas for applications for jobs, self-discovery/awareness, and so much more. I would have them create some kind of chart or graph that tracks the different times and events that helped one of the main characters find themselves/shape themselves. I would then have them use that chart to look back on when they can think of a time that they have felt out of place and like they didn’t belong. I would then like them to think about what people, place, or thing that brought them back to that place of finding themselves and that sense of belonging. I want them to think of how long it took? What steps were taken? This will be turned into a personal narrative writing response. I want students to be personal and really dive deep. This writing prompt is meant to drive emotion and feelings out of both the reader and the writer. When writing a college essay students personal response are being compared to so many responses to the same questions. While in my classroom these students’ stories will never be compared, I want them to understand that it is important to evoke emotion through writing and how beneficial it could be. Just like how Kemp evoked emotion out of the reader during Between Bitter and Sweet, this writing prompt encourages students to do the same in their writing for this assignment.

Alexa Delling

12/6/2022 09:33:40 am

Hi Sydney!
I liked how you mentioned you would introduce this text around the same time as college applications come around as seniors start to think about their futures and where they want to spend the next years in their life. I love how you keep coming back to the idea of keeping it personal for the students and their ability to relate to the text impacts them not just as readers but as young adults as well. The personal narrative writing prompt is a great idea and can really allow them to figure themselves out on the page in front of them. We all lose ourselves at some point in time, but it is interesting to look at what made us find our way back. Great job!

Megan Keller

12/6/2022 08:42:39 am

When thinking about which assignments I would use to help my students be better readers, I would introduce them to the importance of close reading. In my own high school experience, I was able to become a better reader by recognizing what I needed to look for in terms of content and thematic elements. I feel that with a close reading background, it allows for students to immerse themselves within the text and be able to directly respond to questions or ideas presented about the text. The close reading learning opportunities would include a powerpoint presentation about what close reading is and then active learning. I would allow my students to actively practice close reading so I can help guide them through their practices.

In terms of the current story we read for class, I feel the students can relate their own lives to the characters solely due to the diverse population represented in Brockton High School. As we all know, High School is an incredibly hard time for students, as they have to learn and grow in a more individual way. This causes for some type of disconnect between people and can cause for lonely feelings in relation to the school. For my students, I would want them to write a creative piece based off the story. The prompt would discuss individualism vs connection and how we see this in our current society. I want my students to feel confident in whoever they may be, and I feel this prompt will allow them to study their own thoughts and feelings based on the story.

Jenivieve D'Andrea

12/6/2022 09:09:26 am

In response to the first question, teaching students skills for reading texts more effectively such as close-reading analysis, and establishing text-to-self connections through characterization would be beneficial. For an activity aimed at close-reading, students could be placed into small groups to cover certain chunks (a paragraph or two) of a reading. In each reading group students will be tasked with identifying specific elements of the reading such as figurative language, main points, vocabulary and word choice, and confusing or problematic statements. Then students could share out to the other groups what their portion of the reading covered and stated. Finally, students will get a picture of the entire reading as each group pieces together their close readings. To work on characterization, I would have students add to a character chart as they read for each character in the novel. With this there can be supplemental activities, or even a summative assessment that asks students to write from the perspective of a specific character.

Teaching "Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet" to Brockton High School students would be an appropriate fit because many students would relate to some of the issues in this book. The students could find similarities in cultural expectations, since Brockton is a school that hosts students of many backgrounds.
For this book specifically I would call on inferring questions for students to really understand what characters are feeling and what Kemp is trying to say. This would help students understand the novel better, and could lead into an activity where students generate a piece of writing from the perspective of one of the major characters. I would also pair interviews, documentaries, short videos, poems, and stories about immigrants crossing the border. By analyzing supplemental texts, students will gain a more authentic understanding of Kemp's story.

Chloe Tavernier

12/6/2022 09:16:49 am

I agree that the novel Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp would be an optimal choice for both an in-depth discussion and complex analysis, especially within a 12th grade college prep English course. This novel, in addition to several others we have discussed previously, can help to foster a significant connection between the prospective reader and the thematic intricacies through striving to edify the author’s intentions through their text. Or in other words, strengthen close-reading skills. If I were an instructor, I would seek to heighten these invaluable skills through frequent utilization of group discussions, as this allows for free-from expression of various interpretations of thematic elements amongst students. Group discussions are definitely an activity that I would employ liberally, as their benefits are too immense to disregard. Alternatively, I would also allow students to form small groups to share their interpretations and or the meaning of what the author was trying to convey through the structure of her composition and characters. However, before I would start peer collaboration, I would have students pick a section or a set of chapters and highlight a certain theme and how it correlates with the author’s intentions. Students will need to provide evidence from the novel that supports their reasons. The importance of this assignment is to cultivate critical thinking skills as well as how to identify crucial elements through close reading.

Allie Gallahue

12/6/2022 06:04:18 pm

Hi Chloe!
I think that group work is incredibly important. Not only do you get to express your ideas, but you also get to learn from your peers and gain a new perspective on a story. This can help students understand the text better, as well as find new ways to relate to what they are reading. Whole class discussions can be a little nerve-wracking in certain situations, however. This is why I like your idea of also utilizing small group discussions to make students a little more comfortable and willing to share their thoughts and ideas with their peers. I would also suggest in this case to switch the groups up a little bit and have everyone share their opinions, as well as something they heard from a member of their first group. This way, everyone’s ideas are spreading throughout the classroom without one person having to speak their truth in front of everyone at once. I think that this will help the students who may feel a little anxious about sharing out in a big public setting. I also think that small group work makes close reading easier to talk through and make notes about. Great work overall!

Catie Mullen

12/6/2022 10:15:19 am

Reading if fun, but it can also be hard and it may not be for everyone. The most important thing I would emphasize in my classroom for students, is to find a way to comprehend and connect with a text in a way that is most suitable to you. As we all know, everybody learns differently and has different learning styles. If you can find a way to better understand a text that makes it fun, then it's a step in the right direction. One thing that my developmental psychology class is doing right now is discussions on healthy relationships in young adulthood. The discussions the past two class periods have been amazing with everyone participating and hearing each other's experiences, that it has personally helped me comprehend the material we are learning better. In a College Prep 12th grade class, these are students who are mature and are looking at their next steps in life. These students should want to build off of each other and I think class discussions are way they can really flourish and connect with any text they are reading. As we have noticed, the common themes between all of the YA books we have read in this class are growing up and developing your sense of self. So, one assignment that could apply to all texts in school and even beyond school is focusing on character development and how the character changes from beginning to end.

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet is a great book for these specific test class of seniors. The topics are mature, controversial, great discussion starters, focus on important topics in today's society, and pertain to this idea of growing up/coming of age. It discusses a lot (especially pertaining to Pen's situation with her family) about what am I going to do next? Another good element of this book is relationships, which is something that is super central to this class's moment in their development, so focusing on family values and how they connect with your own life or the expectations in romantic relationships, similar to Xander and Pen's. Mental health is another big thematic element that could be focused on as well, while paying attention to Pen's depression. I want students to draw from their own experiences and connect with this YA text, so another assignment that can be helpful is reading journals throughout the length of the book. Students may pick out thematic elements in the text, in the specific chapters they read, and write a page on how they might relate to it or connect to it, or if they can't find any connection, how does this theme make you feel and how is it presented in our society? I believe discussions and reflections are two great activities that help students develop meaningful relationships with texts.

Lucienne Quirk

12/6/2022 03:54:02 pm

For this prompt, I have a very specific question for you, a two parter. Question 1: what would you do in a classroom, what assignments, structures, class activities, assessments, etc would you design to help your students be better readers of other texts they might encounter in school and beyond? Question 2: What would you do, assignments, structures, etc. to help students develop a meaningful thematic relationship with this specific text, the story and its characters.

I feel that SBBaS is a great opportunity to focus in on theme. Identifying theme, and using textual evidence to support it, is important for any story students read in high school and beyond. I would love to have students think more deeply about the importance of food in the text. How does the food carry a thematic weight? I would make four “cooking stations” across the classroom that all have different passages. Students would work as a team to fill out a theme recipe, answering the following questions:

1) What’s going on in this passage?
2) What are some details you thought stuck out? (Annotate!)
3) What do you think the food represents?

Students groups would rotate around the room to all four stations. Then we would compile our recipes and share our main takeaways as a class. Though I don’t want to tell students what to think, there is something to be said about the act of creation inherent in cooking— and why is creating from scratch important to these characters? Important to the book?

To delve even deeper in SBBaS, I would like students to build connections to the characters. Students could free write based on the following prompt: “Describe a time where you felt like you were expected to act a certain way, but you knew it wasn’t you.” Sharing experiences where we felt inauthentic can help students connect with Penelope, whose dreams and decisions don’t align with her dad’s wishes. As for Xander, we can ask students how they’ve forged their own identity. What’s a skill or past time or value they feel they had to make on their own? Xander’s status as an undocumented immigrant might make some students at Brockton high feel alienated from him— the goal is to have students notice a shared experience nonetheless. We have a pressing need for students to build empathy from people of all backgrounds— ensuring that Pen and Xander are seen and understood is a step in that direction.

Allie Gallahue

12/6/2022 05:56:16 pm

An important part of young adult literature is the ability for the reader to connect with the story through relatable characters, scenes, conflicts, settings, themes, and more. In general, I believe that characters are the easiest part of the story to relate to, as some themes are too specific to apply to a wide audience of readers. As I mentioned when discussing “Little Women,” it is really easy to find a way to relate to the text if there are characters with such varying personalities. In “Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet,” the two main characters, Penelope and Xander, display different ways in which students could relate to them. However, a large part of what both characters are experiencing is something that many students will easily relate to: the struggle of finding a sense of belonging. In high school, it is easy to lose yourself in an attempt to try to fit in with what is expected from your peers and your family. For example, Pen has to decide if she wants to do what she knows is best for her, or if she wants to give in to her parents’ expectations. I think that this is really important for students to learn about, so teaching this story is important because it will help them navigate these kinds of choices. To teach this novel, I would start with having my students identify a struggle in their lives that has to do with a conflict similar to Penelope’s. I would ask them things like “do you ever feel like you want something different than what is expected of you?” or “do you have a passion that you want to pursue that differs from what others want for you?” to get their ideas flowing. Then, I would ask them to put themselves in Penelope’s situation to see what they would do, and be able to relate more to the story as well by placing themselves into it.

celeste barbosa

12/6/2022 07:22:38 pm

Hi Allie!
I really liked reading your response, especially when you discussed that you would want the students to identify struggles in their personal life that is similar to one of the main characters. This creates a great personal connection between the readers and the novel. This connection will make the students more engaged in the reading which will positively benefit the classroom environment and how the unit will play out. I think creating those personal connections is really important and just makes the unit and classroom environment better overall. Great response!

Celeste Barbosa

12/6/2022 07:02:56 pm

When I first decided I wanted to become a teacher, I knew that I wanted to become an English teacher for my love of reading, but after all these years I understand that this love I have is not the case for everyone. When looking at the kind of classroom I hope to have in the future, I think the most important thing to do to help students be better readers would be to implement a journal assignment where students can respond to prompts about the current unit/book. I think journals are one of the best and most convenient ways to check students comprehension of what they are reading while also working on their writing skills. I also feel very strongly about stopping classroom reading to check for understanding. When there is an important moment in a novel, it is important to stop reading and ask students “What is happening here?” or “How do you think the characters are feeling?”. This will allow students to discuss with each other what is going on and further their comprehensions. I personally think writing and discussions is the best way to help students expand their comprehension of reading. I also believe in teaching close reading. Before starting a book that is somewhat complex to read, I would have a mini unit on close reading. We would discuss what close reading is, how to close read, what students should be looking for, and how this can benefit their comprehension. There would be little activities for students to complete throughout the lesson, as well as a final mini project where they would create a step-by-step book on how to close read and how it benefits readers. I think the best ways to help students expand on their reading comprehension is through discussions and implication.

Looking at the second part of the question, I think using Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet is a perfect book to teach in a grade 12 College Prep class. For this specific novel, I would focus a lot on characterization, theme, and cultural identity. I feel like since this book is so relatable and with the main characters dealing with a lot of issues similar to students, one of the best ways to check for comprehension is through journaling. After reading significant sections of the book like when Pen and Xander open up to each other or when Pen’s apartment is robbed, students will be required to answer a prompt surrounding that section. These prompts can incorporate both comprehension and how it makes them feel. It would be equivalent to a free write assignment. I really enjoy the activities of character descriptions where students will work in groups, pick one of the main characters, work together to find out 5-8 examples of what make up their character and then draw a new book cover using that character and their character traits. After they do that, they will present it to the class so all of the students can see the different characters and their traits. When looking at the different themes of the novel, I would have students have a theme worksheet and they would use quotes from the book to follow that theme. It is almost like a graphic organizer but for the themes and quotes. This would then tie into their final paper where they would have the choice of writing about a specific theme or a character.

Mary Viera

12/9/2022 03:39:10 pm

In general, my assignments would be centered on student creativity and open response. I want them to get the sense that responding to any text starts with a personal reaction and connection to it. Although I personally love reading, and find joy in sharing with others the connections and meanings I find it would be difficult in trying to do this with students who struggle with reading or just don’t have an interest in it. My goal is to teach students to engage with reading and writing in a meaningful way. To use books as a way to interact with ideas and writing as a way to make sense of their own. I would use writing journals to encourage free-writing as a space to brainstorm. They would be required to independently read any book of their choosing. I want to give students the choice, and freedom, to engage in what they find most interesting and meaningful. I would have writing assignments that are based on close reading, but mostly assignments would be based on practical application in the real-world. Maybe working on college applications, scholarship applications, or cover letters and resumes for jobs. For whole class reading I would do class discussions. Sharing our reactions, predictions, and ideas with others is an important practice that goes beyond school and I want students to have a chance to work on that in the classroom. To assess them and check in on them actually having done the reading they must do a write-up of their reactions and ideas of the text. Students that haven’t done the reading won’t be able to use Sparknotes (like I did in high school) because the writing is about their reaction to the text. If a student is struggling with the text they can also have the option of writing about that. And I would dedicate extra time to working with that student on breaking up the different elements to see what is the roadblock.

Adam Fernandes

12/11/2022 08:39:46 am

Characterization and thematic interpretation are, in my opinion, the two most crucial close reading abilities to provide young students. I like the notion of attaching character profiles to character study. I'd start by having pupils build a profile of themselves. What are their interests, dislikes, ambitions, character qualities, weaknesses, and so on? After they have done this task, I will ask them to create a biography of a figure from the text we are discussing. Eventually, individuals will have the option compare their own lives to that of the figure. What similarities and differences do they share? Do they have any connection to the protagonist, and if so, how? By doing this exercise, I would be generating topics for discussion for this and future lessons.

Between Bitter & Sweet: Controversial Texts

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ENGL 344

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