I’m a former high school English teacher, and I’m currently a literacy researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia. I think that books are valuable – and I think that it’s important to understand how teens are engaging with literature and developing their literacy on Hunger Games-related fansites.

For the past year, I’ve talked with teens around the world.  My study is ongoing, and I would love to find more research participants.  If you’re between the ages of 11 and 17 and live in the United States, Canada, or Australia, will you participate in this study? 

With your parents’ permission, I will talk with you over email or Skype to learn more about your passion for The Hunger Games and how you participate in fansites. Please email me at js.curwood@sydney.edu.au for more information or to join my research. Your real name will be confidential and your privacy will be protected. I’d love to hear your story, and I think that parents and teachers could learn a lot from you.

Why is this research important?  I hear a lot of people say that, “Teens don’t read” or “The Internet is a waste of time.” And I just don’t think that’s always true.  Teens do read – if they have good books at hand. And the Internet is an incredible way to connect with other fans and develop literacy skills.  I think that adults should know about (and care about!) how young people engage with literature and fan culture.

Since last April, Adam and Savanna have been producing a weekly podcast about all things related to The Hunger Games.  Savanna’s a writer for Picktainment and founder of Panem Radio. Adam has been instrumental in bringing The Potter Games and The Fandom to fans around the world. In short, they are unstoppable!

For the past year, I’ve been conducting an online ethnography into adolescent literacy, young adult literature, and fan culture.  I’ve had the opportunity to work with some incredible teens in Australia, Canada, and the United States.  They’ve shared their passion for The Hunger Games with me and given me so much insight into how young people are inspired to write Hunger Games fan fiction, produce videos, create art, and take on leadership roles on fan sites.

My research is ongoing, and I’m always looking for more participants.  (If you’re between 13 and 17 and live in one of the countries noted above, please contact me!)  The fan culture related to The Hunger Games is always growing and evolving.  Case in point: Capitol Couture.

Tune into the Fireside Chat on Monday January 30 at 10 pm EST!  Connect via the Website, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and iTunes.

Photo by andrewmalone

As an educator, it was an incredible experience to closely collaborate with my colleague.  Lora’s expertise was instrumental as our students to engage in multimodal composition, and her energy and encouragement helped me develop my digital literacy skills. I really think that if we want to implement technology in schools, we need to value this kind of ongoing, hands-on, collaborative professional development.

I have previously published an article in the International Journal of Learning and Media about this project.  In “‘Just like I have felt’: Multimodal counternarratives in youth-produced digital media,” [PDF], we developed a methodology called multimodal microanalysis that sheds light on the complex ways in which modes operate in young people’s digital productions.

I’m happy to share that Lora and I have just published an article in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, “iPoetry: Creating space for new literacies in the English curriculum” [PDF]. Here, we explore how our approach to teaching digital poetry changed over time. We argue that the iPoetry project enhanced students’ critical engagement, increased their awareness of audience, and encouraged their innovative use of multiple modalities.

We share the digital poem of one of our students, Blair Mishleau. Blair is an incredible young man who will soon graduate with interdisciplinary degrees in journalism and interactive arts and media. He has recently been accepted into Teach for America, and I know that any child would be lucky to be in his classroom!  Here is Blair’s digital poem that we analyze in the article.

Photo by wasimmons

Your Desires by Blair Mishleau from Jen Scott Curwood on Vimeo.

These are the opening words of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which is co-authored by John Green and David Levithan.  I love to read when I travel, and I picked it up before heading to the Literacy Research Association conference in December.  Let me say this: it’s the kind of book that can make you laugh out loud on a crowded plane.  But it’s also filled with teenage angst, awkwardness, and heartache.  In short, it’s a great mix of everything.

I loved David Levithan’s first novel, Boy Meets Boy, and I’ve used it in class before.  Many of his books are love stories, and it looks like his latest, The Lover’s Dictionary, is no exception.  Every day for the past 23 years, Levithan has written a story for his friends for Valentine’s Day.  John Green is also a well-known young adult author and his work includes Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns.  I read Paper Towns last year.  While the characters and their pranks are over-the-top, I was drawn into the compelling storyline.  Green is also one half of the Vlogbrothers and founder of Nerdfighters.  I purchased Will Grayson in a local bookstore, and a couple of pages in, I found a handwritten note from a local fan.  It thanked me for buying the book and proclaimed, “Don’t forget to be awesome!”  Here’s a Nerdfighters FAQ:

Will Grayson, Will Grayson tells the story of two Will Graysons who live in the Chicago area.  Other than their name, they don’t have much in common.  They meet by chance in a porn shop (which is not as bad as it sounds).  Neither of them really meant to be there, they’re both a bit heartbroken, and admittedly freaked out to meet someone with the same name.  But soon Will is introduced to O.W.G.’s (Other Will Grayson’s) best friend, Tiny Cooper.  As O.W.G. explains, “Tiny Cooper is not the world’s gayest person, and he is not the world’s largest person, but I believe that he may be the world’s largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world’s gayest person who is really, really large.”

Tiny Cooper is a central figure in the story – so much so that the book could have easily been titled Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Tiny Cooper.  Levithan and Green each write in the voice of a different Will Grayson, and the chapters alternate this first-person narration.  Some of my middle school and high school students used to struggled with books written with multiple narrators, but each Will has a very unique voice and perspective so I don’t think that would be an issue here.  I think that this would be a great addition to any high school teacher’s classroom library, and I can see it be incorporated into literature circles that focus on friendship or relationships.

Over on his blog, John Green talks about his experience with co-authoring a book.  Consequently, I think Will Grayson might be a wonderful example of collaborative writing that teachers could use in their curriculum, perhaps in conjunction with tools like Bubbl.us, Google Docs, or MixedInk.  To open it up to more collaborators and readers, look to Novlet or Protagonize.

Image Credit: John Green

The latest issue of the Wisconsin English Journal is now online! I have truly enjoyed serving as the assistant editor for the past two years, and I will miss the wonderful editorial board, authors, and reviewers.  Thank you to senior editor Mary Louise Gomez for such a wonderful opportunity!  Marci Glaus, a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, will take over as an assistant editor, along with Jessica Gallo.

In this issue:

From the Editor – Mary Louise Gomez

Views from the Field: Javon’s Story – Catherine F. Compton-Lilly

The New Adventures of English Language Arts: The Revolutions ARE Being Televised… and Blogged and Tweeted – Dawnene D. Hassett

State of the State: RTI and the Role of English Educators – Emilie A. Amundson

The Critical English Educator: Examining Violence in Literature – Melissa Schieble

Making Research Relevant: Learning from One Another – Jessica Gallo

Tech Tools for Teachers, By Teachers: Bridging Teachers and Students – Carmen Manning, William Brooks, Vanessa Crotteau, Annelise Diedrich, Jessie Moser, Amanda Zwiefelhofer

Profile of an Outstanding English Educator – Karen Kelley Rigoni

Book Review of RTI in Literacy-Responsive and Comprehensive – Mary Guay

Book Review of Why Culture Counts: Teaching Children of Poverty – Lisa Arneson

Book Review of Solution-Focused RTI: A Positive and Personalized Approach to Response to Intervention – Dana L. Hagerman

Student Self-Assessment and the Concept of the Completed Argument – John Pruitt

Microblogging for Professional Learning – Luke Rodesiler

Creating Conversations: Pairing YA Lit with Wikis to Build Reading Communities – Robyn Seglem

Social Collaboration in the Workplace: Questions to Consider and Possible Activities for Your Classroom – Jason Henry Wirtz

WCTE Position Statement on Governor Walker’s Budget Repair Bill – Lynn Aprill

A year ago, I shared my working dissertation abstract. I’m now writing my final dissertation chapter, and I wanted to share an updated version of my dissertation abstract.  Between now and my spring 2011 defense, it may change slightly, but this reflects where I’m at now.

The Nexus of Continuity and Change: Digital Tools, Social Identities, and Cultural Models in Teacher Professional Development

Prompted by calls for research on technology-focused professional development, this dissertation investigates how teachers’ participation in learning communities influences technology integration within the secondary English curriculum. The year-long multiple-case embedded research study draws on cognitive anthropology and sociocultural theory to examine how English teachers’ everyday discourse reveals their cultural models, pedagogical beliefs, and instructional practices with literacy and technology. In addition, it attends to the role of dialogic narratives in shaping teachers’ identities in ever-changing learning environments. Situated within a reform-oriented approach to professional development, the analysis focuses on teachers’ discourse at a micro level to understand how their pedagogy is shaped by macro-concepts, social institutions, and cultural shifts. While digital tools can shape adolescents’ engagement in participatory learning, multimodal authoring, and critical thinking, findings from this study indicate that the ways in which these practices take root in the English curriculum are still very much dependent upon teachers’ beliefs, values, and skills. Technology integration can be supported by professional development that features: hands-on learning with digital tools and new literacies; sustained dialogue around teachers’ curricular goals and students’ learning outcomes; the ongoing analysis of students’ digitally mediated work; a view of knowledge as a social construction rather than as a commodity; a recognition that school-based discourse shapes teacher identity; and an understanding that teachers’ cultural models about language, literacy, and technology impact their pedagogy.

Meet Billy Bloom, a self-described twinkle queen, glitteroid, and gender obscurist.

At the beginning of James St. James‘ novel Freak Show, Billy is trying to get ready for his first day at a new school.

“Okay, here it is.  My outfit:
Don’t worry.
It’s totally masculine.
Swarthy, even.
Nobody will suspect a thing.

I’m going with a whole retro, new-wave/Vivienne Westwood/pirate look. Fab, right? What’s straighter than a pirate? Ruffled lace shirt, unbuttoned down to THERE. High-waisted blue pant, practically sprayed on. Nothing gay about that, right?

A thrift store military jacked in Prussian blue, a crimson sash, some rags tied in my hair…
Then what? Pearls?
Eye patch?
Cap’n Crunch hat?
Trusty sword?
Gold teeth?
No, no, no. It’s all too much. Well, maybe one gold tooth.”

For the School of Education’s second Common Read series, we’ll read Freak Show.  On the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus, there will be a number of events, including discussions about the book, LGBTQ rights, censorship, Gay-Straight Alliances, and even a public lecture by James St. James.

Last year, the English Journal published an article entitled Fight for Your Right: Censorship, Selection, and LGBTQ Literature that I co-wrote with Cooperative Children’s Center librarians Kathleen T. Horning and Megan Schliesman.  In conjunction with the Common Read, the three of us will give a presentation on integrating books into the curriculum that feature LGBTQ characters.  Please join us for this on November 18 at 4:30 pm in 159 Education.

But make sure you pick up Freak Show yourself.  As an English teacher, I have to say that it’s one of the best examples of voice that I’ve come across in a long time.  While the GLSEN survey shows how unsafe our schools are for many LGBTQ youth, Freak Show provides a way for teachers and students to discuss some of the complex issues around sexuality, gender identity, and heterosexual privilege.  But it’s all wrapped up in the unforgettable character of Billy Bloom who, incidentally, decides to go with a post-pirate look.  As he declares, “I’m a pirate who’s getting out of the life.  But slowly, you know.  I’m lubbin’ the land but missing my parrot.  Yarg.”

Image Credit: Dutton Juvenile Books, Cover of Freak Show

I’ve attended the Midwinter Conference of the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research before, and I’m really excited that we are hosting the next one here in Madison. NCTEAR will be held on February 18 to 20, 2011, and the theme is Time and Space in Literacy Research: Revisiting Context.  Proposals are due September 30, so make sure you get yours in!

There’s a new website for NCTEAR, where you can find the call for proposals, information about registration, and details about the fabulous invited speakers. These include:

Mollie Blackburn, Ohio State University
Barbara Comber, University of Southern Australia
Norma González, University of Arizona
Juan Guerra, University of Washington
Glynda Hull, New York University
Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Kevin Leander, Vanderbilt University
sj Miller, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Kate Pahl, University of Sheffield
Johnny Saldaña, Arizona State University

I’m co-chairing the Teacher Committee, and we’re working on some exciting events and opportunities for K-12 teachers, including a special reception, lunch with noted scholars, and the option for graduate credit.  Teachers (or graduate students from other universities) will be able to register as a UW-Madison special student and obtain one to two graduate credits in conjunction with attending the conference.  Thanks to the School of Education, these credits are just $150 each.  See you in Madison!

Photo Credit of the Memorial Union Terrace: JanetandPhil

As if I needed another reason to love Sydney.

Not only is it one of my favorite cities in the world and where I met my husband, the Opera House is hosting GRAPHIC next month.

Comic books, illustration, animation, music, multimedia and other new ways of telling stories have not only changed the face of our popular culture, they now define it. Graphic novels and comic art are now a leading source of inspiration for films, television, clothing, designers, musicians and artists the world over. GRAPHIC celebrates this brave new world in a weekend of specially commissioned productions – with musical responses to graphic art and stories, workshops, panels, a film program, a games exhibition and an animation competition.

I’ll be in Australia then with my husband Michael and our eleven year old son, Cole. As part of GRAPHIC, we’re excited to see Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, set to a live score.  According to the Opera House website, percussionist Ben Walsh randomly discovered The Arrival in a book store. He fell in love with the story and thought about how he could create music to accompany it.  Three years later, his musical vision will come to life at the Opera House.

I’ve used The Arrival in undergraduate courses on children’s literature and young adult literature.  As a wordless picture book, it serves as a fabulous way to show pre-service teachers how to “read” images.  We begin by discussing how the size of images correlates to reading speed.  A series of small images, for instance, means that they should be read quickly.  With images that take up the full page, however, they should be read with more attention to how lines, colors, and shapes work together to shape the reader’s meaning making processes.

Shaun Tan will be doing a signing after the show, so of course I’m planning on packing my copy of The Arrival in my suitcase.  I’m trying to figure out how to attend some of the other GRAPHIC events, including talks by Kevin Smith and Neil Gaiman, but I’ve already signed up for the 14K City2Surf run that weekend too.  (It goes through Kings Cross, Rushcutters Bay, Double Bay, Rose Bay, Vaucluse, Dover Heights and Bondi Beach, with the 2K long Heartbreak Hill in the middle.  Doesn’t that sound like a lovely way to see the city?  Over 76,000 runners think so!  Michael, a cyclist, begs to differ).

I also teach The Graveyard Book, but Gaiman will be reading from a previously unreleased story called The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains. His read alouds are incredible, and at each stop of his nine city tour in 2008, he read a chapter aloud.  I’ve used these read alouds in class, since they’re a great way to introduce readers to Nobody Owens.  Alas, Tan and Gaiman are scheduled at the same time, and The Arrival wins out for now.  But I’ll end with the trailer for The Graveyard Book anyway.

Image Credit: Shaun Tan, The Arrival

“You’re facing ten years in prison and $200,000 in fines.”

I never imagined that I’d hear those words, let alone from an immigration official.  I was born and raised in Wisconsin, a U.S. citizen by birth.  My crime?  I married an Australian.

To the immigration official, my related crimes included not adding my new husband to my house deed or bank accounts, having a pre-nup, and not taking his last name.  (In an effort to keep Michael in the States and out of jail, I went to court to legally add Curwood to my name a year after we got married).

Taken together, the immigration official thought that we had a sham marriage, so he separated us, threatened us with prison and fines, and individually administered the immigration fraud interview.  You’ll be happy to know that I remembered how we met (in Sydney), what Michael had for dinner the night before (fish) and what side of the bed he sleeps on (right). Luckily, we made it through the immigration process and my husband now holds a U.S. Permanent Resident card in addition to his Australia and New Zealand citizenship and right of abode in the United Kingdom. 

I can say that this experience has given me much more insight into the immigration process and empathy for those who attempt to immigrate to a new country, whether legally or illegally, voluntarily or seeking asylum.  When I teach classes on young adult literature, I make sure to address these issues.  Here are three fabulous books that I’ve used recently in undergraduate and graduate classes at the University of Wisconsin – Madison on the topic of immigration: La Línea, Red Glass, and Home of the Brave.

Here, I’ll focus on La Línea and immigration from Mexico.  But definitely check out the other two books, too.  Laura Resau’s Red Glass is a wonderful story, narrated by an American teenager, about the immigration experiences of her friends and family from Central America and Eastern Europe.  And K.A. Applegate’s Home of the Brave, written in free verse, is the story of Kek, a refugee from Sudan who arrives in Minnesota.  Not only must Kek adapt to a new country, language, and culture, he must deal with the past (and the memories) that are rooted in war-torn Sudan.

La Línea, by Ann Jaramillo, focuses on the story of Miguel.  Six years, eleven months, and twelve days ago, his parents left him and his younger sister Elena behind in Mexico in order to seek work in California.  On the day of his fifteenth birthday, Miguel’s father sends for him.  Immediately, Miguel thinks, “I’d been waiting for this moment ever since I was eight.  Could it be true this time, finally?  For once, I didn’t care about a birthday present.  If Papá’s note was true, my real life was finally beginning.  This was day number one.”

At his father’s direction, Miguel enlists the help of a local man, Don Clemente, who arranges for a coyote to take him across the border.  But Elena doesn’t want to be left behind on their abuelita’s rancho, and she follows Miguel on his journey, derailing his plans to cross the border with a coyote.  Soon, they find themselves being questioned and detailed by Mexican immigration officials – and then running for their lives across the desert.  They don’t know who they can trust or what will happen to them.  All they know is that they need to get across la línea at any cost.

Jaramillo, a first-time author, is an English as a Second Language teacher in a middle school in Salinas, California. She says, “More than 95 percent of my students are Mexican in origin.  Their parents work in the fields or packing sheds of the Salinas Valley.  Some of my students were born in the United States; other immigrated in elementary or middle school.”  By drawing from her own experiences and that of her students – and by integrating Spanish words and phrases throughout the book – Jaramillo reinforces the cultural authenticity of La Línea .  The School Library Journal recommends this book for grades five and up, and I can see this book easily used in a middle school or freshman classroom.

In the news recently, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer asserted that most illegal immigrants entering her state are being used to transport drugs across the border.  Following on the heels of Arizona Senate Bill 1070, her remarks were quickly denounced by experts as incorrect and downright racist.  In an Associated Press article published on MSNBC, Sen. Jesus Ramon Valdes, a member of the Mexican Senate’s northern border affairs commission, countered that, “Traditionally, migrants have always been needy, humble people who in good faith go looking for a way to better the lives of their families.”  While politicians may try to depict all Mexican immigrants as drug mules and criminals, La Línea offers readers a more realistic and nuanced perspective on the immigrant experience.

Image Credit: Square Fish Books, cover of La Línea.