Literacy Inquiry

Adventures at Southfield
High

Demographic Breakdown
1,200 students (approximate)
97% African American
2% White
1% Hispanic
16 average ACT score

15 English

16 Math

16 Reading

17 Science
1 in 5 students live in poverty
Almost half of the student body receives
free or reduced lunch

Slightly outdated demographic

breakdown, courtesy of motovoto
(real estate site that aggregates this
kind of information)

And the Survey Says.

r

70% of students claim to use their

phone or be on the computer all day
(or 12+ hours)

98% of students intend to enroll at

community college or attend a four
year university

98% of students have a positive

conception of book worms & artsy
fartsy people, many communicating
admiration or jealousy

Putting Things into Focus

3rd Hour,
10:02am to
11:01am, Senior
Comp &
Literature
100% African
American
16 females, 12
males
4 of 28 students
require IEPs

13 of 28 students
would rather
compose music than
write words
9 of 28 students
would rather draw
pictures than write
words
20 of 28 students
cite writing as the
ELA skill theyd like
to improve most

No Foolin, Just the (Arti)facts

AP Student

IEP Student

Throughout the novel,

Amirs emotions become
jumbled and he is
physically and
emotionally hurt in the
search of redemption

Although everyone is
intitled to to go school,
there are some chose
to take there GED and
drop out

What Does It All Mean?

Students dont like writing, but recognize that
proficiency in writing will be crucial to post-high
school success
Past achievement struggles were not caused by antiintellectual sentiment
Students interact with so-called modern technology
intuitively
Traditional ELA (reading and writing texts) does not
validate their experiences or literacies

Piecing it Together
Performance:
body language
Music: tempo,
name
drop/samples
Art: colors,
surrealism /
comics

subtext

pace & tone,

allusions
mood, exaggeration

Sports are Tops; Lets Practice

Establish firm routine,
rotate between a handful
of differentiated activities
Class eventually runs
itself, more or less
Students takes ownership
of unwritten rules and
pace of class