YA [ Sports ] Literature as a Vehicle for Promoting Teen Reading Alan Brown Wake Forest University ALAN Workshop November 23, 2015 To cite this presentation: Brown, A. (2015, November). YA [sports] literature as a vehicle for promoting teen reading. Workshop breakout session at the annual meeting of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN), Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Examining Assumptions & Beliefs (Promoting a Sound Mind and Body) • Participation in sports builds character. • Participation in sports reveals character. • Winning is what sports are all about. • Winning is what life is really about. • Sports play a major role in the social culture of secondary schools. • Sports are overemphasized in the social culture of secondary schools. • Athletics prevent students from prioritizing academics. • Sports keep students in school. Adapted from Smith , M. W., & Wilhelm, J. D. (2002). Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men. Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH. pp. 85-86.
Connecting Academics and Athletics
* Sports are… * among the most popular extra-curricular activities in secondary schools * among the most likely school-based extra-curricular activities to keep at-risk students in good academic standing * an entry point into various forms of literacy, particularly for adolescent males * rarely a topic of meaningful academic conversation in secondary classrooms * one of many extra- curricular interests that offer a “tension with the schoolishness of school” (Whitney, 2011).
Motivation for English teachers and literacy educators from Parsons (2014)… “I began my teaching career convinced that athletics was a minefield easier left unexplored with my students — easier for me, because it is difficult to complicate and nudge students toward thinking critically about that which they take for granted. But it was the study of English that offered me the tools I needed to dismantle and rebuild the lens through which I viewed athletic competition and nearly every cultural paradigm to which I had subscribed. And the result has been a far richer, more life-affirming connection to my past, my physicality, my gender, and the world at large. I want no less for my students” (p. 14).
Instead of asking why students aren’t reading… I like to ask… What are students doing instead of reading? In what literacy practices are students already engaged? How can we as educators promote existing literacy practices? How can we use books to develop and extend extra-curricular interests? Through these books, how can we push students toward new ideas, understandings, and ways of being in the world? Adapted from Brown & Crowe (2013)
And this matters because… The eleventh and twelfth NCTE/IRA standards: Students should become active members of a variety of literacy communities while using language to accomplish their own purposes.
Connecting Sports & Literacy through Young Adult Literature
Young Adult [Sports] Literature From Chris Crowe’s (2004) More than a Game: Sports Literature for Young Adults Game Novels: Formula stories about sports/athletes More-Than-A-Game Novels: Stories with more character development & subplots Sportlerroman: “Although sport may be the hook for many readers, writers of sportlerroman recognize that, for many teenagers, sport is only one part of life, and that the real social and family issues of adolescence are always more important than athletics are” (Crowe, 2004, p. 39).
Pre-Reading Activity Who is the greatest competitor?
During-Reading Activity Read excerpt from Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. In groups of six, divvy up the following roles and create a play-by-play account of the story. Roles: Coach Arnold Roger Play-by-Play Announcer Color Analyst Field Reporter Question: What does it mean to be a competitor?
Critical Literacy “Rather than holding popular culture in judgment, he [Henry Giroux] argues, our task as critical educators is to recognize its centrality to the lives of youth and confront this culture in a sensitive and affirming, yet problematizing way” (Morrell, 2004, p. 114). “Critical lenses provide students with a way of reading their world; the lenses provide a way of ‘seeing’ differently and analytically that can help them read the culture of the school as well as popular culture” (Appleman, 2009, p. 4).
Four Dimensions of Critical Literacy (Lewison, Flint, & Sluys, 2002) 1. Disrupting the commonplace 2. Interrogating multiple viewpoints 3. Focusing on sociopolitical issues 4. Taking action and promoting social justice
Critical Sports Literacy “We seek to connect sports and critical literacy in a way that allows students — sports-minded or otherwise — to examine the pros and cons of an emphasis on sports in the world around them and allows for shared conversations where students can deconstruct — and redesign (Janks, 2014) — the meanings, values, and purposes of sports and sports culture. When educators connect sports and critical literacy, they are empowered to craft lessons centered on what we have termed critical sports literacy .” From Brown & Rodesiler (in progress).
Example: Bullying in Sports
* Bullying Excerpt from Nailed by Patrick Jones (2006): “ I outwardly ignore All- American asshole Bob Hitchings’ usual greeting as I take my seat, but the words beat me down inside. It’s first period on the first day of my junior year in English class, the great melting pot that makes big fat fibbers out of Our Founding Fathers. All men are not created equal; some are smarter, some are stronger. If Jefferson, Madison, and the rest of their ilk had spent a day at Southwestern, they would have flushed that claptrap right down the toilet. I’m smarter than a lot of people in this room, more talented in the things that matter to me. But guys like Hitchings, who are stronger than most people, and guys like me, who are smarter than most people, are not equals. A born athlete, Hitchings cares about kicking a football, capturing a wrestling pin fall, and catching a baseball. I’m a born artist who cares about books, music, and theater. In my eyes, he isn’t better than me, nor am I better than him; we’re just different, and different is okay with me” (p. 26).
Theme: Not like Me The Hoopster by Alan Lawrence Sitomer Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Peña Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Black and White by Paul Volponi Boy21 by Matthew Quick Literary Connections: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Boy21 by Matthew Quick Sample Assignment: • Read the Preface from Boy21 • Respond to the following questions: • What are three questions you would like answered about this book based on the information provided in the Preface? • What is one aspect of the Preface to which you can relate personally? • What is one aspect of the Preface to which you cannot relate personally?
Advantages of Connecting Sports and Literacy * Pleasure Reading * Graphic Texts * Literary Analysis * Writing (Narrative, Descriptive, * Critical Thinking Analytical, Artistic) * Oral Discussion * Media * Fiction * Social Media * Nonfiction * Inquiry * Informational Texts * Statistical Analysis * Poetry
Ideas for Connecting Books and Ball • Classroom book talks (from librarians…or athletic coaches) • Sports literature courses (offered as electives through the English Department) • Collaboration with librarians (library scavenger hunt via student interest surveys) • Collaboration with coaches (football summer reading) • Fantasy sports leagues (in the media center) • School newspaper book reviews (in the sports section) • Sports movie marathons (for students who read ## books) • Read-a-thon fundraisers (for athletic teams)
* Start Date – After-school bus (mid-October) * Recruitment – At-risk students / Student-athletes * Support – Teachers, coaches, and administrators * Schedules – Student-athletes * Retention – Sports seasons / Semesters * Incentives – Snacks and out-of-school opportunities * Grants – Books and supplies * University Students – Gender / NCAA *
Resources http://sportsliteracy.wordpress.com/
Themed Issue of English Journal A Whole New Ballgame: Sports and Culture in the English Classroom Guest Editors: Alan Brown (Wake Forest University) Chris Crowe (Brigham Young University) September 2014
Developing Contemporary Literacies through Sports: A Guide for the English Classroom Book submitted for publication by Alan Brown and Luke Rodesiler Sections: 1. Facilitating Literature Study 2. Providing Alternatives to Traditional Novels 3. Teaching Writing 4. Engaging Students in Inquiry & Research 5. Fostering Media & Digital Literacies 6. Promoting Social Justice 7. Developing Out-of-School Literacies
SIGNAL Journal Call for Manuscripts: Spring/Summer 2016 Theme : The Role of Sports in Young Adult Literature Deadline : February 1, 2016 http://www.signal-ya.org/index.php/signalj/call4manuscripts
Questions / Comments: Alan Brown Assistant Professor of English Education Wake Forest University brownma@wfu.edu http://sportsliteracy.wordpress.com/
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