The+Perks+of+Being+the+Catcher+in+the+Rye+(Pt.+2)

=Pairing Project, Part Two= Becca Banfill Angel Mount Troy Reedy Anne Weston

=The Perks of Being a Wallflower=

Chbosky, Stephen. //The Perks of Being a Wallflower//. New York: Gallery Books, 1999. Print.

Google Ebook Preview of The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky’s //The Perks of Being a Wallflower// connects to //The Catcher in the Rye// in a number of ways. In both books, the narrator is dealing with some emotional or psychological issues. Holden clearly struggles with bouts of depression, which seem to be brought on by everyday events; many of which are not generally regarded as sad. Charlie also feels depressed in some parts of the book. Along with his depression, Charlie also experiences issues with anxiety. Both characters attempt to deal with their mental illnesses throughout their respective stories. Furthermore, Both Holden and Charlie try to do so in largely the wrong ways. Holden decides to turn to alcohol at some points to battle his depression. Similarly, Charlie drinks, smokes, and does other drugs to dull his own issues. Ultimately, both do seek the help they need, although each is reluctant at first. Aside from their emotional problems, Charlie and Holden connect in a number of other ways. First, they are the only perspective the reader receives. This leads to a very strong voice from each narrator. Since each narrator has their own issues, one might question their reliability in presenting the facts of their lives. It would be excellent for students to explore the factors that make the narrators dependable or untrustworthy and see what impact it has on their reading of the tales. Each narrator also has a teacher/mentor whom they trust and go to for advice. In both cases, the narrator is in a school where they do not feel as though they fit. Overall, there are many similarities between the two. Students could go through a detailed character analysis to discover more commonalities and differences between Holden and Charlie. The books also contain similar themes. Both Holden and Charlie are maturing, or at least are attempting to do so, throughout the narratives. The books are essentially two coming of age stories set in different time periods. Holden and Charlie are each trying to make sense of the world around them. In their efforts to understand the world, they both attempt to establish meaningful relationships. This is another significant theme in the stories. Holden and Charlie are both pretty much loners to begin with. Holden has people he knows and talks to, but does not really like anybody other than his brother and sister. Charlie does find friends whom he adores and manages to establish important connections with his family as well. Sexuality is another major theme in both books. Holden talks about sex a good deal. He encounters situations where he could have sex, but chooses not to. Similarly, Charlie has experiences in which he has an opportunity to have sex and decides against it. Understanding one’s own sexuality and feelings about the appropriateness of sexual activity is certainly a key factor in the maturation process and comprehending the world; both of which Holden and Charlie seek to do. The two books seem to fit together extremely well. The narrators alone could provide plenty of material for students to analyze. Overall, the pairing of these texts could help readers understand each one a deeper level.

=Research: Online Instruction=

Ertmer, Peggy A. "Addressing first- and second- order barriers to change: Strategies for technology integration" //Educational// //Technology Research and Development// V.47 (1999): 47-61. Web. 18 Feb. 2013 [|Article Here]

This article discusses the different barriers teachers face when trying to integrate technology into the classroom, and what a teacher can do to overcome them. Suggestions such as developing a vision for your classroom (similar to learning goals) are given, to help teachers use technology most effectively. Teachers are encouraged to model proper use of technology, and to discuss with other teachers what works best and in what ways. Collaboration between students while working with technology is also suggested. The author also states that once an overarching goal is set, curriculum-based goals must then be focused on for the most effective style of integrating technology into the classroom. Although not solely based on English or on internet learning specifically, it is a wonderful guide for addressing the overall use of technology for the most beneficial type of learning in a classroom.

Bailey, Nancy M. "It Makes It More Real: Teaching New Literacies in a Secondary English Classroom." //English Education//. 41.3. (2009): 207-234. //ProQuest//. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. Link to the Article

"It Makes It More Real" is a case study focusing on the integration of multimodal activities into an average, English 9 classroom. Initially, technology was used as a “hook” to help students get interested in learning about analyzing literature; this resulted in high participation rates. However, in the next unit on short stories, when technology was completely unused, students no longer showed the same enthusiasm. In the final unit of the study on poetry, technology was used as a supplementary feature rather than as a “hook.” This unit brought the most successes regarding student enthusiasm, and shows the power of technology as something greater than a “hook” to grab students’ interests.

Raths, David. “From Twitter to Edmodo: Schools Collaborate with Social Media” //T.H.E. Journal// 40.1 (2013): 26-30. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. [|Link to Article]

This article details how schools are integrating technology into their lessons. Also, the article discusses ways to connect with students and motivate their learning through the uses of technology. After noticing the popularity of social media sites among their students, some schools decided to utilize those sites to connect with their students. Sites like Google Apps allow students to save their work online and continue working at home. Some teachers have begun using the popular social media site, twitter, to build learning communities among their students. Schools have also been utilizing sites that are integrated with Google Apps, allowing students to contact other students and their instructor as well as store and work on projects online.

=Process=

For Part 2, Troy will write about the points of connection. Anne, Angel, and Becca will each find a useful article and annotate it for the page. After spring break, we will reconvene to discuss our ideas for the third portion of the project.