'Eager readers' get up close and personal

Curling up with a good book is a great winter pastime. Woodland English Language Arts teachers are encouraging this habit and other important aspects of language with several engaging activities.

Middle school students often enjoy novels together as a whole class. Seventh-graders have been reading "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton. Their teacher, Heather Duncan, reported that many of her students were so interested in the book that they finished it on their own during the snow days. Among the eager readers was Reed Layton, a senior who assists Duncan as part of the cadet teaching program. He and classmate Anastasia Walter, who is a cadet teacher in Renee Garner's sixth-grade classroom, both admitted to reading ahead in the novels their younger students were enjoying. Walter and her sixth-grade charges are enjoying "Fever, 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson.

High school students do their fair share of reading and creating their own literature to share with others. Sharon Balzer's LA I students are analyzing a variety of media while exploring "Romeo and Juliet." They are creating a shape poem using famous Shakespearean quotes. Students in LA II are reading the novella, "The Metamorphosis," by Franz Kafka. When they finish, Balzer plans to have the students make clay "bugs" that represent their own personal traits.

Students in Balzer's Creative Writing course were tasked with choosing an item of personal importance. Then they had to write a script from the point of view of the item itself. Cavin Harris brought in a fender from his old truck. Another student brought a road construction cone. The items narrate their "life" as a possession of a high school student.

Both Balzer and Nichole Stegeman have LA III students. The colleagues are hosting an ethics competition with their students, using 15 cases provided by the National High School Ethics Association. Students will practice the art of persuasion while also learning to analyze and evaluate multiple viewpoints.

English Language Arts teacher Nichole Stegeman, who recently hosted a poetry competition at Woodland, poses with the 12 participants. Pictured (front row, from left) are Stegeman, Adison Slaughter, Katelynn Hahs, Harlie Hinkle, Aaron Stewart and Ellsie Wilkinson; and (back row, from left) Jespn Evans, Reed Layton, Haley Lerwick, Kolby Maddox, Dalton Cook, Skyler Hinkle and Aiden Williford.Courtesy of Nichole Stegeman

Stegeman's LA II students will also practice persuasive communication. They are researching projects of change they would like to see in their school or community. After delving into the topic, they will present their findings to stakeholders.

Stegeman recently hosted a poetry competition based on the Poetry Out Loud model. Students presented works from poets in a series of rounds. The event is meant to help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about literary history. Stegeman invited outside judges to preside over the poetry readings. Michelle Gray, high school librarian, and April Brumfield, RootEd college and career adviser, were joined by a familiar face, retired Woodland music teacher Dr. Melissa Cooper.

The judges listened to the 12 competitors and analyzed their physical presence, voice, articulation, and interpretation and evidence of understanding of the poems. The top three performances were awarded with cash prizes thanks to Woodland Booster Club. And the winner, senior Harlie Hinkle, will have the opportunity to perform at the regional level of the competition in Cape Girardeau.

Whether reading, writing, listening or speaking, Woodland students have many opportunities to improve their language skills.

TOBI LAYTON is a family and consumer sciences teacher and FCCLA sponsor at Woodland High School.