I have really enjoyed Blau’s book, especially because of its practical applicability to me as I brainstorm new lessons and approaches to reading and writing. My thoughts are, as always, a bit scattered as a I work to make meaning of all that I’ve read (there’s a lot to take in!), but here are a few things that jump out at me:

–Reading logs as preparation for class discussions: Students don’t realize it, but if they have an opportunity to jot down ideas before being put on the spot by the teacher, they are so much more likely to have formulated a thoughtful response to what they’ve read. I’m sure we’ve all experienced the (many) moments when we call on student after student and no one seems to have anything to say about a passage that is overflowing with material for analysis. I really like the reading log idea because it helps prepare students to make thoughtful comments in class, but I’m still working through practical applications of this practice in a high school classroom. I like the idea, and would like to implement it in some form, but a reading log audit would be a bit of a stretch for my sophomores—and I simply don’t have time to collect and read the logs regularly.

–Students revising their initial impressions based on input of others: This concept fascinates me. I love doing group annotation activities (“silent conversations” as I call them). I ask kids to annotate a poem or passage; they then pass their papers around in a circle, each making one or two comments about, in response to, or against what the original person wrote. By the end of the exercise, the students’ initial ideas have usually changed, extended, or been reinforced in a stronger way. I’m thinking now of asking students to write a reader response journal to a poem/passage, and then, when they bring it in to class, have them read and respond to their own writing (and then possibly have others provide input as well). The students would then go home and revise their original response. I think my students would really enjoy this activity, especially if I give them freedom to be creative in their presentation of the information (different colors, fonts, etc. to demonstrate their thoughts at different times). I enjoyed the Think Aloud analysis we wrote for this class for similar reasons. It’s refreshing to color outside the lines every once in a while.

–Questioning the thesis-proof essay model: I see Blau’s argument and I agree that in “the real world” of writing there are few circumstances that call for such an essay style; however, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that we, as high school teachers, have to prepare students for standardized tests (SOLs, SATs, etc.) that require these cookie cutter formulas. I would love to use some of Blau’s suggestions, but I just can’t see how I can add them in to the already overflowing curriculum I’m up against. I think the best I can hope to achieve is a balance between thesis-proof essays and other, more open styles of literary analysis. Even if I start with only a handful of such activities per year, that’s a step in the right direction.