“…this year in honors English I learned how to write an essay much better and more efficiently with the help of Mr. Viskanta. All the paragraph outline worksheets helped me a lot. I used to not really know in what order to put my sentences; sometimes I didn’t even know how or what to write what I wanted to say. The outlines helped me to guide me in the right direction to a better essay and/or paragraph.”1
Student Corridos
Project Overview
This thematic assignment empowered students to respond to two texts that were read in class. One was the fictional novel TheTortilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle. Addressing issues of immigration and class, the novel also resonated for students due to its local setting in the San Fernando Valley. The second was the award-winning piece of journalism by Los Angeles Times reporter Sonia Nazario, Enrique’s Journey. This text reports on the dangerous journey migrants make from Hondouras through Mexico via “el tren de la muerte,” the train of death. The work also aligns with Daniel Pearl Journalism Magnet’s school focus on journalism.
By creatively responding to thematically overlapping readings, students used higher order thinking skills such as analyze, apply, evaluate, and create (Hess, 2013).
The corrido is “a narrative song or ballad whose characters, events, and themes represent the values and history of the Mexican culture both in Mexico and the southwestern states of the United States” (Fox & Solieman, 2002). During the Mexican Revolution, corridos commemorated battle figures and later in the 1970’s focused on “local events and characters or broader issues such as political corruption and immigration to the United States” (Wald, 2017). Using the corrido as the creative form through which students responded to the texts allowed for deeper connections between the reading material and allowed for personal experience and reflections to be incorporated into the assignment. One of the strengths of the corrido format is that it is embedded with cultural and creative significance that is directly related to the studied content.
The corrido also incorporates elements of poetic forms, allowing for review of concepts related to poetic writing (Wald, 2017). The form allowed for students, should they wish, to demonstrate broader cultural and linguistic competencies. Kinloch and Burkhard (2016) argue
For example, many students incorporated their knowledge of Spanish into their writing; some students even translated their entire piece into Spanish. Students who used Spanish in their work were encouraged to share their corridos with their Spanish instructor.
Fox, S., & Solieman, O. (2002). The Corrido. Retrieved from The University of Arizona Corrido website: https://parentseyes.arizona.edu/node/1249
Hess, K. (2013). A guide for using Webb’s Depth of Knowledge with Common Core State Standards. Retrieved from Connecticut Association of Schools website: https://www.casciac.org/pdfs/Webbs-DOK-Flip-Chart.pdf
Kinloch, V., & Burkhard, T. (2016). Teaching Writing in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald, (Eds.). Handbook of Writing Research (pp. 377-391). The Guilford Press.
Wald, E. (2017, April). Corridos. Retrieved from Oxford Bibliographies website: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199913701/obo-9780199913701-0077.xml
Testimonials
“I have learned that what we learn in English happens in every day life. During the time we were reading 1984, the conspiracy of Edward Snowden was happening and even a couple weeks ago, with the injustice of Donald Sterling while reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Many things have influenced the way we learn English.”1
RA 2014
“…I’ve really tried to make my writing more than just the assignment. I enhanced it with variations of sentence structure and word choice. I think the Kreuger Park paper was a turning point for me this year. … This assignment helped me to create realistic descriptions and setting. … I know there is still room for me to improve in my writing, but I feel that I made major strides this school year. … Overall, this class helped me to acquire skills in English that I didn’t learn earlier on in school. I feel better prepared to take AP Literature next year. Thank you.”1
GI
“My experience in English class this year has been unforgettable. I will always remember the novel “Tortilla Curtain” for I enjoyed reading it the most out of all the books this year. Also, I had a pleasure being involved in our classroom discussions and contributing different ideas on the board especially for “Life of Pi.” Overall, I enjoyed Honors English and I am looking forward to AP Literature next year.”1
SJ 2014
“Writing different prompts, at least once a week, has helped me improve my writing skills and also made me a better writer. Reading the book “Tortilla Curtain”* by T.C Boyle; helped me with the concept and the use of compare and contrast which benefitted me to have a better understanding of the book.”1
ES 2014
“My honors English class has taught me to flourish immensely as a writer. … I gained confidence in the way I was writing. I learned how to successfully analyze a book as well as a short story to great depths. Writing and analyzing a piece of work weather it is a poem or an article has become second nature to me. I was taught that a story may not only have one main idea or purpose, but in fact have several.”1
MK 2014
“…I’m most proud of learning how to use details and sensory language in my writing. The prompts I wrote in class every Monday allowed me to expand my imagination and include the detail my writing needed in order to improve. … I used to keep everything nice and simple but from this class I have learned that detail is very important in writing. … This year has been very fun and I’m looking forward for your AP Literature class next year.”1