If you're in New York State or a similar test-encumbered area, you probably have to work with an extended response question, asking students to write about two passages they've read. The problem with these kinds of questions is that they're almost always based on essays that (by design) nobody cares about. This post offers a one to two week-long mini unit looking at two articles focused on issues of gender inequality, culminating in a practice essay based on the New York State 8th Grade ELA Extended Response format.
First a Word on Extended Response Format: Scroll Down if You've Got This and Just Want the Good Stuff
The format is often :
How does each text do something . . .
Describe the similarities or differences between the two . . .
For instance, the 2007 NY State 8th ELA Test asked students to read an essay about an electric car and an essay about the history of washing machines (I seriously couldn't make this shit up). Then, the students were asked to describe the impact of each invention on the lives of people and evaluate which invention likely had a greater impact on people.
So it works to just teach students to write a simple 5 paragraph essay, including an introduction with direct thesis statement, a first body paragraph describing how the first text does whatever is being asked, a second body paragraph describing how the second text does whatever is being asked, then a third body paragraph that compares or contrasts as appropriate. A short conclusion paragraph can do anything from the general sum up/restate to the more admirable connection to life or broader issues.
Using Some Decent Content: Bust and Two Images of Feminism
I've had some great success teaching this essay format, and it's all due to the texts I've selected. The important thing is to give students texts that they might actually care about. Even better, give them things they can ARGUE about. They seem to like that . . .
I scored a real point or two last year with this version of a nonfiction test prep week. We had already studied elements of nonfiction articles earlier in the year, but there's no reason these articles would've work for that too.
Both articles were from the feminist magazine, Bust. If you're not familiar with Bust, you should be. This is a teacher's covert weapon of choice. It's raucus, sexy, on top of really great pop culture trends, and increasingly targeting younger readers. Let me be clear: you could never have a copy of it around in class. The back 10 pages or so is devoted to small adds for etsy shops selling sex toys, hot lacy numbers, and every form of knitted product known to womankind. It also includes a short fiction section entitled "The One Handed Read" and a really fantasticly honest Q & A section where the lovechild of Alfred Kinsey and Ann Landers gives some of the best advice around. In short, it's a great magazine for adolescent girls. Pro-empowerment through knowledge and self esteem. Can't go wrong.
So, I use it any time I can by simply copying articles for students. Of course, if students happen to wander over to Bust's site and start reading it, that's Kool and the Gang.
The first article was easier for students to grasp. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is about a high school girl who's struggling with being a young feminist - surprisingly enough, people say ignorant things, accuse her of being a lesbian, and generally misunderstand the whole point of what it means to be a feminist. Since the article devotes a lot of time to refuting these assumptions and providing a description of what it might really mean to be a feminist, students get a good introduction to the ideas of the movement in general. There are ideas and terms that could be glossed - she mentions Planned Parenthood, for instance - but this usually comes in the form of footnotes I pencil in before making copies, which gets students used to that format.
The article is probably worth two 45 minute classes at least. Author's purpose and supporting details are good test prep skills to focus on, since she's being both persuasive and informative.
The second article takes feminism in a different direction, focusing on more direct forms of oppression and more direct forms of fighting back. "Angry in Pink" describes the systematic abuses faced by women in rural India, and tells the story of Sampat Pal, a woman who started a vigilante gang of women to fight back against patriarchal power in the countryside. Because of its more conventional depiction of gender oppression, this article was less controversial in class, but Sampat Pal's method of fighting back sparked interesting discussions, since the idea of women physically dominating men is so culturally unheard of, no matter where the reader lives.
After reading both of the articles and spending a day or two on the features of each, students should be able to talk about the ideas of feminism and gender inequality in general, using these two sources and examples from other texts or their own lives.
The final step in the test prep process is to give the students some example questions like the one provided below. I've found that it's useful to do this as a mini writing project, going through a quick version of the writing process with drafts and revisions, followed by a chance to sit through the actual process of writing an answer to an extended prompt, just like students would do on a test. The point is that students are learning a writing form by writing about a topic they've become invested in and actually have something to say about.
Sample Extended Prompt, Modeled on the NY State ELA Extended Prompt
Write an essay in which you describe the hardships faced by women in each of the articles. Explain how these hardships were similar. Use details from both articles to support your answer.
In your answer, be sure to include:
- a description of the hardships faced by both groups of women
- an explanation of how these hardships were similar
- details from both articles to support your answer
Alterations
After students worked this question through the drafting and revising process, I gave them an in-class essay prompt following the same format but asking a slightly different question. Alterations could include asking about differences in methods of fighting against patriarchy (by the way, my 8th graders tended to love this word) or the much more complicated issue of comparing each woman's method of involving others.
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