Presented at the National Council of Teachers of English // 22-24 Nov. 2019
A Multi-genre inquiry project based on Ishmael Beah's A Long Way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier |
The Essential Question:
How Do Children develop resilience in the face of trauma?
This multi-genre inquiry project, based on a model by Simon (2007) began as an assignment in Dr. Joan Mitchell's English Pedagogy course at Wake Forest University, but it unfurled into a deeply meaningful experience as I explored both the painful depths of childhood trauma and the encouraging promise of overcoming trauma through resiliency. The multi-genre nature of the project allowed me to experiment with various modes of expression in order to answer the essential question. These genres serve as examples of how high school students may explore this same question in the future, and the diversity of activities directly reflects Gardner's (1983) Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
On this website, you will find eight different genres that engage with the essential question and the primary text, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. In addition to the works themselves, each genre page contains a brief explanation of the content. I hope you will find these genres useful for your own classroom.
On this website, you will find eight different genres that engage with the essential question and the primary text, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. In addition to the works themselves, each genre page contains a brief explanation of the content. I hope you will find these genres useful for your own classroom.
Feel free to contact me, Brandon Scott, at [email protected]