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In January 2014, I entered my eighth-grade language arts classroom and saw the usual scenario. Several students were discussing their long holiday break with friends, others pulled out their textbooks and paper, and a few students sat and stared at me. Instantly, I noticed three students: Lauren, a struggling reader, hunched in the back corner at her table, eyes diverted from the class and pulling her long sleeves around her fingers.
Wade, all about "getting it done," slumped in his chair at the middle table, looking like he would rather be anywhere else than language arts class. And Dylan, a teacher pleaser, sat with great posture at the front table eager to start the lesson of the day. Little did they know that things were about to change.
Earlier in the year, I had a feeling that something just was not right with my language arts class. Students entered my class without much enthusiasm. They rarely discussed our class outside of the classroom, and it seemed like I was doing most of the work. Sure, my students were learning, and we were making our way through the curriculum with the state standards, but I noticed a lack of student engagement. There was a disconnect between my students and the curriculum. My students would often ask, "What does this have to do with me?" and "Why do we have to learn this?" I often found myself justifying to my students the importance of what they were learning and how it would benefit them in the future. However, my eighth-grade students lived in the present, and they had a deep desire to know how what they were learning affected them now. They deserved an authentic experience, and I wanted to make learning come alive for them. I knew change was needed.
It is important for teachers to understand that there is so much more to students than the life they lead in class. For some of my students, school can be the best part of their day because it offers an escape from their life at home. To engage my students in learning, I knew classroom learning must be connected and relevant to their lives, experiences, and passions. To have my students make connections between history, community,...