DEFINITION OF MULTIGENRE IN THE SPIRIT OF MULTIGENRE
Multigenre pushes convention,
challenges "This is the way writing is done,"
and "Hey, wait a minute, you can't do that
in a piece of writing."
Multigenre speaks, "How come I read imaginative
literature but I have to write about it in an essay
that is thesis driven, argumentative, and exactly
five you-know-whats (each you-know-what, of course,
of the 3.8 variety), an essay in which the writer
overpowers readers, beats them
into submission, and concludes
with a summative you-know-what that restates the thesis?"
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
But writing that way is not what multigenre is about.
Multigenre removes the lid of Pandora's Rhetorical Box.
Multigenre twirls you and spins you and you hope the steps
the writer asks you to follow lead to fulfillment.
Multigenre knows that feeling is first.
Multigenre grooves on pulse, has flushed cheeks,
hair on the back of the neck that stands on end.
Multigenre makes readers sit up in their chairs.
Multigenre is not roast beef; it is ciappino.
It is less like mashed potatoes,
and more like red beans and rice.
Multigenre pushes convention,
challenges "This is the way writing is done,"
and "Hey, wait a minute, you can't do that
in a piece of writing."
Multigenre speaks, "How come I read imaginative
literature but I have to write about it in an essay
that is thesis driven, argumentative, and exactly
five you-know-whats (each you-know-what, of course,
of the 3.8 variety), an essay in which the writer
overpowers readers, beats them
into submission, and concludes
with a summative you-know-what that restates the thesis?"
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
But writing that way is not what multigenre is about.
Multigenre removes the lid of Pandora's Rhetorical Box.
Multigenre twirls you and spins you and you hope the steps
the writer asks you to follow lead to fulfillment.
Multigenre knows that feeling is first.
Multigenre grooves on pulse, has flushed cheeks,
hair on the back of the neck that stands on end.
Multigenre makes readers sit up in their chairs.
Multigenre is not roast beef; it is ciappino.
It is less like mashed potatoes,
and more like red beans and rice.
Tom Romano
Over the past several classes, we have been working on asking and answering higher level questions based on Costa's levels of questioning. You have read a variety of paired poems/non-fiction texts, asked and answered questions about them and have discussed them in class. I have been extremely impressed with the depth of your discussions, and YOU have expressed your own level of excitement by continuing these discussions in online postings on "todaysmeet." We are almost ready to embark on a new journey together... the journey into research.
The word "research" makes every seventh grader's hair stand up on the back of his or her neck. It makes toes curl, smiles turn into frowns and scowls, and it BASICALLY ruins one's day... just hearing the word. Can I tell you a little secret? Teachers often dread research as much as students, but for different reasons. We work diligently to teach students ALL of the proper ways to cite sources, create bibliographies, find appropriate sources, ask good, solid questions, write effectively... etc & so forth. At the end of the process, teachers get to read papers that students really didn't understand how to write, and really didn't WANT to write.
This year, I want to try something different. I want you to WANT to write. I want you to WANT to research. I want you to WANT to blog about your journey. This year, we will work together to create dynamic, interactive, fun-to-create, awesome-to-read research projects that are written in styles that match your own personal likes and dislikes; we will create multi-genre projects. By the end of your journey, my hope is that you will argue over WHO presents first! And I will be thrilled to read the fruits of your labor!
You have already seen the importance of asking and answering the "right" types of questions in order to discuss a topic. You have even enjoyed discussing poems and topics you might have otherwise found to be too "boring", "dumb", "challenging", "senseless"...you fill in the blank. And you have done it WELL! The rest of the blog posts I create will include information about our journey through this process. Remember, I have NOT taken this journey before; we are taking it together.
No comments:
Post a Comment