Literacy Now

Bell, Cece. (2014). El Deafo. New York, NY: Amulet.

Ages: 9–14

Summary

El Deafo is the 2015 Newbery Honor–winning graphic memoir of author and illustrator Cece Bell. As a result of a case of meningitis at the age of 4, Bell lost most of her hearing. She describes herself as “severely to profoundly deaf.” Although Bell is true to her memories of her childhood in El Deafo, she presents herself and all of the other characters as rabbits. This artistic choice works perfectly in El Deafo.

As a result of her hearing loss, Bell must wear hearing aids at home and a device called the Phonic Ear at school. Much of El Deafo focuses on how Bell feels like she sticks out. But she discovers that her Phonic Ear gives her “superpowers” in that she is able to hear her teacher not only in the classroom, but also when the teacher is anywhere else in the school. This brings sometimes hilarious results, as Bell can her hear teacher in the teachers’ lounge and even in the bathroom! Bell quickly embraces this ability and christens herself El Deafo, the superhero.

In addition to the challenges of growing up while feeling different, El Deafo explores other common challenges of growing up. The book follows El Deafo through fifth grade. We experience, with Bell, the struggle to make friends, the loss of friends, trying to find the right friend, and the work it takes to keep that friend. We watch her blush as she develops her first crush, Mike Miller, and stammers to put together coherent sentences in his presence. We feel Bell’s frustration with the people who treat her differently—the ones who talk too slow or too loud and even those who treat her like a baby.

Cross-Curricular Connections: English, social studies/history, art, health/character education

Ideas for Classroom Use

“Our differences are our superpowers.”

In her author’s note, Bell states, “Our differences are our superpowers.” What does she mean by this? How do differences equate to superpowers? If this statement is true, what are some of the superpowers in your classroom? What is something that makes you different? How is this your superpower?

The Connection to Animals

It is not uncommon for characters in books to be animals, nor is it uncommon for people to be represented by animals. Have students explore this connection to animals in an essay or a poster. Why do people feel so connected to animals? Why use animals to represent people? To make this activity more focused on El Deafo, why do you think that Bell selected rabbits? Is there a symbolism in Bell’s use of rabbits?

Animal Counterpart

If you had to represent yourself as an animal, which animal would it be and why? Draw a picture of yourself as this animal. If you had to represent the entire human race as an animal, which animal would you select and why?

Superpower

If you could pick any superpower, what would you pick and why? How would you use this superpower? Bell calls herself “El Deafo” and has designed a costume for herself. What would be your superhero name? Design a costume for yourself.

Additional Resources and Activities

Author Cece Bell Talks About Her New Book, El Deafo: In this 3-minute video, Bell provides an introduction to El Deafo. She also shows the Phonic Ear, which is what gave her the “superpower” of hearing her teacher everywhere she was in the school.

El Deafo: How a Girl Turned Her Disability Into a Superpower: This NPR article and interview goes into further detail about El Deafo and Bell’s experiences as a child.

El Deafo Extras: What Did El Deafo First Look Like?: This is a blog post from Bell’s website. In the post, Bell discusses that she didn’t have any experience writing a graphic novel prior to writing and illustrating El Deafo. She includes some of her initial pages from Chapter 4. An interesting activity would be to compare these initial versions of Chapter 4 to the final versions in the published El Deafo. Students could discuss the changes, identify those they found most effective, and talk about which version they prefer.

The rest of Bell’s blog is worth checking out as well, especially El Deafo Extras: From Outline to Finished Product: This is another blog post in which Bell takes readers through the process of developing Chapter 15 from her first outlines to her sketches to the final product.

Aimee Rogers is an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota. She is a member of the reading faculty and teaches children’s literature courses. Her research interests include how readers make meaning with graphic novels as well as representation in children’s and young adult literature. She can be reached at aimee.rogers@UND.edu.

Being a teacher means embracing constant change. Yet all too often, teachers are told when, how, and why to change. In this monthly column, Mrs. Mimi takes on creating change for herself by rethinking old practices and redefining teaching on her own terms. 

I feel like I am slogging through my day both literally and metaphorically. Do you? Yes, the weather is getting better (because in a strange, strange way 40 degrees is now the new 70 degrees in my life), but with warmer temperatures comes melting snow and with melting snow comes muddy yards, dirty shoes, and grimy floors. Hence the slogging.

I realized that other parts of my day feel like slogging through the mud as well. I can't decide what to make for dinner because everything sounds so ho-hum. I have no more creative ideas for crafts with my kids because we have been inside for the last jillion days. I am uninspired in my teaching right now because it all feels like the same old same old.

Maybe that's just how March feels and I should go with it, but that's not my personality. I am teaching students important skills and strategies and—because I am unafraid to toot my own horn—I am teaching them pretty darn well. But if my level of engagement and excitement is low, can we guess how those friends sitting around me are feeling? I never want my students to feel like school is the same old same old or that learning to read is a mechanical process free from excitement or passion.

So what's this girl to do? I mean reasonably do in the midst of the 10,000 things teachers are responsible for doing each and every day, slog or no slog. Please note: All slog-busting ideas have been proven effective by some very super colleagues. Also, most of these ideas work best when combined with caffeine.

Go to your local bookstore or library of choice and find a new author, series, or title that you can't wait to share with your friends. Finding a new read is powerful. Children pick up on the authenticity of your enthusiasm. It is catchy. It is motivating. It is slog busting.

Poll your class. What do they want to do as readers? Is there a project they would like to take on? An author they are curious about? Something new they would like to try as readers? Their enthusiasm is authentic. It is also catchy. It is also slog busting.

Make more time for the pieces of your teaching that inspire you the most. Love reading aloud? Me, too. Take a week and make more time for it. Luxuriate in it. No one died from altering their schedule slightly to meet students' (and teachers') needs for just one week. Slog busting.

Whatever you do, resist the temptation to give in to the slog. Reading is dynamic. It is community building and idea triggering. It is not a slog. But be kind to yourself. Forgive yourself for letting the slog momentarily take hold on you. It gets to the best of us.

Mrs. Mimi, aka Jennifer Scoggin, is a teacher who taught both first and second grades at a public elementary school in New York City. She's the author of “Be Fabulous: The Reading Teacher's Guide to Reclaiming Your Happiness in the Classroom” and “It's Not All Flowers and Sausages: My Adventures in Second Grade”, which sprung from her popular blog of the same name. Mimi also has her doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Every year, millions of people tune in to professional sports championships. Adorned in their team colors, fans rally behind the players. During these big games, whether fan, foe, or advertising exec (commercials = $), we are captivated.

Unfortunately, most people are not as mesmerized by education. In fact, I’d bet (if I were a betting person) that most people would groan, twitch, or have some other apathetic response if the topic of education stumbled into a room. This is understandable, I guess. For most of us, schools don’t exude enough “je ne sais quoi” to sit with for four hours at a time.

Yet there are a few folks willing to don face paint and go toe-to-toe with big, bad monsters (let’s call them poverty, limited literacy, and homogeneity) every day in order to alter real fates. They tackle variances in learning, family origin, and their own “stuff” in an effort to promote progress. No “shade” to my sports-loving family, but teachers are part of a critical team in American society. By empowering them, the culture of American classrooms will change.

Teachers are in an invaluable position to shift classroom culture because they can do the following:

• Insist on individual understanding—Classrooms are dynamic, living organisms and cannot survive if suffocated. Teachers (and students) need to know, appreciate, and reflect continuously on their individual and collective identities. The adage of “know thyself” both as a practice and as a vision for classrooms can help dismantle cultural, linguistic, and geographic barriers. When everyone in the classroom knows he or she is valuable, the team functions better.
• Play around—Too often, “boring” is the adjective of choice when people describe learning. For the most part, however, teachers are masters of improvisation. When I instruct teacher candidates, I model methods that engage their senses. Although there is debate on the notion of multiple intelligences, it is a fact that most people would rather get up and do rather than sit and stay. To “learn” is an active verb, so whenever and wherever possible, do so.
• Garner feedback from students—This may very well be akin to asking teachers to willingly kiss death, but student feedback harkens back to insisting on individual understanding. I’ve had my fair share of prepubescent or righteously indignant adolescents but, more often than not, there are worthy compromises to be made when teachers hear directly from their students.
• Never, ever skip or skirt around major issues—Abortion. Eric Garner. Rape culture. Yes, they’re uncomfortable, but students (with appropriate disclosure based on age) confront these issues too. Don’t be afraid to “suspend” or postpone a planned lesson when history is in the making. Heck, the Philadelphia Phillies winning the MLB World Series in 2008 opened a discussion in my classroom that may not have occurred if I were adamant about sticking to the schedule.
• Connect and collaborate—Not only with students, but also their parents, other teachers, and the community. Sometimes changing the culture of a classroom means providing everyone involved with an alternate reality. Do authentic community service (I avoid “raising” money whenever possible) and maintain those relationships. When I taught at The Haverford School, my boys worked with the Norris Square Neighborhood Project to beautify community gardens in North Philadelphia as a co-curricular service learning and field trip. I wanted my boys to see real connections between our readings and in the region where they live. Invite other voices into the classroom so that students recognize knowledge is multinational, multigenerational, and exists in multiple ways.

Teachers need fans. In the age of 21st-century skills, Common Core, and intense scrutiny in education, classrooms have become a unique gridiron. And although policy, administration, parents, and other stakeholders play a role, shifting classroom culture requires everyone to be tuned in to the huddle.

Nakeiha Primus is an assistant professor in the Educational Foundations department at Millersville University in Millersville, PA. Prior to that, she was an English teacher at the Haverford School in Haverford, PA. She completed her undergraduate studies in English and American studies at Tufts University, obtained her masters in teaching from Duke University, and is a PhD candidate at the University of Delaware. Her research merges curriculum and literary theory and sociocultural approaches to learning. Visit her blog mid/scribble and follow her on Twitter.

There is no doubt digital technology has a dramatic impact on the world of publications and their readerships; it is an impact we can no longer ignore. Online periodicals are quickly beginning to replace print versions. Major newspapers and magazines offer online versions as well as mobile-compatible versions of print media. There is a wide array of reading, writing, and publishing tools, all connected through the Internet and mobile devices including not only computers but also electronic readers (e.g., Kindle), smartphones, and tablets (e.g., iPad). In this dynamic environment, academic journals have been slow to change. This void presents a unique opportunity to be a leader in online publications.

Print academic journals are way behind in making the transition to online publications: One author refers to academic journals as “the most profitable obsolete technology in history.” A look at an outstanding example of a commercial periodical is informative. We have chosen Sports Illustrated (SI) and its digital platforms to make our point. It is important to note that the comparison is limited: According to Statista, an online database, SI in 2014 had a readership of 19.9 million for print and digital additions, 5.7 million for web (desktop/laptop), and 7.5 million on mobile web. Such a versatile readership provides a huge financial advantage in developing a sophisticated web presence. But the sheer number of digital readers is also noteworthy.

Given this, let’s take a quick tour of an online edition of SI. The online edition contains all the articles and features of the print edition. One of the first obvious enhancements that you will notice is that there are multiple covers; SI often uses regional covers to highlight the sporting events for particular areas in the United States. A second difference is “Leading Off,” a sectionthat provides multiple high-quality photos of athletes and sporting events. The online publication will usually have three to five additional photos, and you can zoom in with any device with that feature. In addition to these and other enhancements of the features in the printed additions, SI offers digital-only features. These include

• Bonus content: related articles from previous issues and online videos
• Social media: a live Twitter feed as well as live Twitter feeds of all the SI writers
• SI.com: links to related articles on the Sports Illustrated website
• Sports Illustrated Instagram: photos and short comments
• “SI Digital Bonus”: videos and digital links embedded in articles and features throughout the issue
• “Now See This”: a collection of the week’s best sports videos

Articles often include additional photos and links to related resources and there are navigation tools that help the reader move around within the issue. Of course, not all of these multimodal enhancements would be appropriate for an academic journal, but there are enhancements that would be unique to academic journals.

There are currently very few strong examples of what is possible for academic journals. One exception is Hybrid Pedagogy, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal. Among its stated goals are “to interrogate and investigate technological tools to determine their most progressive applications” and to create “an ongoing discussion that is networked and participant-driven, to an open peer-reviewed journal that is both academic and collective.” Articles include many strategic hyperlinks that both support and expand the text and provide readers with technological tools. There is also a strong emphasis on visually oriented layouts. There are direct feeds to Twitter, Facebook, and Feedburner.

ILA has a history as a leader in online publications. Three efforts are worth mentioning. First, from 1997 to 2005, the International Reading Association (now ILA), published Reading Online(ROL), an early effort to take advantage of digital technology. ROL was a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. Each article included navigational tools that allowed the reader to move easily within the article and links to other ROL articles, related websites, and the reference list. There was also an active discussion board.

The Reading Teacher (RT) and the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JAAL) have begun to move toward more interactive and digital publications with mobile-compatible access and the use of social media into and in conjunction with print journals, for instance, inclusion of podcasts to enhance print journal articles and use of Facebook pages connected to journals as a platform to interact with readers. JAAL now features related live Hangouts on Air facilitated by a department editor. ILA journals are eager to feature author-submitted hyperlinked content within articles would well serve a 21st-century readership.

All journals need to be more technologically sophisticated to have a strong appeal to younger literacy educators and build a more vibrant literacy community. Authors  are encouraged to include online features such as podcasts or related social media interactions (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) in their articles. These interactive digital features could include within-article navigational tools, links to related websites and articles, embedded audio and video, and expanded appendices, graphs, charts, and even links to primary data.

Building on the SI example, we share an example of how to foster reader and author interactivity through use of social media in conjunction with an ILA journal print or online article. An ILA journal article could include links to Flickr or Instagram images of the topic being described; readers could participate by contributing additional images that connect to the topic and tagging them. Or, a social bookmarking site such as diigo could include related reading and news that connects with a journal article; readers could add their own resources and links.

To foster “real-time” interaction, more live synchronous sessions such as Google Hangouts on Air should be instituted. Tools that would allow readers to interact with authors and other readers should be identified and implemented. ILA already hosts Twitter chats; journals could sponsor them as well within the larger framework.

It is crucial to carefully analyze what actions are needed to make publications successful online. We strongly believe the investment in technologically sophisticated journals will pay great benefits for educators, including younger educators, and we hope authors will rise to the challenge before them. This would also create a more a dynamic, interactive, and connected online community. Certainly the intellectual resources exist within the membership. These resources need to be marshaled to bring about needed technological change.

Gary Moorman is Professor Emeritus at Appalachian State University. He has PhD and Masters degrees in Second Literacy Education. His scholarly interests include multiple and digital literacies, teacher education and reading comprehension. Peggy Semingson is currently an associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Arlington in the College of Education where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in literacy studies. She is a 2013 UT System Regents' Outstanding Teacher.

Geraldine Nanjala is a dedicated teacher and librarian at Ndege Primary School in Kenya. While she may not have a lot in resources, she’s made the most of what she has, spreading a love of literature to students.

Her tireless efforts to bring more books and opportunities to her students have led to recognition in her home country and abroad. In 2013 she won an International Reading Association award for Literacy Projects in Countries With Developing Economies and last year she was honored at the Maktaba Awards in Kenya for her encouragement of literacy at her school.

Nanjala still faces an uphill climb in many ways, but she has grand plans for her students and community.

How did you begin your career, and what led you to your current position?

My secondary school teachers, Antony Njui who taught Swahili and Sister Fintan Wanjiku who taught English were great teachers to me. They used a storytelling approach to make lessons interesting. They also encouraged our class to be teachers by saying it’s the best career because you can work anywhere in the world and it deals with angels.

My mother was a teacher and later an area education officer. She praised the teaching career and I admired the respect she earned.

I am a currently a senior teacher and a teacher librarian. My colleagues unanimously nominated me a senior teacher in 2008 because of my dedication. I offered extra time to any work that required it. I volunteered myself any time the school needed me.

I let the pupils borrow the few story books we had in the library. I made myself responsible if they lost them and kept the list of those who borrowed what.

How long have you been a member of ILA? How has membership influenced your career? 

I have been a member for 11 years, but the last four years I have been very active. My membership has really influenced my career because there is a lot I get from Reading Teacher. It has methods of teaching and how to handle special children (like those with autism), diagnostic teaching, and more. I keep referring to it.

The updates I get from these magazines have made me feel that I am a teacher of substance for those who don’t read anything and can offer solutions for pupils’ problems.

The 8th Pan African Reading for All Conference in Nairobi in 2013 allowed me to interact with other teachers of the world. I bought a CD from a teacher from South Africa which I used in my teaching. The membership has built my confidence and self-esteem for speaking in public.

As a librarian, what do you think your role is in bringing literacy to the world or, more specifically, your school? What challenges do face?

I lead readers to where the books are because I am a custodian.  I promote reading materials that are in the library and the services offered by librarians at assemblies, on notice boards, and through the class librarian. I train young librarians to assist me with services. I guide users on how to use the library, the materials, and oversee all of the resources.

My challenges are:

• the loss of books and slow replacement of the same;
• parents have no time to read because they are too busy;
• I have lessons, like other teachers, so I cannot arrange and cover books as required;
• very few parents let their children come on weekends and holidays because children help them to look after other children as well as look for food (child labor);
• handling my family responsibilities at the expense of the weekend library lessons;
• some teachers from other schools find my work nonsense;
• getting permission from the head teacher to attend a workshop is not easy because they say it is “your own program.”

What do you consider to be your proudest career moment? 

When I was asked by our District Education Officer to tell teachers at a district workshop how I succeeded getting children interested in reading story books. She recognized my efforts to promote literacy. In September 2014, my school library was praised at a gala night in Nairobi. I had entered our library to compete in the Maktaba Awards which is a competition of libraries in the country was congratulated for voluntarily trying to make children love reading by decorating the library with attractive reading materials. This was unique among competitors in our categories (public schools). I was made to stand and they all clapped for me. I earned my school a national certificate and a gift book voucher of 5,000 Kenya shillings.

You won a 2013 IRA award for a literacy project in Kenya. Is it ongoing?

This is in the pillar of my success. In my career I have bought books and have fulfilled three-quarters of my proposal. Just the 5,000 shillings have not been spent because of the challenges I mentioned before. But I’ve planned to conduct the exercise in April when the schools are closed and have sent the first half of the expenditure. The project is going on and once I do this last part in April I’ll write a comprehensive report.

What is your plan moving forward? Do you have any upcoming long-range projects?

I would like to move forward by planning to expand the library and possibly getting computers. It could also expand into a resource center for classes with a projector for lessons. I would also like to fulfill the Maktaba Award recommendation that I go for a library management course.

I also wish to start a lunch program to keep the children in school. I see they have the desire to read, but they go with their parents to look for food on weekends and holidays. For all of this I need to find more donors to donate reading materials and to partner with for these programs.

What advice would you give a new teacher that either you received or wish you had?

• Be ready to volunteer.
• Be tolerant because you will meet people who will want to let you fail in your work.
• Be honest with yourself.
• Be loving and kind to the children and always listen to what they say.
• Attend seminars, workshops, or conferences on literacy to share and learn from others as you interact.
• Implement new ideas you have learn/acquire to benefit your learners.
• Join literacy associations to keep yourself updated on new ideas.
• Take good care of public property, especially when you’re given a grant because it comes from people who have denied themselves.
• Be alert on new information and communication technologies; visit the Web.

April Hall is editor of Literacy Daily. A journalist for about 20 years, she has specialized in education, writing and editing for newspapers, websites, and magazines.