The English Teacher.

I've taught English Language Arts to grades 6-12, and no matter what the grade level, my kids really struggle with finding their own voices in their writing. I suppose I blame the scripted nature of teaching writing and the intense focus of mechanics, instead of content, but I'll leave that for another discussion. Fact is...my students would come to me writing what they thought I wanted to hear, using the tone and voice they thought would earn an A. Helping my students discover their own voices and styles of writing became something of a conviction of mine. After all, I could really relate to them. I was in college before I found my own voice, thanks to an English professor from Jamaica, who fished my voice out of my writing and challenged me to use it. 

One of my favorite intro activities in teaching voice is called Mad Talk. Super fun. Works for all grade levels. It's one of those lessons that every single student of all ability levels will enjoy....so much so that one could hear a pin drop once the writing begins. I first discovered "Mad Talk" writing when I was a fellow in Jacksonville State University's Writing Project many years ago. Another teacher had shared a similar lesson, and like most teachers, I adapted a "stolen" lesson and made it my own. 

It's pretty simple, really. I ask the students to think of something (or someone) who made them mad. I mean REALLY angry. I read some excerpts from various stories or novels in which a character berates another. Sometimes, I show a video clip from a film. Then I ask the students to say what they really wanted to say to the person who angered them. I do remind them not to curse and go crazy with the violence. My classroom motto is "wholesome and uplifting" - ask any kid I ever taught. 

With my timer in hand, I tell the students they have 3-5 minutes to speak their minds. To tell off the wrongdoer, to stand for justice, to say what they've long wanted to say, to Mad Talk. "Okay...go!" Why I've not photographed the looks on their faces as they are writing, I don't know...because it's funny stuff. Pure, unadulterated hatred. I'm pretty sure my desks still bear the marks from their anger-fueled writing.

I call time and let a few students share (sometimes in response group, in whole class, or think-pair-share). Here's one from an 8th grader, named Josh. (I've not corrected any grammar errors because we are focusing on CONTENT, not MECHANICS).
 

• Shut up you dork. I am going to hurt you ya fat beached whale. You smell like zoodoo. I hate you, you freakin sun of a monkey wrench, dodo eating coward. I am never going to be nice ever again, you four-eyed tic-tac tooth punk. Just go before I beat you to a bloody pulp you pig looking, Michelan-tire man brother I wished I never had.

Can you hear his voice? We normally get lots of laughs as students share, which leads us to the discussion of the power of voice in pieces of writing.

Then, we try Soft Talk. Same concept, but I ask the kids to think of someone they've tried to comfort before. Someone's grandma died, made a bad grade, didn't make the cheerleading team, etc. Sometimes, this prompt is a little harder, and I let them imagine a scenario, if they can't come up with one on their own. Soft Talk is my favorite of the three forms. I get to see the softer side of my students, and there are often some surprises. Here's Josh again: 

 

• Don't be mad and upset. It's hard, I know how you feel, everybody has there day – you may cry now, but there is no point. One of these days your going to be living it big with a great life and family while others who said or did something will probably be living in the dump literally. Just cheer up I am still your friend and always will be your brother.

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Just a note, in case you missed it. Josh is talking to the same brother, in both the mad and soft talk.

Once again, students share. Next, we Fast Talk. I ask the kids to think about a time they got in trouble (or almost got in trouble). What did they say to escape punishment? The time they wrecked the car, came home an hour late, colored their hair, etc. Here's Josh again: 
 

• Oh please don't ground me I will never do it again I am sorry it was not my fault please no please please do this I will promise to do anything just not the grounded thing I will wash the dishes every night til I am 20, and clean my pig sty of a room,but please don't ground me. I love you so very much. Don't do this to someone who loves you as much as me. Sniffle, thanks mom.

While I've always conducted this activity pretty much the same way, I've extended the lesson a dozen different ways. Sometimes, we use one of the "talks" to inspire a narrative. Sometimes, I use the novel we're reading to search for each of these "talks." And many times, I use it to pair with a grammar lesson. As you can see, Josh's sentence structure and punctuation are quite distinct in each of his "talks." For example, in his "Fast Talk," there is little punctuation, resembling how one would speak if in trouble...fast. No matter how we end up using these quick writes, I always ask the students to put them in their writing portfolios (another blog post), in case we should need to revisit them again.
Here's one of my lesson extensions for upper grade English or English 101/102, using these texts:

• "To the Virgin, to Make Much of Time" - Robert Herrick (1648)

• "Aubade" - Shakespeare

• "Carpe Diem" - Shakespeare

• "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" - Robert Frost

• "Mama is a Sunrise" - Evelyn Tooley Hunt

• "wahbegan" - Jim Northrup

• "To His Coy Mistress" - Andrea Marvell

Mad Talk Literature Response
HANDOUT OF ASSIGNMENT, TEXTS, AND MY NOTES)

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Objectives:

• Read actively to understand and analyze the content and rhetoric of texts

• Focus on a purpose when creating a text

• Shape a written work according to the requirements of genre, occasion, and audience

• Integrate ideas with the ideas of others effectively

• Follow the conventions of standard American English

• Develop a deeper appreciation of the art of literature

Assignment:
1) Complete the Mad/Soft/Fast Talk exercise.
2) In response groups, read selected texts, and discuss the VOICES presented.
3) Reveal the mad, soft, or fast voice of each text as modeled in previous drafts.
4) After distinguishing each text’s purpose, chose ONE poem for each Mad/Soft/Fast Voice.
5) Writing Response: For each of the three voices, defend your reasons for placing the poem in that category. In doing so, discuss the stylistic devices and grammatical techniques present. You may research the poet for further elaboration. However, if you do, you must carefully cite your sources. In conclusion, defend your stance on the success of each voice you have chosen to discuss.
6) Remember, you will turn in THREE responses, using THREE different texts. Identify each response with the appropriate heading (Mad Talk, Soft Talk, or Fast Talk). Pay careful attention to your own voice, and respond using effective and grammatically correct writing.

Just a note about Josh. He was almost sixteen in the 8th grade and detested writing (and school, for that matter). He was a big kid and was often viewed as a bully. In my weekly conferences with my students, I discovered Josh was really a good kid and smart too, but because of excessive absences over the years and some learning challenges, he was seriously below grade level in many areas. He was frustrated, embarrassed, and as is usually the case, his behavior was a result of both. While I can't say he became a prolific writer in my class over the course of a year, I can say he was indeed a writer, completing each assignment I gave him. I'd like to think Josh learned he too has a voice that deserves to be heard. 

*There is a nice description of Mad/Fast Talking in the book Inside Out:Strategies for Teaching Writing - Chapter "Different Voices, Different Speakers."

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