One glance into Melissa Merritt’s ELA classroom was all that was needed to recognize something special: Eighth grade students sat clustered at table groups, fervently debating the fine line between art and graffiti.
Meaningful, student-led discussion is a hallmark of CommonLit 360, and facilitating this discussion is an art Cape Fear Middle School teachers have mastered.
While discussion is often seen as an add-on to core instruction, eighth grade ELA teacher Jessica Mills views it as an integral part of learning for middle schoolers. “They’re not kids, and they’re not adults yet. Sometimes they get sort of brushed off and people don’t listen to their opinions.” Noting the impact this can have on students’ self-esteem, Mills states, “They have a right to be heard. They have a voice.”
For Cape Fear Middle School teachers, CommonLit 360 brings students’ voices to life.
Engaging topics that ignite student interest
When the school’s principal, Bobby Simmons, enters a classroom, he conducts calculations. “The first thing I do when I walk into a classroom is look for engagement,” he explains. “So if you have 25 students in a classroom, how many out of 25 are engaged? You can get a quick percentage.”
Since implementing CommonLit 360, Simmons’ calculations have been simplified. Entering classrooms now, he says, “I’m finding a hundred percent engagement for our kids.”
Yet when Pender County first adopted CommonLit 360, it took some time before teachers climbed aboard. “I’ll be frank,” Mills admits. “I was one of the teachers that was like, ‘I hate being told what to do.’” But as teachers watched student engagement peak, they knew something was resonating with their students.
This was evident in Melissa Merritt’s classroom as students immersed themselves in CommonLit 360’s argumentative writing unit: “Graffiti – Art or Crime?” Over the course of the unit, students sought to answer the question, “Is graffiti a work of art or a crime to be punished?” To build background knowledge on graffiti's controversial history, Merritt led students through one of CommonLit 360’s signature lessons, a Related Media Exploration. Students read legislation regarding graffiti, reviewed graphs on the public’s perception of graffiti, and determined whether a series of photographs represented art or vandalism.
“I like how with the Related Media Explorations, you start off with videos and it catches their eye,” Merritt remarks. “I like how it gets them engaged at the beginning, but then you pull in the graphs that they need to analyze. There’s a good balance with videos, graphs, charts, surveys, or analyses.”
Throughout the unit, students also complete reading and writing lessons, vocabulary activities, and perhaps most noteworthy for middle school students - a debate.
“Middle schoolers love debates because they love to argue, they’re always right, and they’re going to tell you that all the time,” Merritt states with a smile. “I don’t have to worry about student engagement.”
Intentionally-designed units that build students’ confidence
Since adopting CommonLit 360, student engagement isn’t the only area that has shined. At Cape Fear Middle School, students’ confidence has surged.
“When I came in, students lacked confidence in their written expression,” Mills explains. “They also lacked a lot of personal confidence.”
After implementing CommonLit 360, there has been a noticeable change. “I’ve seen growth in their confidence in their abilities,” seventh grade ELA department chair Dana Elliott notes. “They are more confident in answering questions and risking a mistake. They’re not afraid to share their opinion or answer, even if it’s wrong.”
This increased openness reflects a goal of CommonLit 360’s intentional design. “I like that the units have an encompassing idea,” Elliott states. “I think that helps students a lot with understanding what the lesson is about. They’re able to see how one concept grows through the unit.”
In addition to centering 360 units around engaging central ideas, every lesson builds skills students will need for their final Culminating Task. “At the very beginning of each unit, we tell them what they’re going to be doing at the end,” Merritt explains. “It’s good for them to see that it’s a process. It’s gradual steps.”
As lessons build on one another, students acquire the knowledge needed to formulate and refine their opinions. This boosts their confidence and sets the stage for compelling classroom discussions, like the one in Merritt’s eighth grade classroom.
Whether students are researching the risks and rewards of social media, debating the ideal school start time, or distinguishing between art and vandalism, one thing remains the same:
Students are discussing topics that matter to them and developing the confidence needed to share their voices with the world.
“If I had to say it in one word,” Mills says, “I would say CommonLit is impactful. My students understand the concepts better. They understand the flow of what Language Arts is, and they understand themselves.”
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