Intertexuality and multiple text use: three case studies of "at-risk" middle level learners in a summer school context

Often, summer school programs for "at-risk" middle school students have centered on rote memorization and skills practice through worksheets or workbooks in the English/language arts (Graves, 1997; Sakari, 1996). These kinds of classroom practices do not lend themselves to being meaningful for "at-risk" learners.

In many middle level classrooms, however, students have access to a variety of linguistic and nonlinguistic texts. If students are reading a variety of texts, nevertheless, they often do so m isolation from one another (Short, 1992a). In classrooms where students are given the opportunity to read and experience a variety of texts, and are encouraged to make intertextual connections to their lives and knowledge in- and out-of school, their learning experiences become more relevant and meaningful (i.e., Bean, Bean, & Bean, 1999; Keene & Zunmermann, 1997; Short, 1992a).

The opportunity to make connections between texts students read and their lives is an essential component of content acquisition and learning. When learners have opportunities to read and discuss texts together, they bring new understandings to what they are learning.

Two questions drove this study: What intertextual connections do three middle level students make through their summer school language arts/reading classroom experiences? and What happens in a language arts/reading summer school classroom where participants are encouraged to use multiple texts for content acquisition and learning?

To address these questions, I created three case studies from a middle school summer school English/language arts classroom. Data collected for these case studies included field notes, audiotapes, transcriptions, participant artifacts, and interviews (Seidman, 1998).

Data were examined through naturalistic inquiry, using inductive data analysis. I constructed several categories through the process of unitizing and categorizing (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Fmdings suggest that "at-risk" students, when in a supportive environment, make intertextual connections to the texts they read and their life experiences. Findings also show the use of a variety of texts engage "at-risk" readers in relevant and meaningful ways.