We just wrapped up our dystopian book clubs. The 8th Graders read so much! Many finished the entire series. To culminate the club work, groups studied the Bill of Rights and then looked for specific examples from their books where these rights were violated or controlled. They used this information to create posters to bring awareness to these violations.
We then considered how dystopian worlds are often based off of issues that are relevant during the time they were written as an opportunity to bring awareness to social issues. Learners studied current events curated from the Bill of Rights Institute and then considered what rights were being questioned or violated in our own worlds based on the work we did around our book series. Please view our slidedeck.
We wrapped up this work with a fun art project in which leaner book clubs chose a scene to depict in a peep diorama. This was a fun way for groups to showcase their learning and hard work throughout this unit. They are really creative and the learners had a lot of fun working together.
We wrapped up with a quick “Peep Party” to celebrate all the hard work we did during this unit.
I wanted to share the LA classroom library that the 8th graders have been working on since the start of the new year. They helped sort all the books, scored them on a culturally responsive scorecard, and then created categories that made sense for middle school readers. It has been a big project, but there are so many great books now showcased. We were also able to purchase several books to add to the collection. Stop by and take a look next time you are on campus.
This week we wrapped up our Literary Analysis writing unit. The writing that is happening in the eighth-grade classes is pretty impressive. We started this unit reading dystopian short stories in partnerships, and then studied the texts closely analyzing themes and literary devices. We learned that most books follow just a few themes and that the author brings forth those themes through the use of literary devices. Writers learned a specific structure to help them with this work.
Introduction Paragraph: hook, text reference/bridge, thesis/claim
This week we started to look at craft moves that can raise the level of our realistic fiction drafts. We started by thinking about how getting lost in our writing helps the writer become the character. By becoming the characters, their writing is a bit like a drama, happening to them. By standing in the characters shoes, to see things through their eyes, to blush with them, to hope with them allows our readers to experience the story we put on the page.
We also studying our mentor texts for examples of craft techniques around leads. Many of the writers know that good leads start in the moment, sometimes with an action or with dialogue. This week we pushed this further, challenging our understanding of a strong lead.
We captured our revised leads on our partnership padlets. Please take a look at the leads we are working on that incorporate these craft techniques.
As part of the remembrance of the 20th year anniversary of 9/11, the eighth graders have been participating in a shared read aloud of the book 9 of 1: A Window to the World by Oliver Chin. The book is set during the confusion following the terrorist attacks of September 11. It begins when a history teacher asks his students to write a report based on an interview with someone who has a different viewpoint from their own. As they fan out into the community and encounter people of diverse backgrounds, opinions, and prejudices, the teens quickly realize that the story cannot be reduced to simple dichotomies of good versus evil or us versus them.
Learners have been growing ideas as part of their analysis of the text. Here is some of their thinking…
“The attacks on 9/11 affected the U.S. a lot and spread fear and hopelessness. There was a lot of unfair treatment towards people who were from Afghanistan or even looked like they did. It connects to the asian hate crimes that really rose up because of covid-19 and people calling it the “china virus”. There were many good things that came out of it and there was a sense of community in a lot of places because everyone was afraid and many people had lost people close to them but many people came together and created beautiful things during a horrible time.”
“It affected Afghanistan a lot too because the U.S. invaded and stayed there for 20 years. I think it also created more tension between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban and soon after 9/11 they fully took control of the government.”
“I wonder how or if Denton would react differently if he didn’t personally lose someone in the chaos. So many were lost on the horrendous day. Even if he didn’t lose someone in the mayhem I think he would still have been angry, fearful, and empty. If you know someone who was lost it puts the situation in a more personal perspective. Even if you’re mourning for everyone lost and feel awful about it. When you know someone even if you just met them or remember are close to someone who knew them, maybe you worked or went to school with them it makes the incident shine with a new light. It makes the act so much more personal and can make you angry, sad, guilty, or a mix of an abundance of emotions. You wonder why they deserve this fate, they did nothing wrong, it could have been me, it could have been anyone, why were these innocent people chosen to die. Overall, I think Denton is angry and wants there to be justice so he can come to peace that his friend’s death wasn’t left swept under a carpet.”
“I think the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians has deteriorated because both have different views and they have a different religion. Both religions have Israel as a special place in their religion and this has caused them to argue which led to violence”
Our shared summer reading, Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam has inspired us to take a closer look at the incarceration of youth in America, specifically youth of color. In our discussions, we explored our own biases around the prison system, policing and incarceration. We listened to Yusef Salaam speak and share his story and motivations behind the book.
In the book, we learn about 16 year old Amal, who is accused of a violent crime and sent to prison. We watch him learn to cope through his art to find his voice and deal with what is happening on the inside. Many poems in the book were written by Salaam while he was incarcerated for a crime he did not commit.
Learners thought about the different ways they connected with the book, and created a variety of projects based on the emotions they had. Some created art, some created poetry, some did research, but all of the learners created thought provoking final products that led to rich conversations. This project left us with a desire to create change in our world and not. Please explore our research/background information padlet that helped us examine some of the topics explored in the book as well as the padlet with all of our final products.
We have officially kicked off our first writing unit of the year and are diving into the narrative genre of Realistic Fiction. We have been busy thinking about stories that are inspired by events in our own lives, stories we wish existed in the world and developing our characters in everyday situations to have a better sense of their desires, struggles and motivations. By spending time living the day to day events in our characters lives, we can start to have a stronger connection to them before we start writing. Please check out or Padlet for all the tools we have been using for the first four sessions and to get a sneak peek into where we are heading next.
This week we listened to Larry Smith, the founder and editor of Smith Magazine explain the origins of the six word memoir. Larry thought about how to intriguing it could be to connect people through six words and was overwhelmed with the unbelievable response he got to his idea. As our first writing piece this year, writers were asked to tell their life story in just six words. What a powerful way to learn more about each other, and many of us found ourselves asking the authors to tell us more.
“Tell your story, change the world.”- George Takei
Today was the first day all middle schoolers were on campus together since the shutdown in March of 2020. It was so lovely seeing everyone live and together. We started the day in our learning lab classrooms, meeting advisors, reflecting on the past eighteen months and going over our new schedules. During our reflection, we captured some of the worries that we are holding as we return to school.
Before snack we had our first official 5-8 meet and greet. This gave the educators an opportunity to introduce themselves to the learners and review agreements around cell phone usage.
After snack, the learners walked through their schedules for tomorrow, visiting all of their classrooms for a short time.
In language arts, we reflected on the past few years, specifically thinking about what we love about language arts as well as what might not be our favorite subject. It was really interesting to notice the shared feelings around creativity, social action and collaboration. It definitely gave me some things to think about as we move forward as a community together. We wrapped up each block by thinking about one wish or hope we have for ourselves this year. I so appreciated every learners willingness to be honest, vulnerable and a contributor to our discussions today. Here’s to a great year, no matter what twists and turns we face along the way!
This week, the seventh grade learners wrapped up their independent writing projects in workshop. There is a wide range of writing genres, styles, and published pieces. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them. Please take a moment to celebrate these writers by reading through their pieces and commenting on the linked jamboards.
SCC Language Arts Grades 6-8 