I Beat the Odds by Michael Oher

So far, in the first four chapters of the book, the reader experiences Michael Oher explaining his childhood.  Oher and his eight siblings had an extremely hard childhood living in the inner-city ghettos of Memphis, TN.  He called where he lived "hurt village" because, as he describes in the book, everything and everyone seems to be hurt.  He didn't have a stable home; his mother was a drug addict, and his family was very poor.  During this time, his family was the most precious thing to him.  No matter what the circumstances, all of the Oher children would look out for each other.  What he feared the most was losing his family.  As a result, he thought his biggest enemy was the Tennessee Department of Childcare Services.  He always had one thing in the back of his mind, leaving the ghetto and entering a world of opportunity.
     Immediately, when I started reading this book, I felt very connected.  As I read about Michael Oher and his childhood, it made me think about the way I am growing up and the house I live in.  It made me think about how wonderful my life is and how much I have.  It reminds me that I have the opportunity to go and do things that are great.  So far, I have gotten so much out of this book, and I've learned so much about the world that I'm not accustomed to.

Jonas and "The Journey"

It's great to be able to analyze a book for theme, conflict, or character development.  This is something that we practice regularly throughout the school year.  However, I often find that the best student writing comes when they are given the task of making text-to-text connections.  In order to facilitate this type of thinking and analysis, we've been reading a couple of poems and analyzing each for its possible connections to Jonas in The Giver.   We started with Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken."  We discussed how this poem can serve as a metaphor for decisions we make in life.  (We go down one path, but we may always wonder how life would be different if we had chosen a different path.)  Next, we read Mary Oliver's poem "The Journey."

In case you aren't familiar with this poem, here's the full-text to "The Journey." (It's worth the read.)

 

Students worked with a partner to identify possible connections between the narrator of the poem and Jonas.  As you can see, they had a lot of ideas!  Next, students will choose one of the poems and write a brief essay of the connections they found.   

Allusion in The Giver

In Lois Lowry's The Giver, Jonas, the main character, plays a game of catch using an apple.  Initially, this scene may seem unimportant; however, if we take the time to go deeper, we can recognize and appreciate Lowry's use of allusion.  When given the chance to pause and think about what the apple could symbolize, it didn't take too long for one or more students to see the allusion to the biblical Tree of Knowledge and its forbidden fruit.  This was the starting point for a discussion of all the "forbidden" knowledge that Jonas receives from the Giver.  Students worked with a partner to list examples which were then shared with the class and displayed on the board.

Vanity License Plates

As a way of getting to know my seventh-graders, I ask each student to design a license plate which reveals something personal, such as an interest or hobby, a career goal, etc.  This is such a simple assignment, but as students share and explain their license plates, I know it is worthwhile.  We display the license plates (all year), and the students have fun deciphering each other's letter/number designs. 

This year's most popular theme?

Sports!!!! (LOL)

See if you can decipher the following license plates which showcase talents and career aspirations...

Making text-to-text connections

It's been a busy couple of days, filled with the practice of deep reading and making important textual connections.  After I modeled how to annotate a difficult text, students practiced annotating a brief excerpt from Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning.  This book is rich with important life lessons, including how your attitude (especially in the face of adversity) influences everything you do and achieve.  Once we shared and discussed the students' questions and notes, they began the task of connecting Frankl's words/philosophies to a character in Animal Farm.  I've included the full-text of one student's response as well as several excerpts from other student responses.  I think you'll agree that their responses are very insightful.

 

Mila S. writes, "Boxer often did extra work and volunteered to do more, even when he was injured.  He had a personal goal (to build the windmill), and he worked each day to achieve that goal.  This attitude embodies an outlook or ideal that Frankl observed in others who have endured great adversity--'There is only one thing I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings'."

Zachary L. writes, "I think Napoleon would react (to Frankl's work) by saying it is not true that your mind is the last place of freedom.  In the book (Animal Farm), Napoleon doesn't allow the animals the independence of mind they deserve.  He tricks their minds, so they always think he is right and that he is working for their best interest, even when he takes control of the farm."

Three Words to the World

For this year's summer reading assignment, the eighth graders read George Orwell's Animal Farm.  As a way to begin our discussion of the novel, I asked students to select a character and create that character's motto or "three words to the world."  For instance, Boxer's three words might be "Always work harder," whereas Benjamin's three words would be "Nothing ever changes."  This is a great way to not only review character traits and motivation, but also to get students thinking about their own life mottoes.  As a follow-up activity, students designed a butterfly and included their "three words to the world." The butterflies are displayed in the classroom (all year) and provide a source of inspiration. What would be your three words to the world?

Think good thoughts...

Knowing that it's important to start the school year on a positive note, my students worked together to create this bulletin board of "Appealing Advice."  Each student contributed an inspiring message or a favorite quote for all passersby to read and find encouragement.  The large iPad also celebrates our school's decision to distribute an iPad Mini to each eighth grader!  It's hard not to be excited as we embark on this new adventure of 1:1 technology.