Performing the Assassination of Caesar

 

In eighth grade, we are reading William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.  While most of the play is read aloud in class, students have a chance to push the desks aside and use their acting skills when we reach the scene where Caesar is assassinated. At that point, students divide into groups, and each group is given the task of memorizing their lines and blocking the scene.  In addition, some groups modify the scene to incorporate a theme.  This year, we had everything from the traditional toga-wearing Caesar (see photo above), to a pirate Caesar, as well as a 1920's gangster Caesar, a cowboy Caesar, and a Darth Vader Caesar (complete with lightsabers). 

Diary of Anne Frank and Food Rationing

Anne Frank's diary entry, dated March 14, 1944: "The people from whom we obtained food coupons have been caught, so we just have our five ration cards and no extra coupons, and no fats...so the atmosphere is dreary and dejected, and so is the food."

In order to give students a better understanding of the food rationing system, we spent a couple of days learning about the point values of certain foods. (See this article for details about the process). Next, students applied the points system by planning a week's worth of meals --calculating the number of blue and red points used each day. (Click on the picture below to enlarge.) Students realized that meal planning is a complicated process when you have to limit/ration the number of points you use.   As Anne Frank describes, "Our food is miserable.  Dry bread and coffee substitute for breakfast.  Dinner: spinach or lettuce for a fortnight on end" (April 27, 1943).

A Visit from Mrs. Gordon-Gellar

Recently, the seventh-graders were fortunate to have Mrs. Gordon-Gellar visit and share her family's experiences, especially those concerning the anti-Jewish restrictions during World War II.  One interesting fact is that Mrs. G's mother attended the same school as Anne Frank, though they were not in the same grade.  In a response to her visit, Jack L. wrote, Mrs.Gordon's "family traveled from place to place narrowly avoiding danger."

Students were also able to hold the yellow star that belonged to Mrs. G's mother.

Want to know more?  Ask your child to share what they remember from Mrs. G's visit.  It will make for a great discussion.

Thank you, Rabbi Oratz!

Donuts upon your arrival help to make an icy commute better...

Welcome to Elizabethan England!

With the completion of their English research papers, eighth-graders reached another milestone in their last year as middle school students.  Way to go!! Students spent a month gathering sources, taking notes, and synthesizing research on a topic related to Elizabethan England.  During the process, they refined their writing skills while following the MLA format for citing the research. Just to give you a glimpse, I've listed some of the creative titles of their research papers:

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger: The Life and Reign of Queen Elizabeth I (by Noa C.)

Killer on the Loose: The Black Plague in Elizabethan England (Chloe N.)

The Tower of Terror: The History Behind the Tower of London (by Lauren B.)

Triple E: Elizabeth Evolves England (Yonathan M.)

The Queen Who Really Lost Her Head: The Life of Mary, Queen of Scots (Hannah R.)

Elizabeth I: The Queen of Hearts (Celia W.)

Once students submitted the paper, they used the Perfect Captions app to create, display, and share some of the information they learned from their research.  See examples below:

               

Care to solve a riddle?

In Ursula LeGuin's fantasy novel A Wizard of Earthsea, characters are tasked with solving riddles.  As part of this unit, students followed in the Anglo-Saxon tradition of writing and sharing riddles.  Each riddle needed to describe an ordinary object or something from nature.  Moreover, students needed to include a kenning.  Up for a challenge?  See if you can solve the riddles below.

 Meira and Hailey's riddle: (click on picture to enlarge)

Jason and Josh F.'s riddle:

 

Analyzing Characters in Fahrenheit 451

As a warm-up/drill activity, eighth-graders offered creative responses to such questions as "How is Millie like an airplane?".  Each question used a simile which forced students to make unusual yet insightful connections.  Their responses demonstrated an understanding of character motivation and development.  I've included some of their ideas below.

How is Guy Montag like an oven?

  - An oven  is where things process; Montag is the "processor" of the rebellion (Allison R.).
  - In the beginning of the book, Guy's feelings were cold, but he begins to heat up (Josh D.).

How is Mildred like a television?
 
  - She speaks a lot of nonsense (Hannah R.).
  - She talks at you, but she doesn't hear your response (Orly K.).

How is Faber like a book?

  - He holds a lot of knowledge, and he is helpful (Chloe N.).
  - He provides the foundation, but the rest is up to you (Lauren B.).

How is Clarisse like a mirror?

   - She likes to reflect on her feelings (Ezra S.).
   - She makes Guy reflect and see his true self (Zack L.).
   - She can make others see who they really are (Haviva G.).
   - She makes you want to improve yourself (Sammy C.).
   - She is the opposite of the people in her society (Josh D.).