new unit.

on the school front, we're tying up our unit on Animal Farm. i think the kids are pretty happy about that; only about 2 of them seemed to enjoy the book at all.

it really bites that they have to do all of their reading in the classroom, because it takes up a lot of time we don't have. and i feel terribly bad for the kids who read slower than the rest, because they're always behind. thankfully, the library had quite a few copies of the book, so i just sent them out as needed to get a copy, and we managed that way.

as a final project, i had the students create their own country. this turned out to be an incredible amount of fun. i'll try to take some pictures of their creations, because they were truly unique ideas. they all went above and beyond what i'd expected. we're finishing these up tomorrow, when we get back from spring break, and then we'll be doing presentations on tuesday.

after that, we start Elie Wiesel's NIGHT:

NOTE: it's also an Oprah's Book Club pick! who knew?

i'd never read this book before, and knew only that it was a memoir based around a Jewish man's experiences during the Holocaust.

i decided, since i would be teaching it fairly soon, that i should probably read the book.

and

it. was. beautiful.

absolutely beautiful. i don't say this about books very often, but it was like poetry in prose form. where Animal Farm is brusque and to the point, with very little description or figurative language, Night is rich in detail and emotion. it is simply gorgeous.

i want the kids to be able to really appreciate the novel, not just for what an accomplishment it is (Elie Wiesel went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his extensive autobiographical work), but for what an absolute work of ART it is.

i have so many ideas floating around my head right now.

what i'd really like to do, before we jump into a completely new unit, is to make a transition of sorts, because Animal Farm does have a great deal in common with the events that transpired during the Holocaust. both instances are about power, and the people at the bottom not being aware of what those people in power's true motives are. the beginning of Night focuses on Wiesel's family, and the other Jewish families, and their communal disbelief that the Nazi party could be doing anything all THAT BAD. their disbelief continues until they are actually taken to Auschwitz, adn then they understand. that's a very big theme that plays throughout Animal Farm as well. disbelief that the pigs are only out for themselves, and that conditions are becoming worse on the farm than they were under the leadership of Mr. Jones.

so that's what i'm working on right now.

i'd also like to bring in some other examples of memoir writing, and have the students work on a memoir of their own, because i really believe that personal writing is incredibly important.

we'll see.