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.

teaching animals.

well, folks. like always, it's been a while.

the spring semester is already in full force, and i've started my student teaching, which has been...interesting, to say the least.

i'm with the same class i was with last semester, which is great, because i already know the kids and they know me. it's also a little not great, because the honeymoon period was a lot shorter this time around. they're already bored with my shiny newness, and they let me know this by treating me like any other old teacher.

for the most part, though, they're really amazing. they've got lots of interesting things to say, and BOY do they like to say...sometimes i just can't get them to stop SAYING.

i got a head start on the books we'd be studying this semester over the winter break:



yep, two typical high school classics.

i came into the picture a little too late to be able to teach Lord of the Flies, but i just got to start Animal Farm with the kids.

they weren't very excited about the whole thing.

"miss! this is a book about animals? on a farm? really?"

and the kids who'd already read it had something to say about it too:

"miss, this book SUCKS."

so as you can see, i was working against the tide from the very beginning.

we did a couple of pre-reading activities that i think the kids enjoyed. i can only hope it peaked their interest a little--maybe they'll actually WANT to read the novel.

the first activity we did had the students respond to seven statements with AGREE or DISAGREE. some of the statements were:

"All people are created equal."
"Power corrupts the people who have it."
"People who can't read are easier to control than people who can read."

and so on.

i had the kids move to either side of the room depending on their answer for each question, and then they talked it out. it was a good thing i was acting as the mediator, because the conversation threatened to move to full out heated discussion a couple of times, and i had to say, "ok, guys. this is just a casual conversation. calm down."

a few times, one of the students tried to be NEUTRAL, but that wasn't one of the options.

so in return, this student asked me, "well, what side are you on, miss?"

"i'm not on any side. i'm in the middle. i'm neutral, like switzerland."

"i thought you said we couldn't be in the middle."

"yeah, well i'm the teacher."

i love getting to say things like that.