Alien Invasion!

Saranac Lake's Winter Carnival kicks off this week, and I always like to try to tie in some classroom content with each year's theme.
This week, we'll examine reports of strange lights in the North Country skies. Then, we'll read together a screenplay about the hysteria unleashed on a quiet street when a suspected alien invasion begins (Rod Serling's "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street").

Happy Carnival!

Injustice and Chocolate

We've had an infusion of non-fiction into our class lately. First, we viewed the documentary film The Dark Side of Chocolate. This film details the illegal practice of forcing children to work as slaves in the cocoa fields of Africa. Next, we looked at an excerpt from a speech that Martin Luther King gave in 1967. In it, he challenges the reader to realize how connected we all are to each other:
 It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality. Did you ever stop to think that you can’t leave for your job in the morning without being dependent on most of the world?
Today we examined the "Raise the Bar Hershey" campaign. This is an effort that aims to pressure Hershey to engage in "fair trade" business practices.
 

"The Fan Club" by Rona Maynard

Rona Maynard's short story, "The Fan Club" is on tap as we open a unit on social justice. Peer pressure figures prominently in this story and many students report that while they face similar pressures from peers, they are confident that that are equipped to deal with it.
We've also begun some language study this week, and classes have discussed the Latin root "uni," as in The students unanimous reaction to the ending of  "The Fan Club" was contempt for the main character, Laura.

Local Author Needs Your Help!

Kate Messner is a local author who has a string of successful books, among them The Brilliant of Gianna Z   and Sugar and Ice.
Recently, Kate asked for students to respond to a survey about their views of the future. Kate's upcoming book (March 2012 release date), Eye of the Storm, has a futuristic setting.
We'll spend a bit of time in class this week responding to Kate's survey.

Mrs. Kennedy: Guest Book Talker, Librarian Extraordinaire

Mrs. Kennedy visited class on Monday to share some books with us. This round of book talks were all related to the theme of "survival." The books she shared included: Bluefish by Pat Schmatz, Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick and Radiance by Alyson Noel.
Other books that Mrs. Kennedy mentioned were The Ghosts of War, An Elephant in the Garden, and Boys Without Names.
Thanks for the great suggestions, Mrs. Kennedy!

Extra Credit (though I'm sure no one needs it!)

It's progress report time. Need some extra credit before those reports go home? If so, read on...

1). As of 12/14, grade 7 students have read 509 books! For extra credit, (20 points will be added to your lowest grade on School Tool) post a comment to this blog in which you tell the title and author of the best book you've read so far this year. Also, tell in three to five sentences why you like it so much.

2). Vote in the Trailee Awards and post a comment in which you tell in three to five sentences which trailer you voted for and why (also worth 20 points).

Concluding A Christmas Carol

We're finishing A Christmas Carol this week, by viewing one of the newest film versions of Dicken's story.
We've gotten a lot of mileage out of this particular text, and have used it as the basis for working on comprehension and collaboration (Common Core State Standard SL.7.1), key ideas and details (Common Core State Standard RL.7.1) and integration of knowledge and ideas (Common Core State Standard RL.7.7)
Additionally, the students have read non-fiction "Achieve" articles which examine themes related to A Christmas Carol ("Can Money Buy Happiness?" and "Rich Man, Poor Country"). Incorporating more informational or non-fiction texts is one of the "instructional shifts" of the Common Core State Standards.