Seventh Grade

Last week, you started your 7th grade school year, and you are now on your way to finishing your first full week. Take a minute to reflect on the highs and lows surrounding the start of the year, and consider what some of your goals will be. What are you most looking forward to this year? What are your magical wishes?

Destined to Divide?

nIn her debut novel, The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton, who wrote the novel when she was just a teen herself, tackled the tendency of teens---a social microcosm of the world at large---to divide themselves. She created a fictional scenario in which her characters found ways to divide themselves along lines of difference, rather than to unite with one another.

nWriting Task: Write about ways in which this tendency to DIVIDE emerges in the world around you. Consider social circles that are close to you (ex. within your team, within the seventh grade, within your middle school, your community) and those that are beyond your immediate experience (the state/country/the globe). What are some consequences of this division? What are some solutions?

Introducing Tolkien and His Worlds

Today, you spent some time exploring a variety of traditional literature with tie-ins to Tolkien's writing. In this blog post, discuss one or more of the following questions for reflection:

1) Based upon what you know and/or predict about Tolkien’s writing and The Hobbit,  

    how might elements from these and other works of traditional literature be relevant? 

                  

2) Can you identify remnants of oral tradition that still exist today (ex. telling a joke,   

    family stories)? Why do you think that tales based in oral tradition have been able to   

   survive (or were even considered important enough to survive) through time?      

                 

3) Based upon the myths and folk tales, poetry, and fairy tales you explored today, can  

   you identify any mythic motifs or ideas that still resonate for us today in the 21^st       

   century?

The Value of Memories

Memories just may be the most important possession any writer has.  Why might this be a true statement? Can you think of real life examples that support this idea?

Chinese Poetry

Today, you spent time doing a survey of Chinese Poetry. As a collaborative team, work together to compose a response to (2) of the following:

·         What is (1) detail you learned today about Chinese Poetry?

·         Which poem was your favorite?  Why?

·         What is (1) detail about Chinese Poetry that you found intriguing? Explain.

Farewell to Manzanar

Choose (1) of the following writing prompts about Farewell to Manzanar. Blog your response.

Farewell to Manzanar is a memoir piece by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. It chronicles her experience as an internee at Manzanar, one of the internment camps established for Japanese Americans during the time following the Pearl Harbor bombing of WWII. With great courage, she decides to tell the story of this difficult life experience.

O     Write about the importance of telling difficult stories. Do you think we should write books and stories that share about the hard times of our lives? Why or why not? What are the benefits? What are the negative consequences?

O     How do fear and ignorance create prejudice? Can you think of examples of prejudice (outside of racially based prejudice) that occur in the middle school setting?

Dr. King's Dream

As a 2013 citizen of a global community and young adolescent, reflect upon the promise and current reality of Dr. King’s dream.  To what extent has the promise of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech been  realized? How can leaders of the 21^st century continue to bring Dr. King’s dream to fruition?