Wk 2: Journal Response Option 8

1. What I learned from The Diary of Anne Frank…

Wk 2: Journal Response Option 7

Write a name or “I Am” poem for one of the characters using the provided template. 
 

I am (two special characteristics he/she has)
I wonder (something he/she is actually curious about)
I hear (a sound from in or around the Secret Annex)
I see (in or outside of the Secret Annex)
I want (an actual desire or dream)
I am (name)

I pretend (something he/she pretends to do or be)
I feel (a feeling about a person, an event, or himself/herself)
I touch (a physical touch)
I worry (something that really bothers him/her)
I cry (something that makes him/her sad)
I am (name)

I understand (something he/she knows is true)
I say (something he/she believes in)
I dream (something he/she actually hopes for)
I try (something he/she attempts to make an effort about)
I hope (something he/she actually hopes for)
I am (name)

 

 “I Am (character name)”
I am (name)

Wk 2: Journal Response Option 6

1. Find a Holocaust poem online and paste or recopy it into the comment box here (or print it if you handwrite).  Respond to the poem. Compare/contrast it with the play.  What is it about?  What did you learn?  Do you recognize any common themes, details, or historical elements?

Wk 2: Journal Response Option 5

1. Prepare a holiday gift list for your family as Anne did.  Include only items that cost no money.  Write an explanation of why each gift is just right for the person receiving it.

Freedom Writes due Thursday

Three nights to get these done!

THREE! :)

Freedom Write #3

I have to tell you how much I'm enjoying the Freedom Writes that have been turned in.  I've laughed out loud and I've learned a lot.
A recent journal focused on the holidays.  The writer noted "You're probably bored to death reading all about the holidays.  Sorry! I just love them!"

I DO TOO!!!

If you've been in my classroom before school or for lunch, chances are you've heard my holiday music playing.  Since... ummmm.... early November.  I can't help myself.  I think I'm part elf.  I inherited from my dad, whom we fondly call Papa Elf during the holidays.  My mom isn't the Grinch, but she cannot handle Christmas music before Thanksgiving.  She has to physically hide the entire Christmas CD collection from my Dad.  The day after Thanksgiving, like a kid on Christmas morning, my Dad wakes up and instantly asks for his gift: the Christmas CDs.  He has had the same routine for as long as I can remember: grab the CDs from Mom's "Grinch Drawer," go to the hallway closet, pick out his favorites (Vince Guaraldi: Charlie Brown Christmas, Bing Crosby, George Winston: December, Celtic Christmas, and 101.1 Variety), and then make his tea.  At this point, Mom can't go back to sleep so Papa Elf can turn up the music throughout the house.  Later in the morning, all of us kids will arrive at the house and we will head to western Jersey to get a tree.  We'll scatter throughout the tree fields and hills like an expired dandelion and holler, "This one!  I found THE ONE!"  Then we have to run back and forth and see who's is the best.  I hate to brag, but mine usually win.  What can I say?  I have an eye for the perfect tree (very round is our preference). After this we'll go to the Chatterbox, a round drive-in restaurant.  We'll go home and the tree will stand outside settling for a week.  In the meantime, the fireplace mantle is adorned with fresh greens, windows are lit by candles, and the village is set up in the TV room. Dad will spend Sunday afternoon hanging all the wreaths on the house and winding the lights around the birch trees.  I love the way my family's house looks at night.  It is so warm and welcoming.

You can guess what I do now that I live on my own?  I already told you about the Christmas music.  My mom would take my Christmas CDs if she could... but she can't --SO HA.  I guess you know what my favorite CDs are... yep, the same as Papa Elf's.  My icicle lights went up Thanksgiving evening.  I couldn't buy greens because I don't have a fireplace... and frankly I don't have a lot of space for extra since my living room is on the small side.  I moved furniture out so that I could get the tree in.  Speaking of the tree...

But the tree is up and Mari wasn't fond of it... too big and unknown for her.  She slunk around the room like a wild cat.  She even tried to eat it but scampered off quickly when the branches moved.  I waited a few days to put the ornaments on.  Good thing I watched her because she knocked the low ornaments off, standing on her back legs like a circus lion.  Now all the ornaments are three feet off the ground.  She also reached from the TV stand but I caught her stretched out to bat at an ornament and now that area is bald too. :(

I think there's nothing better than reading (currently Jodi Picoult's "House Rules") and listening to jazz or instrumental holiday tunes in the glow of the tree's lights. (And maybe blogging!)

So... I'm not bored with your holiday writing---I'm obsessed with my own holiday stuff.  I'm glad there are fellow elves out there. :)

Journal #4

Imagine that you had to go into hiding with your family.  The Franks and Van Daans go into hiding thinking it will be a short-term situation.  Being in hiding is complicated by the fact that they have such different personalities.  How would your experience in hiding be with your family?  What sorts of conflicts would arise?  Why?

Journal Response #1

Pretend you had one hour to prepare to go into hiding.  You can NEVER return to your home.  You cannot carry a suitcase; it would be obvious you were going into hiding.  It is winter, therefore VERY cold outside and there is limited food where you are going.  What items would you take with you?  How would you disguise these items and how would you carry them?  Extra credit (10 points): Bring in your "me box" and share what you would bring with the class and why.

• You cannot carry a suitcase.

• You need to bring clothes with you to last at least a few days. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to wash clothes all the time. Maybe you should load up on underwear.

• You may only bring one small electronic item. (Electricity will be limited after all!)

• Decide what items you absolutely cannot live without for a long time.

• There are rations on items. Therefore, some items like nice shampoo, perfume, or deodorant may become luxury items. Perhaps bring them with you. Your family will be with you, so perhaps you will divvy up items and share them.
• Everything has to fit in your pockets and be relatively quiet or silent.

Journal Response #2

 

What do you think you'd miss the most about having to stay inside all day, every day for two years straight?

Journal Response #3

If you had to live in hiding and could not make a sound from 9am-6pm everyday, except Sunday, and had no electronic toys to entertain yourself, what would you do?  Make up a daily schedule for one of your days, by listing an activity for every hour from 9-6.

Week #1: Journal Responses

Choose two journal responses to write responses for on paper or online in this blog by Friday, December 10. Use your assigned blog name and number to respond.  These will be graded using the check system: 65, 75, 85, 95, 100.

65: Anne is a flat character.  Right now she's just annoying other people in the house.  Like Peter.
75:  
85:
95:
Anne is a round character. Anne is called "mercurial" in the text.  That means she is constantly changing.  So far, what we've seen of Anne has been relatively one-sided: loud.  Anne is a teenager which teenage interests: seeing her friends, celebrities, and most certainly not being babied.  Anne seems to really seek Peter's attention.  Maybe it's because she misses interaction with kids her own age since she's not at school and can't see Jopie.  Maybe it's because he's a boy.  Either way, he wants no part of it.  Margot is the conscientious and studious one.  She seems interested in her schoolwork and is shy; therefore, Anne doesn't connect with her.  They're close to the same age but they seem worlds apart. Anne herself is spirited and chipper, an attribute that I predict will get her into trouble.  Anne is certainly NOT a flat character.
100:

Freedom Write #2

I know that I have a ridiculous imagination.  I attribute to two things: all the reading I've done and the way that I'm kept relatively young by being around kids for eight hours of my day.  Some people's brains are wired for statistics and sciences.  My brain? It's not wired for those... definitely not.  I think my head is screwed on straight but the connectors are just WACKY.  I've written a series of stories in my life that I'd like to see published as illustrated books for little kids.  I think it'd be a great thing to keep on the back burner for when I'm a mother.  I'll probably tell those stories over and over again (revise and revise) and feel comfortable with sending them to a publisher.  I'll need an illustrator so I'll be on the lookout for people who are interested. :) We can rise to critical acclaim together.  (Kidding.  Maybe not.)

This leads me to the papers I've been reading that y'all wrote for me.  Some people crinkle their noses and wrinkle their forehead when they hear I teach eighth graders.  They say that you all aren't kids anymore... that you're becoming too grown up too quickly.  I always say that you guys have a better imagination than adults would think.  (And as advice, I think they think you lack imagination because of too much tv and too many videogames)  As I read these stories, reflections, and memories I see
maturity,
meaningful character interaction,
artfully crafted sentences,
masterful sentence formation,
and imagination.


Just so you know... I'm really impressed.  I hope that you'll be happy to share your stories when you get them back in class. I'd be willing to read them for you. I'll even keep your name anonymous if you'd prefer.

3D Tour

3D Tour of the Secret Annex

FEELING MOTIVATED TO BE THE EDUCATIONAL CHANGE IN UGANDA?

Freedom Write: 16 nights left to work

Fired up or surprised about what you read about the modern genocides?  Write about it.  Research it.  Tell me what you found or want to do.

Invisible Children--good place to start and see America's activism