The Butterfly Project

Students wrapped up National Poetry Month by reading a poem titled 'The Butterfly" by Pavel Freidmann. This poem is the inspiration for the Butterfly Project at the Houston Holocaust Museum.  The goal is to collect 1.5 million butterflies to represent each child who suffered as a victim of the Holocaust.  My students made butterflies today to add to that collection.  They are on display in the classroom until June, when they will be sent to the Houston Holocaust Museum to join the larger collection.  

The Butterfly

The last, the very last, 

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow. 

Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing against a white stone...

Such, such a yellow 

Is carried lightly ‘way up high. 

It went away I'm sure 

because it wished to kiss the world goodbye.

For seven weeks I've lived in here,

 Penned up inside this ghetto 

But I have found my people here. 

The dandelions call to me

And the white chestnut candles in the court. 

Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one. 

Butterflies don't live in here, 

In the ghetto.

Pavel Friedmann 4.6.1942

Big Question: "What is the best way to find the TRUTH?"

Each unit in our new Prentice Hall Common Core edition anthology series uses a "Big Question" to guide the students in thinking about their role in the world and also in guiding the exploration of the unit.  We are beginning a unit examining the genres of "fiction" and "nonfiction" as preparation for reading and writing on the MCAS test.  The "BIG ?" is "What is the best way to find the truth?"  Students will write about and reflect on the various ways truth can be revealed or discovered as they read the selections in the unit.  We are learning academic vocabulary to prepare for writing about and discussing the concept of truth through music.  Students are listening to and examining song lyrics of "Truth"performed by Becca Schack, a song especially composed for the anthology series that challenges to think about the various ways we learn about "truth."

What little light will you shine?

Prior to Winter Break, students in Grade 7 anticipated how they would shine a light in 2012 and made New Year's resolutions which also provided some excellent bulletin board material for the classroom.

Scrooge & Marley! & West Side Story

The new literature anthologies for seventh grade include a play based on Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol, it is titled, "Scrooge & Marley" - we will be "reading", performing scenes and watching a version of this play during the remaining days leading to the Winter Break.  This is a classic novella that all children and adults can learn from.  Our "Big Question" guiding this unit is "Do others see us more clearly than we see ourselves."  Scrooge, the main character, learns a lot about himself as he is forced to reflect on his life through the eyes of other people who have been in his life and the three ghosts that visit him.  This week I will be taking my family to see the production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Hanover theater.  I hope that you all will be so lucky to spend some quality time with your families to view a version of this classic Christmas story.

Grade 9 has been thoroughly engrossed in viewing a classic musical this week, "West Side Story," as they complete their unit on Elizabethan Theater and Romeo & Juliet.  It has been a joy for me to bring this cultural classic to them and to see their reactions to the romance and tragedy told through song and dance.  There have been some tissues used!  They are preparing to write an essay of comparison between the two stories which will be due before Winter Break.

Whining Effectively; Or , How to Persuade Your Parents.

This writing workshop, we are currently conducting in class, is teaching students how to write proposals so convincing no parent can resist them. Students are to write a five-paragraph, persuasive essay using constructive arguments and reasoning to change their bedtime, get that must-have Christmas present and yes, maybe even the elusive puppy! The essays are to be planned, drafted, researched, revised, peer and teacher edited and typed into final, publishable essays. There are some great ideas floating around out there and parents are sure to be convinced by quite a few of them!

SOKA Value - "Good" & the Virtue of "Houshi"

In an effort to bring focus to the SOKA virtue of Houshi or "Service" to our classroom it is fitting that, at this joyous time of year, we help to bring a smile to the faces of needy children.  To that effort our classroom will be conducting a small toy or clothing drive to benefit the All Saints Church, where our school is housed, and their donation drive to AIDS Project Worcester.

Students are being asked to bring in a small, unwrapped item (coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, storybooks, baby blankets) or an article of clothing (onesies, mittens, hats, scarves, warm socks) for infants and children to age 16.  Donations should be made by Thursday, December 8, 2011 so that I can drop them off to the church office at the end of the day. Thank you very much for anything you can provide!  Have a wonderful holiday season, no matter which holiday you celebrate and I wish you quality family time and joy in your home.

Plot Diagram