#ReadingChampions

When a student in our class has finished reading a book on his/her own, the student shares a brief synopsis and review of the book with everyone.  Then, he is awarded a Reading Champion Ribbon to tack up on the wall--and we add to our book count.  We are working really hard to reach the 100 mark before the end of the year.  C'mon, readers!  Let's finish strong!

Book review in progress:


Ribbons and book count in background of photo.

Bulletin board title: Readers are Leaders

Goals & Guest Bloggers

It was my goal to write more on my blog this year...and my efforts have trailed off here at the end of the semester.  I also wanted my posts to have more substance--which is a goal I believe I have achieved.

Yet, as 2017 is nearly upon us, I'd like to make sure I post more often--and reach my goal of having more student participation on the blog.  This semester I taught a Studies in Literature and Film course, and I had hoped to have some student-written posts--or at least some reviews.  I didn't ever invite students to write, so that is something that I hope to accomplish next semester.

However, I have selected some student writing (reviews of the foreign language film Life is Beautiful) to share here.  I hope you have a wonderful winter break--one filled with constant reminders that Life is Beautiful.

Life is Beautiful gracefully tells a sentimental tale of love against adversity, and ultimately, human spirit. The film encompasses the Holocaust, but chooses not to embrace it with sheer negativity. Life is Beautiful is a fantastically endearing story, capturing the audience with its simplistic values of hope and familial love.

First introduced is Guido, the comically clumsy but quick-on-his feet protagonist. On numerous occasions, coincidentally and intentionally, Guido encounters a woman called Dora. Through these surprise meetings the two build a relationship and become a family with the addition of their son Joshua. The dynamic is always light and humorous, even as Nazis subtly invade their town in Italy. Guido and Joshua, Italian Jews, are sent to a concentration camp, so Guido creates an elaborate game to protect his son from the horrifying truth about the Holocaust.

Life is Beautiful is set in grim circumstance, but the inextinguishable optimism projected by Guido maintains the film’s theme of love and spirit. On some occasions, the harsh setting is utilized to shift the mood to a more uplifting one. An example of this is when Guido announces his love for “Princess Dora” through the camp loudspeaker, typically used to blare German orders. In other cases, the situation is crudely exposed with an opposite effect. As Guido carries his sleeping son through the camp, he wanders up to a shadowy mass, and the fog slips away to reveal a towering pile of bodies. This serves as a barbarous reminder, to Guido and to the audience, that the Holocaust is not a game, after all. Guido is protecting Joshua from unthinkably brutal truths that he will not realize until years later, but to everyone else, it is terrifying reality.

Strong character development enables Guido, Dora, and Joshua to overshadow the disturbing backdrop of their story. When Guido and Joshua are forced into a concentration camp, attention is directed to the construction of a mythical game, drawn up to distract the audience as much as Joshua from the horrors of war. Guido’s contagious energy and humor outweighs German oppression throughout the film, guiding the plot to the very end where innocent Joshua is reunited with Dora. Life is Beautiful thematically concentrates on familial love and sacrifice to combat cruel injustice and shield Joshua from the Holocaust.

Rating: ★★★★/5

            Foreign films never used to interest me; maybe it’s because I didn’t want to put in effort to read the subtitles and watch the cinematography at the same time. After watching Life is Beautiful, I kind of fell in love. Italian is such a beautiful language, and that’s part of the reason I loved watching this movie. I have never seen such a funny yet serious actor as Roberto Benigni. His personality just makes me want to find him and hug him! Life is Beautiful is now one of my favorite films.

Life is Beautiful is about an optimistic and lighthearted Italian-Jewish man and his family who are taken to a Concentration Camp during World War II. Their only child, Joshua, is too young to understand what is going on. Guido, played by Roberto Benigni, tries to protect his son from knowing creating games and making the most out of the situation.

This movie is definitely in my “Top 10 Films” list. I loved it so much, mainly due to the optimism and quirky personality of Guido. No matter what happened, he somehow made it positive. For example, when asked by Nazi Soldiers if anyone spoke German, Guido volunteered to translate into Italian, even though he had no idea what they were saying, all to protect his young son from knowing the real truth of where they went and why. Guido and Joshua played this game the whole time they were prisoners in the concentration camp, up to the day they were saved. Joshua found his father exhausted and carrying loads of iron up several flights of stairs. When asked what he was doing, Guido played it off and said he was helping make the first place prize for the winner of the game; a tank. Both of these examples, amongst plenty of others, help justify how great this movie and this actor is. Life is Beautiful was definitely a beautiful movie.

5/5 Stars

Readers are Leaders

This year, I decided to try to motivate students to read by displaying WHOLE CLASS progress.  In our class, when students finish reading an independent reading book, they share with the class:

1.  What they read
2. a summary of the book (no spoilers!)
3. a rating of the book (scale 1-10)
4.  what type of reader they think would enjoy this book.

They earn a ribbon to add to our board, and we add to our whole class tally.  So far, I think it has been working--more and more students share their reading, and as a result, I think more students are willing to share their accomplishments.

Here is our current board:

Welcome Back! 8.25.15

My, how quickly things are going!  We've already had a Senior Advisory; we've set classroom goals, and we've met so many new people.  I am thrilled to have you (or your student) in our class!  It's going to be a great year!

You can check here for the daily agenda.  It will tell you what happened in class and if there was any homework.  It's always a good idea to check google.classroom too!

Random Act of Kindness Day 5.6.15

Freshman College Prep Agenda

Wednesday: May 6, 2015

EQ: How does Shakespeare manipulate language for a particular purpose?

RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS DAY

CHECK YOUR SCHOOL EMAIL.  FREQUENTLY.

Tech Expectations: Closed and put away

1.     R&J Act II Film; q’s

2.     R&R # 56

3.     Act III--opening

HW: none

ASK YOUR FRESHMAN:

1. What act of kindness did you commit today?

Junior Honors Agenda

Wednesday: May 6, 2015

EQ:  How do writers manipulate language for a particular purpose?

How can I SHOW, not tell?

RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS DAY

CHECK YOUR SCHOOL EMAIL.  FREQUENTLY.

Tech Expectations: Closed and put away

1.     Reflect on writing

a.     Turn in

2.     Teacher appreciation

3.     Hot Air Balloon Goals

4.     Novel excerpts

a.     Analysis, discussion

HW: Reading for May 11^th

^{ASK YOUR HONORS JUNIOR:}

1. What act of kindness did you commit today?

Junior College Prep Agenda

Wednesday: May 6, 2015

  

EQ:  How do writers manipulate language for a particular effect?

How do parts of writing affect the whole?

RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS DAY

CHECK YOUR SCHOOL EMAIL.  FREQUENTLY.

Tech Expectations: Open and on for now

1.     Teacher appreciation

2.     Read time

3.     Annotation practice

a.     Discussion

4.     Film scene analysis

HW: Read Chapter 4 for THURSDAY

ASK YOUR JUNIOR:

1. What act of kindness did you commit today?