7th Grade: Whom Can You Count?

We all have someone we can count on.  During this six weeks, we will look at fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that all incorporate the theme of adversity and who we can count on while facing the many challenges we experience throughout our lives. 

Who is someone you can always count on?  What qualities does this person possess that makes them dependable and reliable? 

12th Grade: Creating Perspective and Media

Answer the following three questions: 

To what extent does media coverage shape our perspective on issues and events?  How do media sources impact our understanding of the truth and significance of an issue?  How can media texts be constructed to support an agenda or interpretation?

10th Grade: Justice

Everyone must deal with issues of justice. What is a fair consequence for breaking a rule in class?  Do students have freedom of speech in school?  Should the principal be allowed to search lockers randomly?  We have examined culture through many lenses.  One can define a culture by its beliefs about what is right and wrong--it's sense of justice.  Different cultures may have different standards and methods for arriving at justice, but every society has to ask the questions about what is right and fair.  This six weeks we will examine nonfiction, drama, and art from around the world and across time that ask the key questions: What is justice?

Blog about a time in which justice was served and a time it was not.  You may write about a personal experience or something you learned from the news. 

Post by Oct. 26

8th Grade: The Challenge of Heroism

This six weeks we will focus on the word "challenge" and examine heroes:  in our personal lives, in literary work, and in the world at large.  You will be introduced to the archetype of the hero's journey and will view various examples of heroes through that archetypal lens.  After exploring heroism, we will then examine the challenges of society as we encounter texts in which individuals take great risks as they struggle to do what they think is right.

What does the word hero mean to you?  Describe someone whom you consider a hero.  **You do not have to provide their name.**  What qualities does this person possess?

Post by October 26

6th Grade: Changes in Your World

It has been said that the only constant in the world is change.  During the first six weeks, we explored how each of you have changed or learned from your experiences.  This six weeks, we will explore how the world around us changes.  We will identify the challenges and choices that you each have made in meeting these changes.  Through fiction, nonfiction, print and nonprint texts (movie clips!!!), we will see how others have dealt with the choices and the opportunities that change can present.

My question to you is this...

What kinds of changes in your school, your community, your country, OR your world are taking place right now?  Explain the change and how it might effect people.

For example, right now our country is undergoing the process of presidential campaigning and elections.  Come November, our citizens will decide who it wants to lead our country.  Depending on who wins, our country could face many political and economical changes which could effect all citizens of this country.

Post by October 26th.