A collection of moments from our Grade 7 learning community
We have officially finished our first read-aloud, Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper! This is ideal timing, since there is a film adaptation being released this month!
The film version of the story stars Phoebe-Rae Taylor, an actress who also has cerebral palsy (just like Melody does in the novel). Melody’s internal voice is played by Jennifer Aniston. Take a look at the trailer, below, and see what parts of the novel seem to have made it into the film (and what, perhaps, has been changed!):
Have you ever wondered how animations are made? In Over the Garden Wall, they used many different techniques to create their animation. One scene in particular required many tests and tweaks… the Highwayman’s song! Feel free to check out the video below to watch the process of creating this scene:
As we prepare for Halloween and the ‘spooky season’, our class is exploring the mini-series “Over the Garden Wall”! We have been working to develop our skills in creating detailed summaries (including setting, plot events, characters, etc.) and beginning to craft our abilities in analyzing (noticing symbolism, creating theories, deep-diving into characters). This show is also loaded full of interesting imagery, spooky lore, and nods to fairy tales.
We are currently exploring episodes 3 and episode 4, and watching Wirt, Greg, and Beatrice make their way through The Unknown.
Stay tuned for more information and extra content!
-Ms. Ward
Image description: a hand holding a copy of the picture book Muhammad Ali: A Champion is Born by Gene Barretta
This week, we discussed the importance of considering what goals we might want to achieve in our lives. We read about how Muhammad Ali was inspired to begin his boxing career from an experience he had as a 12 year old child. Despite the mockery, prejudice, and injustice that he faced, Muhammad Ali trained and persevered and achieved so much in his lifetime! He was crowned the heavyweight champion of the world an astonishing 3 times, medaled in the Olympics, and, perhaps most importantly, was known as the “People’s Champion” because of his commitment to speaking out against injustice.
Take a look at the short memorial video, below, commemorating Muhammad Ali’s lifetime:
Have you ever heard of the mysterious disappearance of the Franklin Expedition? This History Mystery involves two ships, sailing from Britain to the Artic of Canada on a search for the Northwest Passage. Despite being well-equipped with food, water, and technology, the ships (and crew) disappeared, and even over 150 years later people still cannot agree on what happened to them!
Check out the trailer, above, for an introduction to this History Mystery, and click the link below for our evidence (so far):
Have you ever read a book and felt like a character was SO similar to you, it was like looking in a mirror? Have you ever felt like a book provided you with a window into someone else’s life and experiences? These are both examples of how representation in media (especially books) is important!
We have been exploring how books can be mirrors and windows, and examining what books in our class library are examples of one or the other (or even both)!
We learned that many people may not see themselves in books and movies. There may not be many characters that share aspects of their identities, such as: culture, ethnicity, life experiences, religion, background, family dynamic, etc. We surveyed our class library to look for ‘gaps’ in our books. We talked about how reading books about people who are different from us can build understanding and empathy.
Today, we read The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad:
In the story, a younger sister tells us all about her older sister’s first day wearing hijab. We talked about how many people from different cultures and religions may wear clothing, regalia, jewelry, or other items as testaments to their beliefs and backgrounds. To learn more about Ibtihaj Muhammad’s life, including her time as an Olympic-medalist in fencing, check out the video below:
Some questions to discuss at home:
Our class has been working on using self-editing strategies in order to make our writing more powerful, formal, and clear! Ms. Lee helped us learn about the difference between formal and informal writing. We might use formal writing when submitting an essay, sending an e-mail to an employer, or writing a letter to a government official. Informal writing is what we use when we text a friend, when we write in a journal, or if we are writing a quick write.
Based on these conversations, we created a checklist that will help us with our editing! Find our checklist below:
Self-Editing Checklist:
Using the checklist below, read through your paper fully. You can make any corrections using a pen. Check off the list as you go.
Formatting:
Content:
Grammar and Formality:
Be careful what you wish for! Our class completed our first read-aloud, the horror novel The Nest by Kenneth Oppel. In this story, a boy named Steven makes a wish to heal his baby brother’s illness. However, his wish costs him much more than he anticipated when he realizes the ‘angels’ he has been talking to are really a hive of supernatural wasps!
We thought this novel had many twists, turns, and suspenseful moments. The dark, creepy illustrations added to the experience. While some of us weren’t entirely satisfied with the ending, this was a great first read-aloud to kick off our school year!
In 2020, the authour Kenneth Oppel shared that The Nest could potentially be made into a film one day! Here is a sketch of the concept art:
Some questions to discuss at home:
Our analysis of Cartoon Network’s mini-series Over the Garden Wall has come to an end! Throughout this month, we have been exploring: important characters, clues and symbols, changes in settings, and key plot events. We also began analyzing the musical soundtrack for different tones, themes, and lyrics. Now, our classes are crafting our own theories about some unanswered questions within the show!
Today, we began exploring the next continent in our Books Around the World… we started in Australia! Mr. Murray read us a story about Fluffles, a koala who survived the large wildfires in Australia. This country is home to many different species of animals, including koalas, who are impacted by natural disasters like wildfires.
Look at the video below to learn more about Australia!