As we reach the mid-term for second quarter, I wanted to bring parents up to date on our activities. We've been exploring the essential question: how are "outcasts" portrayed in novels? We began by brainstorming attributes associated with those people label as an "outcast." Students recognized that we often stereotype or label each other based on appearances, beliefs, economic status, race, and so on. We then read how labels can lead to bullying through a variety of essays from the anthology Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories. In addition to practicing a literature circle-style discussion, students worked together on something called a Doodle Splash - a collection of images that showed the central ideas of a text. Along with the images, students worked together to determine a theme for the essay that their group read. A few examples are below.
We are now in the middle of our first book club experience, where small groups of students read and discuss the same books. Each novel relates to the essential question about outcasts, so students are focused on determining who the outcasts might be in each text and why. Titles groups are reading include: Rules by Cynthia Lord, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo, Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko, Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, Firegirl by Tony Abbott, and Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. Students are collecting evidence about the outcasts through double-entry journals and will compose a literary analysis essay after their final book club meeting. If get a chance, ask your student about their book club book and what they're noticing about the characters.