Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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As part of our eighth grade curriculum, we teach World War II and the Holocaust. This unit ties with our big question, is it our differences or similarities that matter most? In literature circles, students will read, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Prisoner of War and explore in depth how these novels tie to our big question. Two days a week students read and come together with their groups to discussion the meat of what they have read. Students have ownerships with their books and find joy within these discussions.
Students need to learn from this period of history and through group discussion of their novels, bring the topic of differences and similarities to present day. Through history students will explore questions that are still relevant today, including modern day genocide. We also discuss how the United States is a melting pot and quite different than other countries. This is important for them to understand because it helps them understand how something so horrible can happen, and more importantly continue to happen today.
The books that I chose were ones that I know students will enjoy for years to come. In a technological age, getting books into the hands of students who would otherwise not read is an important role for teachers today. I have seen my students devour books, reading more than their assigned novel. The discussion that is generated within their literature circle groups and through whole class discussion demonstrates the power that novel can have, once a child is exposed to them.
About my class
As part of our eighth grade curriculum, we teach World War II and the Holocaust. This unit ties with our big question, is it our differences or similarities that matter most? In literature circles, students will read, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Prisoner of War and explore in depth how these novels tie to our big question. Two days a week students read and come together with their groups to discussion the meat of what they have read. Students have ownerships with their books and find joy within these discussions.
Students need to learn from this period of history and through group discussion of their novels, bring the topic of differences and similarities to present day. Through history students will explore questions that are still relevant today, including modern day genocide. We also discuss how the United States is a melting pot and quite different than other countries. This is important for them to understand because it helps them understand how something so horrible can happen, and more importantly continue to happen today.
The books that I chose were ones that I know students will enjoy for years to come. In a technological age, getting books into the hands of students who would otherwise not read is an important role for teachers today. I have seen my students devour books, reading more than their assigned novel. The discussion that is generated within their literature circle groups and through whole class discussion demonstrates the power that novel can have, once a child is exposed to them.