Persevering in Times of Trial

     We have all heard the quotes about pushing through the tough times because those are what make us stronger.  Sometimes we begin to doubt our ability at these times, but Tristan and Justin reminded us that we cannot give up,
     While watching @TristanLuge and @Justinsnith in their video Keep Going Through Any Setback, my grade 8 students recorded the definition to perseverance and added 3 comments that were made during the video, that help them to better understand what perseverance is.  As a final reflection on the video, the students had to then come up with what perseverance then meant to them personally.
     Back in September, our students set annual goals for their school year.  Since we have not started story writing yet, many of my students still need to begin working on their goal.  However for those that were able to work on their math skills, many realized they were actually beginning to hit their goals.  For those that had not quite reached their goal, they began to analyze what was stopping them from achieving their goal.  Most of them were able to state that they had stopped trying or that they were not taking the small steps they had set out to do.
     Once we finish our current ELA unit and begin story writing, I hope to be able to provide more feedback on on how well my grade 8 students are doing at achieving their goal.  For now, take a peak at those who have achieved their goal.  As the year progresses and more students begin to reach the mountain top, more images will be shared.

Working as a Community

     It has been a few months since we began our journey into the topic of Community.  During this process, I really wanted to help my students understand not only how they are involved in their community amongst those they know, but how much they can impact those we may call acquaintances, and people we may even never meet.  Sometimes we never realize just how far our reach is!

GOALS

     To help develop a deeper connection to ones community, my class began working on a Hapara Workspace project titled "Giving Back to Your Community", with the following goals in mind:

• What is a community - Students will be able to explain what a community is and provide examples of communities they are involved in.
• Expectations within a community - Students will understand each community will have differing expectations, depending on the purpose of the community.
• Positive and negative impact  - Students can identify and analyze both their positive and negative impact on communities they are in.
• Desire to care - our ability to impact their community depending on how much they care about that community
• Intrinsic Motivation - Students will recognize their intrinsic motivation for being part of a community.

PROCESS

Monthly Video

 To begin the process, we watched the monthly video which Tristan and Justin prepared "Make Your Community a Better Place".

Video Handout:

     While watching the video, students were given the opportunity to record information which Justin and Tristan shared with us.  Community:  What do Tristan and Justin Have to Say?

Assessing What Volunteering Means

     Before jumping into our ELA project, we dug a little deeper int what volunteering means.  Using the handout, Volunteering VS Voluntold, we looked at the moral obligations of volunteering, and then analyzed how enthusiastic we were to help out depending on the situation and if we were "voluntold" to do it.  We also critically looked at how relevancy of the group was depending on if we were interested in the group activities, common goals and the skillsets that we need/have.  

     As a final wrap up to this portion of the project, students were required to write a reflection on what they have learned or realized by the topics that we had discussed.

Film Study

     Who doesn't like to watch a movie in class!?!  To help the students gain a deeper understanding of their impact on any community, the class completed a film study based on the movie Home Alone 2.

     The purpose for selecting this film versus the first Home Alone was because of the situation that the main character, Kevin McCallister was placed in.  During the first film, he was left alone in his own town.  Although he was scared and alone, he was more comfortable in his surroundings.  While in the second film, he was left "defenseless" in a strange city.  This forced Kevin to develop communities with which he would normally not be part of.

     My hopes for this film were to help students realize that they are part of a global community that each one of them can have a dramatic impact on; sometimes by the smaller actions they take.  To help them understand this impact, we analyzed the film through various lenses.  For each community which Kevin became part of, we responded to:

• Plot - What events took place while Kevin was part of this community?
• Questions
• Who is part of this community?
• Was Kevin forced into this community?  Explain
• What is the purpose of this community?
• How did Kevin respond to this community?
• Did Kevin act/react appropriately in this community?  Explain.
• Conflicts/Problems - What conflicts or problems arose within this group?
• How and why did Kevin choose to deal with the conflict or solve the problem?

Short Story

     Due to extenuating circumstances, I have had to postpone this activity until later, but I am anticipating to work on this in next month.  

     As I am part of a team of teachers in our school who are involved in +Classroom Champions, we decided as a group that we were going to make no-sew fleece blankets for #ProjectLinusCanada.  To help reinforce the idea of giving to a community that students may not be part of, my class will be writing stories, based on the theme of community and these lovely blankets, that each student had their hands in, helping to make.  Often times, the blankets that are given to community groups, such as Project Linus or Blankets for Canada, the recipients never meet those who spent countless hours making them, but they truly appreciate the time and effort that was taken and are touched by the generosity of those they have never met.

FINISHED PRODUC