February 22, Wright Middle

We're seeing some great work from our young scholars as Spring Break approaches! We got to spend more time with El Deafo, focusing on intentional choices made by the author and illustrator so that the students can learn a little bit about inferences and creative decision making. They're starting to fall in love with the book, and we even found some kids sneaking some reading in as we were moving on to other activities! We also spent some time at the beginning of class doing concrete poetry, in which the poem takes the form of what it is trying to describe. It allowed the students to express some of their interests in a new, fun way, and it seemed to be an activity that they really enjoyed!

We spent our final moments this week brainstorming for their book trailer, which we hope to get started on in a couple weeks. The students assigned roles and started thinking about filming, which allowed them to think about the text in new ways. This  should also be a good way for students to express themselves, as well as find new forms of engagement with literature. The students seemed really excited about filming soon, and it seemed that a lot of them are thinking about this project in their free time!

This week's scholar of the week is Adut! She likes reading because it helps her learn about all sorts of new things. She always brings a helpful and willing attitude to our program, and she's a pleasure to work with each week. Way to go, Adut!