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Thanks so much, Amber
P.S. If you know anyone who may want to help my classroom, please pass this along!
Posted by Sala (Member # 8980) on :
What great titles you have picked out! For The Watsons Go to Birmingham there is an excellent Hallmark movie. It is interesting to hear some exact quotes from the book in the movie, but the movie goes much further into the Civil Rights movement than the book does. It's great for a comparison lesson. I downloaded it from Amazon UnBox for $14.99.
Posted by Sala (Member # 8980) on :
Another book you might consider that fits your "Human" theme is Wonder by R. J. Palacio. The main character has Treacher-Collins syndrome. Auggie's face is never really described in the book, but you can google the syndrome if you want. It should lead to some interesting discussions with your eighth graders. Here is a summary I got from Amazon:
August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. August Pullman is not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. Sure, he's a huge Star Wars fan, he loves his dog, and he's got a pretty good sense of humor. But August was born with a craniofacial abnormality — a genetic defect that caused his facial features to be severely deformed. His life has never been "normal." Despite his differences, August and his parents decide to transition him from home school to private school now that he's entering fifth grade. It's the start of middle school, they reason, so everyone will be new. But August has to deal with so much more than just being new. Will he make friends? Will he decide to stay at the school? And can the people around him learn to see past his appearance? This brilliant, sensitive story — narrated not only by August, but also by his older sister, his classmates, and other kids in his life — takes an insightful look at how one person's differences can affect the lives of so many others.
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
I would recommend you share this over on Sake too, Wendybird, if you haven't already. Some of those folks might be interested in helping out too.
Posted by Wendybird (Member # 84) on :
Thanks Sala! I didn’t know there was a movie for Watsons. Wonder sounds really great too. I may add it at the end of the year when they get to choose their own book for study that quarter from my approved list!
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