Past projects 4
We Absolutely Need This Book!
Funded Sep 17, 2010I must admit, I was depressed when I finished teaching this book. I kept asking myself, "Is there another book that I'm teaching this year that the students will love as much as this one?" and the answer was a resounding NO. The students LOVED this book. From the first chapter during which Junior humorously describes his early challenges in life to the end of the novel when he has successfully completed his freshman year, the students were entertained, captivated, interested and enjoyed this book thoroughly. It was a true pleasure to teach this text.
During the unit, the students completed many writing workshops in order to craft their own diary entries that would serve as a concluding project to the unit. They wrote on subjects such as their best friends, their family, their names, a fight they either saw or had, a "first" in their lives, and general autobiographical information. Not only were they every invested in telling their own stories, but these exercises also helped me learn a great deal about my students that I did not yet know; these pieces of information greatly helped me forge relationships with them on a deeper level. Their final projects, "The Absolutely True Diary of a ________________" (they had to fill in the blank about themselves) were amazing. We had a publishing day in the classroom (these are the included pictures) where the students read each others' pieces, gave feedback, and several students read their diaries aloud to the class. It was a very intimate day and the students were surprisingly respectful to one another during this exercise.
Additionally, during this unit we talked about the role of education in moving forward in life, how relationships change throughout adolescence, how death affects us and the grieving process, racism, poverty, and overcoming obstacles in life. We just administered the State English Regents Exam yesterday, and all my students used The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in their essay and wrote about it clearly and easily. Currently, my co-worker is teaching the book to five classes of both freshmen and juniors (approximately 125 kids) and after that the ESL teacher will use the books with her advanced ESL class (about 20 kids). They are getting passed around because the students speak so highly of them.
Thanks so much for supporting the English classrooms in my school. It's been a tough year for budgets--I can't tell you how much I have spent on paper, pens, pencils, markers, etc. for my classroom already--therefore I truly appreciate your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ungemah
Stop The Girl Fighting! An English Unit On Teen Issues.
Funded Apr 26, 2010The hallways are now quiet as we have entered into two weeks of state testing and I am thrilled that my ninth graders were able to end the year with a culminating unit on teen issues. We started the unit by reading Jumped and finished with mini-units of study using short stories from the book No Easy Answers. During the unit we had some on point conversations about their lives and how these issues related to them--I feel like I learned MORE during this unit than they did!
Jumped allowed us to discuss both girl fighting and teen violence through fiction and current events. We studied the case of Kitty Genovese and current cases of bullying/fighting that led to suicide/murder and assessed what role and responsibilities the innocent bystander has in situations like these. We talked about how an individual's personal problems manifest in relationships with others, about the rules of the street versus the rules of school, and we studied the many literary elements that were present in this well-written Young Adult novel (repetition, onomatopoeia, imagery, point of view). We discussed events that were happening in our school and tried to look at them without getting emotionally involved. The challenging thing about this topic was that the students could articulate how to do the right thing, but one second later they would be all hyped up from a fight in the cafeteria and/or talking about how they needed to kick someones butt b/c s/he did this/that. For me it was a bit frustrating, but I hope that as they gain some social/emotional maturity they'll be able to look back on this unit and put into practice the issues we discussed.
After Jumped we did a mini-unit on teen pregnancy, using the short story "Wishing it Away" during which we listened to Tupac's "Brenda's Got a Baby," watched the documentary "The Miracle of Life" (shows a baby being born), the film "Juno" and discussed how teen pregnancy affects many more individuals than just the mother and the baby. We did another short unit on gang involvement and read a short story called "X-15s," studied the history of gangs, debated why youth get involved in gangs, the pros/cons of involvement, the long term ramifications, etc. The students pretty much taught ME during this mini-unit. Finally we concluded with a short story called "Stranger" in which a woman who is so involved in drugs no longer recognizes herself in the mirror. We read a children's book called "The House that Crack Built," studied the many individuals involved in the drug trade, read some non-fiction articles on the harm of drug/alcohol abuse, and discussed the affect it has on the family and society.
Overall, the entire unit was wildly successful. The students would come in and ASK to read from Jumped, they went home and did research on birth, gang initiations, and the affects of drug/alcohol abuse on pregnancy, the list goes on. They were very much engaged, especially for it being the last six weeks of school! So, thank you so very much. I enjoyed teaching this unit, learned a lot from the kids, and will definitely repeat it next year. ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ungemah
This Is a College Textbook?! Y.E.S.
Funded Apr 1, 2009Using the 40 Model Essays book this spring with my 11th grade honors English class has helped me jump start the curriculum for their 12th grade Advanced Placement English Language and Composition class. Next year I will now be able to spend more time with them on their writing, the reading of other texts (fiction and non-fiction), and in preparing them for college-level classrooms (research, position papers, Socratic seminars) because the fundamentals of rhetoric have already been taught and exercised.
This would not have been possible were it not for your generous donation of the books. My senior AP English Language and Composition class is currently using our old copies of the 40 Model Essays book, and there were not enough for both the 11th and 12th grade classes. This year we initiated a new and higher expectation that the 11th grade Honors students would take the New York State Regents Exam in January (instead of June), so that the spring semester could be fully dedicated to advancing their skills in preparation for an even more advanced AP English class their senior year. I am proud to say that the students have risen to this expectation—they all passed their Regents in January and with the new copies of the 40 Model Essays college-level textbook, they have made great progress in understanding and employing rhetorical devices and strategies. Next year the AP English Language and Composition class will be taught at a new, higher level which I think will better prepare them for the AP test and their future college classes.
In addition to the teaching of rhetoric and rhetorical devices, the students have also written many essays and had many a heated discussion on race, homelessness, food and other politically charged topics sparked by essays from the text. I am again convinced that this is an excellent book for upper grade high school students—the essays are approachable both in length, writing, and topic and the students are able to identify with them in their writing and classroom discussion.
Thank you for helping us move our Honors kids upward. I wish you could see their progress; it is truly amazing and inspiring to teach them.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ungemah
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.Bodega Dreams for Brooklyn Students
Funded Nov 21, 2008I just had one of those crazy frustrating days teaching, and then I got home to the email that my project has been funded and I'll get my set of Bodega Dreams! The news literally came on a day when I needed a pick-me-up regarding my role as an educator. Very timely and undeniably a positive sign at a moment in which I desperately needed one.
Thank you so much. I have been circulating my copy of Bodega Dreams for some to read during independent reading on Mondays (I wasn't sure if I'd get copies), and the students are already buzzing about it. I can't wait to tell them we'll be reading it next marking period.
Again, warm thanks!
Sincerely,
Lor”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ungemah