Animal Farm

The eighth grade is in the middle of the coolest unit.  They were introduced to dystopian literature.  They are looking at it through the lens of George Orwell's Animal Farm.  Ms. Baldwin is interweaving the story with the Russian Revolution.  Obviously, Orwell wrote the book to illustrate the revolution and the motivations for major historical events.  The kids are really interested in the unit.  So far, we've looked at cartoon graphics, depicting the story of the Russian revolution, as well as pictures of real life characters.  The class had a discussion about what it would be like to live in Russia during this time, and how their perspective would change based on whether they were members of the Romanov dynasty, or if they were the average citizen with no food.

This unit peeks my interest, primarily because I love history and English together so much.  The students have been excited about it so far, as well.  We've been reading Animal Farm as a class in class.  Students don't do the reading outside of the class.  This also provides ample opportunities to discuss outdated vocabulary and misconceptions, as well as more clearly draw the connection between the story and real life.  I do wish we could try some new vocabulary techniques throughout this unit, but I do appreciate that the students are using and reflecting on the terms before reading through the chapter in which the words appear.

I mainly helped students with vocabulary and comprehension questions.  Ms. Baldwin read the story aloud and has done most of the lectures. 

I'm going to miss the students so much over Christmas break that I already promised them I'll come in several times to see them :)