Eighth Grade Red Team Dystopian Novel Lit. Circle Projects
During the month of September, the eighth grade Red Team did projects on the dystopian novel that they were reading for their literature circle
book. A dystopian society is a society that has made an attempt to form a utopia, or perfect society, and has failed. Some of the dystopian novels
that were offered to the Red Team students were The Selection by Kiera Cass, Legend by Marie Lu, Masterminds by Gordon Korman, Inhuman by
Kat Falls, The Darkest Path by Jeff Hirsch, The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau, The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, and Red Queen by
Victoria Aveyard. The students learned to identify the fatal flaw that was incorporated in the dystopian society in their book. Students then described the fatal flaw and explained what type of government they would use to fix it. This allowed students to learn more about the different types
of government that exist in our world and find some examples of countries with certain types of governments. The students then compared countries to see which types of government worked better. Students also connected the fatal flaw in their dystopian novel to historical or current world
events in social studies and science. This helped the students connect their book to the real world and helped them to better understand the fatal
flaw of their dystopian society. With this knowledge, the students were able to better understand the fatal flaw and fix it using the new type of government in their dystopian society. The students looked at the rights that were taken away from citizens in their dystopian novel. The students then created a new Bill of Rights for their dystopian society that guaranteed certain rights to the
citizens in that society. When Lauren Kibler, a student in Mrs. Foster’s eighth period reading class, was asked what she
had learned from this project, she shared that she learned to read between the lines when she was reading sources.
She learned to answer questions as she read a source, as opposed to answering all of the questions after they were
finished reading. This saves time and is also a more efficient way of answering questions. Finally, Lauren said that she
learned about the different types of government systems and how certain governments function. This project improved
the understanding of world events for students and helped them learn how to use real-world application in their projects.
By Anna Sipes
IMC Update
Miss Pantle has purchased some new books for the Instructional Media Center (IMC). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not So Dorky Drama Queen is
written by Rachel Renée Russell. This book is about Nikki Maxwell and her worst nemesis, Mackenzie Hollister! Mackenzie steals Nikki’s SECRET
DORK DIARY!!! Do you want to know what happens next? If so, go to our IMC and check it out!
Another new book is The Sword of Summer, by Rick Riordan. “Magnus Chase has seen his share of trouble. Ever since that terrible night two
years ago when his mother told him to run, he has lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, staying one-step ahead of the police
and truant officers. Sometimes the only way to start a new life is to die!” This is an action-packed book!
A third new book is The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander. This book has won two awards, including the Coretta Scott King award and the Newbery
Medal award. “A bolt of lightning on my kicks… The court is sizzling. My sweat is drizzling. Stop all that quivering. ‘Cuz tonight I’m delivering. Josh
and Jordan are really good brothers. But when a girl gets introduced into these guys’ lives, the brothers’ relationship starts fading away.
Overall, these are just some of the new books in our IMC. Stop in to see what else is available!
By Kendall Davis
Black Team Lit Circles
Previously on the 7th grade black team, black
team students have been reading a book
called Tuck Everlasting. They have done summary papers, papers and have watched the
movie on Tuck Everlasting! Recently black
team students are doing lit. circles in small
groups. The book choices are… The Presence, Running out of Time, and And Then
There Were None. Here are what some black
team students said about the books they are
reading.
Black team student Ava Stephens said, ‘’I am
reading The Presence, and it’s about a ghost
named Noah, and a girls named Catherine.
Catherine is visiting her grandmother in California while her parents are on a trip to Europe
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While Catherine is there Noah wants to help
Catherine, but falls in love doing it.’’ Ava said
she likes the book because it’s exciting and
keeps you wondering what will happen next.
Jayden Laroure said, ‘’I am reading the book
called Running out of Time. It is about a girl
named Jessie. The parents in the town lie
about the year that the kids in the town actually live in. They say the year is 1840 when
really its 1996! Jessie has always suspected
something peculiar. When Jessie runs away,
the parents in the town are worried that Jessie
will find out the secret.’’ She said she likes the
book because it’s full of excitement.
Ashlynn McPeak said, “I am reading the book
called And Then There Were None. The book
is about 12 people who are stranded on an
island. At one part in their life each person has
committed a murder. The people on the island
found a poem that some Indians wrote. This is
how each person dies. They are trying to find
out who the murder is on the island killing the
people.” She said she liked the book because
you never know what’s coming next.
These are just some of the activities that students are doing on the black team for lit circles
in reading. Hopefully you will get to read some
of the exiting books that they are reading and
be taken by the magic that books can give.
By Mia DiNaso
Classroom Courier, page 2