Our Week In Review...

Hello, Middle School Parents!

Today was day one of the Global Climate Strike! As I keep tabs on this and other youth led movements and the responses, which are overwhelmingly positive, I'm struck by how many people still feel that kids don't or should not have a voice in a global conversation about a topic that will have a clear and serious impact on their lives. I'm struck by how many people assume that students are looking for an afternoon off or that the adults supporting them are actually puppet masters. How wrong they are!

Our students here at the Davidson Green School (and so many other young people) are informed, have strong opinions, and know how to express them; which is just what they did today when we walked into town as a part of the Global Climate Strike. However, our walk into town was a culmination of a week's worth of learning and all of our kids know that it takes a lot more than one walk into town to sustain a movement and make a change. 

This week our participation in the Global Climate Strike inspired us to revisit the First Amendment in our Bill of Rights and research some of the important protest movements in our country that have led to significant change. We discussed the March For Our Lives Movement, The Women's Suffrage Parade of 1913 and other protests and analyzed the purpose, efficacy and outcome of each. We prepared for our walk by analyzing protest posters and the language/visual devices that make these posters effective (or not). Students practiced by making mini-posters and we had a mini-protest parade. We kept up with the news of the day by learning about Greta Thumburg and other activists and checked in with this movement across the globe. 

We are wrapping up our fiction unit with a full exploration of characterization and setting. Students are using mentor texts to examine how writers use craft to develop characters and setting and are applying this understanding to their own writing as they conference with their peers. Next week we will round out our unit with a review of theme and literary devices, students will complete their short stories, and we will have an assessment on plot and related literary devices/elements. 

Lastly, we voted and chose a location for our 2020 ELFT! Drum roll, please....This year the DGS Middle School will be going to Charleston, South Carolina and we are super excited to start planning! 

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the (slightly) cooler weather!