Eighth Graders are reading and analyzing the novel We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. Last week they began the book, and have been using it as source material to study each of the elements of story (setting, characters, plot, conflict, point of view and theme). This week, students paused halfway through the book to discuss secondary and primary characters, and to make and defend analytical claims about whether specific characters are “static” or “dynamic.” On Thursday, they created posters with a partner about one character, sharing both direct evidence from the text, as well as inference supported by quotations, about the characters’ strengths, challenges, habits, values, beliefs about themselves, how other characters perceive them, and more.
Earlier in the week, School Counselors joined the class to teach concepts, terms and strategies related to mental health, especially on topics of anxiety, depression, and loneliness, which are central themes in the text. Students learned not only strategies for self-managing when they might feel stressed, anxious, depressed or lonely, but also about resources they have on-campus and beyond to seek additional support. Students will complete the novel next week and have a collaborative lesson with their English and Science teachers, to learn about oceanography connections central to the novel’s setting and plot. They’ll author self-reflections in the form of advice to the main character, discussing strategies they have learned as well as what they think the main character should have done differently. In March, we’ll be treated to a visit with the author to connect our ideas about the work with her own perspective, purpose and experience writing it!