Sunday, May 29, 2016

The Present


Showed this to every grade level - great video - http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=The+Present+video%27&view=detail&mid=385698AE34D70B33BE70385698AE34D70B33BE70&FORM=VIRE


Saturday, May 7, 2016

Growing In Character - Seedfolks by Paul Fleishman

Uses the book Seedfolks by Paul Fleishman
A vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise: To Curtis, who believes he can win back Lateesha's heart with a harvest of tomatoes; to Virgil's dad, who sees a fortune to be made from growing lettuce; and even to Maricela, sixteen and pregnant, wishing she were dead.

Thirteen very different voices and perspectives—old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful—tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood.

Chosen as a state and citywide read in communities across the country, including in Vermont; Racine, WI; Tampa, FL; Newburgh, NY; and Boca Raton, FL.

http://www.paulfleischman.net/newsletter.htm

https://character.org/lessons/lesson-plans/middle/valley-park-middle-school/