On a cold February Friday, American Literature students in Mrs. Johansen’s class had the opportunity to express themselves in a creative manner in response to reading, “How To Build A Fire” by Jack London. The class had spent the week putting research skills into play by checking out background information on Jack London, Realism, and The Klondike Gold Rush. Students voted for a “story-time” with Mrs. J. (that’s me) and actually listened intently to the tale that London told as they annotated their own copies of the story. Aside from learning a great deal about how setting can drive the plot of a story, students were reminded that collaboration on projects and processes are important. Lack of cooperation can, quite literally, get you “burned”.
The response-to-literature project culminated with a “how-to” assignment. Among the topics for student-driven “how-to” guides were important things such as: making a sandwich, brushing your teeth, brushing your toddler sibling’s teeth (they can bite!), making crepes, changing oil (in English and Spanish), and how to apply henna.
Pictured is a group who chose to “report” on the Henna How-to with a digital medium, photos, and verbal play-by-play. Uses for and applications of henna were explored and with four separate cultures represented in the group, each student described the inspiration behind their chosen design. Little did they realize – until they did – that they had been presenting the elements of “setting” to their peers.
FreelanceBeth 