Mar 05 2007
Pass The Popcorn, Please
Today I had 2 of my reading classes watch the TNT movie Animal Farm because I could relate it to Anthem. The 8th graders had science state tests today, so we kept our 1st hour students all morning. That also meant that I didn’t see two of my classes (one computer and one reading). Because 1st period was so long, that class completed the movie and the four questions I had for them. The questions were pretty general and I gave them a worksheet with the questions and a place to take notes on one side and lines on the other side for their complete answers. Animal Farm Movie Worksheet
I’m reading through 1st period’s answers and I’m pretty impressed. We did discuss the answers briefly after the movie, but I didn’t feed them any answers. I just clarified some things for them.
This whole experience is really opening my eyes to the idea that we get what we expect. Not that that is a new idea – I know that teacher expectations greatly impact student achievement. I even just read an article yesterday about a study that showed that students who were praised for their hard work put forth more effort and challenged themselves more than students who were praised for their intelligence (if I can locate that article again, I’ll link it here). My students keep telling me that Anthem is hard, and I keep telling them that I know it is, but that I wouldn’t give it to them unless I thought that they could handle it.
My kids are making really good connections about the conflict in Animal Farm and the theme of Collectivism vs. Individualism that we’re discussing with Anthem. They need help with their writing, but we’re working on that too 
It’s days like this that really make me feel like I’m reaching the kids
