Ivan The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
An award-winner for so many reasons, this book needs to be placed in the hands of your favorite middle-school readers (and everyone else in the family) post-haste. Ivan is a silver back gorilla, kept in a mall zoo for over three decades. While he still has memories of his short life in the jungle and his family, he is content with his friends and his home – until baby elephant Ruby arrives to shake up his beliefs. Now Ivan must decide how he will continue to live his life, and whether he can ever be happy again. Emotional, sweet, funny and heart-breaking by turns, this is a beautiful tale that is sure to be an instant classic.
How about you? What books would YOU recommend to someone looking for a new read?
What message can this video send to all young people today?
Do you think that we can start this at High Level Public School?
Everyone has an opinion about something. Rick Mercer (the guy in the above video) works with CBC and films his “rants” about certain subjects, often about a subject on the news, or something that’s affecting the majority of Canada at the time. There has been a scholarship put in place called “Rant Like Rick” where students choose a subject that they feel strongly about, or that is affecting their friends or school, and they rant about it like Rick does! The girl in the video below thinks that certain aspects of graduation is overrated. Pick a topic that YOU have a strong opinion about… Go ahead, rant like Rick!
Poetry is used to create feeling and emotion, or a detailed mental image of something, even using very few words. A cinquain is a type of poem that only has five lines and follows one of three specific formats:
Pattern #1:
1 word
2 words
3 words
4 words
1 word
Pattern #2:
Line 1 – A noun
Line 2 – Two adjectives
Line 3 – Three action words (ending in -ing)
Line 4 – A phrase
Line 5 – Another word for the noun (synonym)
Pattern #3:
Line 1 – Two syllables
Line 2 – Four syllables
Line 3 – Six syllables
Line 4 – Eight syllables
Line 5 – Two syllables
Brainstorm a person, place, or thing you want to write about. Pick one of these patterns and write a cinquain on the topic of your choice!
Many of us have our favourite artists and favourite songs that we listen to on a regular basis. The songs we listen to often say a lot about who we are, but what do we think about the songs themselves? Using an appropriate subject, write about your favourite song using this outline:
1) What is you favourite song?
2) Give a brief description of what the song is about.
3) What audience do you think the song was intended for?
4) How does the song make you feel?
5) What kind of images does the song produce in your mind?
6) Is there a part of the song that speaks to you emotions more than the rest? Is this because of the music or a specific lyric?
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have to wear uniforms to school? They are often mandatory if you attend a private school, like Miss Osmond did in Dubai. Do you think they would be a positive thing to have in a public school system as well, such as HLPS, or do you think they would have more negative aspects? State 2-3 reasons FOR and 2-3 reasons AGAINST having uniforms in school. State your opinion and why you feel that way. If you had to wear a uniform, would you rather have all of the clothing look exactly alike or would you rather have mix and match options? Why? If you were picked to design a uniform for your school, what would it look like? What rules would you have for wearing the uniform?
There are so many possibilities when considering a fictional world. If you could choose any of these seven to live in, which one would you choose and why? How does it unfold?
Short description of each place:
Narnia: Magical world in the Chronicles of Narnia book series where ordinary kids become prince and princesses and the king, who they try to save, is a talking lion.
Neverland: The land where Peter Pan brings three kids from England. In Neverland you don’t have to grow up and have responsibilities, you can play and dress up forever. The only downside is the evil Captain Hook.
Wonderland: The dream land where Alice lands when she falls down the rabbit hole. Wonderland is filled with talking animals and flowers, a disappearing cheshire cat, a mad hatter, and a queen of hearts who tries to get rid of Alice.
Hogwarts: The school for wizards and witches in Harry Potter where Harry faces the struggle between good and evil and has many adventures with his friends, Ron and Hermione.
Camelot: Is the castle and court associated with King Arthur. It is a place where knights are deemed nobles and princesses are to be saved.
Middle Earth: The continent in which the Lord of the Rings takes place. The hobbits, men, elves, and valar are on the good side while Melkor along with the orcs and dragons are evil.
Westeros: The continent in which Game of Thrones takes place. It is ruled by a single political party known as the Seven Kingdoms.
