What We're Learning: English 9

Students in Mrs. Heather Diss's 9th grade English class are currently studying The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. The novel explores what happens to social order and childhood innocence when a group of British school boys is stranded without adults on a deserted island. Mrs. Diss is using the novel to teach characterization and symbolism and to explore the novel's central ideas through class discussion and writing.

Most recently, Mrs. Diss's students had the opportunity to explore the characterization of the novel's central characters through a RAFT writing assignment. A RAFT assignment allows students to chose thier Role, Audience, Format, and Topic and use what they have read to create a new piece of writing that illustrates their understanding.

Mrs. Diss's students could choose the following:

Role	Audience	Format	Topic
Piggy	Family back home	Poem or Song	The Beast
Ralph	Jack	Letter	What happened to the boy with the mulberry-colored birthmark
Jack	The rest of the world	Speech	Homesickness
Percival	Self	Newspaper Article	Who should be the leader on the island

Visit Oracle Charter School's Student Work page to read some examples of student responses to this assignment!

What We're Learing: Spanish 1

We have been busy these months in Spanish building a second language foundation and learning numbers 1-100, adjectives to describe our appearance and surroundings, and facts about where we live...all in Spanish!

In October, using a project-based approach, my classes studied the life and art of Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter famous for her self-portraits and her heart-felt work. The project began with students learning about the details of Frida’s life and suffering, her marriage to Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, and the politics and government of early 20^th century Mexico.

The next step in our quest to understand Frida Kahlo's work was to create an “autorretrato” or self-portrait, describing characteristics of each student. Each student worked on a two-part writing assignment in Spanish, a drawing or self-portrait, and finally a written piece titled: “Frida Kahlo inspires me because…”

Following are some excerpts from the students' writing:

• Frida Kahlo inspires me because she’s not afraid to express herself. All her artwork is based on something. Her artwork comes from the heart and soul. She gives me the energy to get up and try something new, such as self-portraits. Art is a way to relieve and express yourself." - D. Thompson
• “Frida Kahlo inspires me because her art work shows how she feels and that is how I draw most of the time.” - D. Clemens
  
• “Frida Kahlo inspires me because she was a strong woman of color. She went through a lot of pain and still managed to move forward in life. She was determined to walk and not be in a wheel chair for the rest of her life.” - L. Love
  
• "Frida Kahlo inspires me because I believe whatever you like doing, you should keep doing it. Frida loved doing her art, and I love playing basketball. A lot of people admire her work because it was good! Even though she was hurt, she still decided to do work that she admired." - M. Williams
  

On the last day of the “Frida Kahlo” project, students made protest banners, and we marched on the street shouting in Spanish sayings like: “ Long Live the Revolution”; “Down with Imperialism”; “ The Town United, Never to be Defeated"; “Revolution or Death”; “No to Porfirio, Yes To Pancho.” The students' "protest" re-enacted a Mexican revolutionary march to promote community involvement when Mexico was struggling against foreign involvement that took power away from Mexican citizens. The students really enjoyed “taking it to the street!”

Stay tuned for news on the up-coming project for “El Dia de los Muertos” or “The Day of the Dead.” Students will build a cemetery and alters at Oracle!

Sincerely,
Amber Coriale
Spanish Teacher and Foreign Language Department Chair