Class Newsletters 2016-2017
Ms. Purnell’s 8th Grade Literature and Language Arts
Monthly Newsletter
FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH
Dear Parents/Guardians,
What a month it has been! We have accomplished so much this year, a lot in just a month.
We have finished up our social justice unit, finishing with our argument essays. Students were able to choose a social justice topic of their choice and share their thoughts on how the United States should proceed with dealing with the issue. Topics ranged from child incarnation, domestic abuse, equitable educational opportunities, and women in the government. Ms. Purnell enjoyed our papers and said they were some of the best she had ever seen!
Our next unit is the magical and mystical land of Fairy Tales. We started by trying to find the oldest fairy tale. While written stories were published in the early 19th century, orally transmitted pieces have passed down for generations and generations. The oldest tale we found was the Devil and the Blacksmith, heard first in 4000 B.C.E. Classes have also researched the history of Fairy Tales, such as the original stories which are extremely dark and grim. We also learned that Fairy Tales were not intended for children, resulting in original stories involving violence and rape. As individuals, students are reading different versions to see how stories have changed either by being orally transmitted or altered for child readers.
Our most recent assignment is choosing colors that express main characters of fairy tales. There is no set rubric saying which colors mean what, it’s more what the student associate with that color. This assignment’s goal is to see the characters in different lights. Using colors to describe people really make the students think of the personalities of the characters, rather than the story itself.
In order to complete a Literary Analysis, we will watch a movie and interpret stories into our present culture. Students will also add a twist to historic fairy tales to connect a story written in the past to our present society. All tying back to our essential question: Are Fairy Tales relevant in today’s culture?
The Fairy Tale unit has been a great learning process already, and I can’t wait to see where it will take us!
-Luci Lobin
This video is a news segment from one of our books, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Staring Chloe Cohn, Macy Aiken, Brianna Lindsey, Chloe Hammock, and Ella Horvath.
Class Newsletters 2015-2016
Class Newsletters/Important Information
Below you can find student created newsletters along with information from your teacher informing of the wonderful happenings in our classroom!
Student created video about 8th grade English/Language Arts! Jan. 2014
January 29, 2014 Newsletter
December 18, 2013 Newsletter
December 6, 2013 Newsletter!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013