1. Book Club Jessie Abernethy, Liz Madden, Jess Robertson, Jason Robillard, Ashleigh Uhrich

5. Grade 8

7. Gallery Walk - Anticipation Guide (before reading): Throughout the novel Cap provides tidbits of wisdom, collected from his grandmother during his time at Garland. These short phrases could be used as an anticipation guide for students who are beginning the novel. 1. Instructor will place poster paper at various places around the room at eye level. Each poster will have on it written a nugget of Rain's advice/sayings. The students will take the first 10 minutes of class to circulate and read each poster and mark whether or not they agree , disagree or don't know . 2. Once everyone has placed a marker on each poster we will deconstruct the phrases and discuss, one by one. 3. Keep these posters visible in the classroom. As the novel progresses, examples of these phrases, or notes and thoughts discovered through discussion and reading could be added to the poster. Students may find these posters handy when organizing thoughts or ideas from discussions in class later, especially if they are to write a paper or report on the novel.

10. T'ai Chi 太極拳 "Supreme Ultimate Fist": Throughout the novel, the protagonist, Capricorn Anderson frequently practices T'ai Chi and uses this ancient art of defense training and exercise to bond with other students in the school. T'ai Chi is a form of internal Chinese martial art. The martial art is referred to as internal because it is occupied with spiritual, mental or chi-related aspects (energy flow), as opposed to an external approach focused on physiology. Set-Up: Using a set of guided questions that the class develops together, students will research the art of T'ai Chi Chen using the school library, personal knowledge and the internet. A class will be set aside to combine our collected knowledge and to discuss `what we know so far` and `what we would like to know`. This will be turned into a collection of questions. Practicing T'ai Chi: During the novel study the instructor, through communication with a local T'ai Chi group, will arrange a visit to the school by a member of the T'ai Chi community or for the classroom to make a visit to the T'ai Chi studio. At their visit they will be introduced to the art of T'ai Chi and learn a short series of movements to get a taste of its rich depth. Students will also have an opportunity to ask questions of the instructor about the movements and/or the history of the art form. The Taoist Tai Chi Society , located on Pembina Hwy in Winnipeg has many practitioners of T'ai Chi who are graciously willing to share their skills and knowledge with any interested in the art form. These organizations exist throughout the world and the practitioners are usually more than happy to share their knowledge with those who seek it.

13. Grade 9

14. Summary of The Bite of the Mango This is the true story about Mariatu, a 12 year old girl living in a small village in Sierra Leone with her family. One day they hear of rebel soldiers coming towards their village so they decide to flee to a neighbouring village. They never made it. Some of Mariatu's family was murdered in front of her and her hands were amputated by the soldiers, who were no older than she was. After this traumatic experience Mariatu is sent to a refugee camp, when she was healthy enough, and was reunited with some of her family. She deals with depression and suicidal thoughts but starts to deal with her depression by joining a theatre troupe. In the refugee group, she met a Canadian journalist who decided to sponsor her to Canada. Mariatu now lives in Toronto, with a Sierra Leonean family. She is also a UNICEF spokesperson on the impact of war on children.

16. Example of Grafitti Boards

17. Activity #2 - During Reading Once the students have read enough the the novel to have an understanding of the actions and consequences of what was happening in Sierra Leone at the time of Mariatu's torture, have them look at different texts concerning war. Provide a variety of mediums for students to interact with including but not limited to: poems, videos, short stories, songs and art. Have students pick one of the mediums/pieces presented and provide a brief explanation as to how the piece relates to the novel. Students will then share these opinions with the class in a talking circle format. A way to really enhance student engagement could be to ask them to provide their own example of a medium/piece that relates to Mariatu's experience in the novel.

18. Example of Art Art of War #4

19. Activity #3 - Post-reading Activity After reading the novel, have the students choose a social justice project. This project would inquiry based, where students choose a social justice issue, local, national or international, that they are interested in. Once they have chosen a social justice issue, have the students brainstorm ideas of how they could make a difference, such as fundraising, creating a video, starting a club or creating an info session for other classes concerning the issue. After brainstorming a few ideas, the group would chose one idea to pursue and then present the issue, the idea, the process and the product to the rest of the class. There would be a few restrictions, such as groups of 3 or 4 people, everyone must present part of the project to the class, there must be a written aspect in every project, a summary of every student's role within the group, and a rationale as to why you chose the particular social issue.

20. Complementary Texts Hunger by Nicolas Guillen (poem) Art of War #4 http://bit.ly/z72B9l Art of War #102 http://bit.ly/y1Cquw Art of War #51 http://bit.ly/y1Cquw Imagine - John Lennon (song) Hero of War - Rise Against (song) A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah (novel)

21. Grade 10: Book List Animal Farm - George Orwell Paddle to the Amazon - Don Starkell The Gap - Ian Ross Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence - Doris Pilkington Garimara Amistad - Walter Dean Myers

22. Grade 10 Integrated Geography/ ELA

23. Book Review George Orwell’s 1945 novel Animal Farm is a great work of literature and a perfect complement to any course about 20th century history. It will also fit into an integrated English-Geography unit on "Food from the Land". The plot is simple. The owner of Manor Farm treats his animals badly. The animals revolt, chase away the humans, and rename their home “Animal Farm”. Led by the clever pigs, they build a community based on animal equality and avoiding the vices of humans. A shrewd pig called Napoleon takes over and gradually destroys every ideal upon which the farm was based. Napoleon and the pigs become more cruel and corrupt than the humans. The novel is often seen as an allegory about the Russian Revolution, with Napoleon as Stalin.

24. Book Review Continued The novel contains dark humour, including an amusing episode in which the pigs discover alcohol and get very drunk. The book also includes sad episodes, such as when Boxer (literally the farm’s chief work-horse), who believes that Napoleon is always right, becomes too ill to work, and is sold by Napoleon to the glue factory. Orwell includes some provocative minor characters, such as Moses the raven, who tells the animals about a magic place called Sugarcandy Mountain, in which all animals are happy. In the Russian Revolution analogy, Moses is the Russian Orthodox Church. Through Moses, Orwell raises questions about the role of organized religions. Incidentally, the novel is rich with biblical allusions.

25. Even More..... Animal Farm is short. Orwell does not waste a single word and, at the end, the reader feels that there is no more to be said.

26. Activity #1: Pre-reading Activity: Analysis of Book Covers Task: Viewing book covers, to predict what will happen in the novel. Criteria: The teacher selects a variety of book covers for the novel, divides the class into groups and gives each group a different cover. Each group has to analyse their cover, using a set of questions provided by the teacher, such as: “Why do you think the publisher chose these images?” Each group writes its answers on a sheet of chart paper. Each group presents its cover and conclusions to the entire class, and answers any questions that other students may have. Intent: To get students thinking about the relationship between images on a book cover and the content of the book.

28. Activity #2: Reading Activity: Farm Field Trip Task: The class goes on a field trip to a farm Criteria: On the farm, the class will be shown a variety of animals (e.g. pigs, horses, chickens) and their living areas. Students will take notes about how each type of animal lives, how it’s fed, where it sleeps, what contact it has with other animals. Intent: To allow the students to compare the daily lives of the animals in the novel with the lives of animals on a Manitoba farm today.

29. Activity #3: Post-Reading: Cue Card Plot Summary T ask: To summarize the plot of a chapter in a concise format. Criteria: Students will be in groups of 3 or 4. Each group is assigned one or 2 chapters of the novel. Each group will summarize the main events of their chapter(s) on a cue card (about 5x9 inches) using text and or pictures. Groups present their cards to the whole class. Cards are all displayed in sequence (on a cork-board or other format) for the whole class to read. Intent: To build reading and writing skills; to teach students to comprehend plot, and to select the most important plot events using extremely concise language.

43. Grade 12