Malala's Homes

 We recently started reading the book I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai, in our English class.  The memoir is written by Malala, who was shot in the head at age 14 by the Taliban because she was an advocate for girls receiving education in Pakistan. Malala survived being shot and continues to work to promote education for all children. In the prologue, Malala describes two very different settings of her story-- her old home in Pakistan, and her new home in England. Students listed details for each setting and composed a visual to represent it, then students wrote about where they would rather live-- England, Pakistan, or someplace else.  

  

Malala's Home in Pakistan:

• Neighborhood kids playing
• Women downstairs gossiping and chatting
• Men smoking cigarettes and debating politics
• They carried cans of gas from the store to heat their water on the stove
• She had trophies and awards in her bedroom
• Her little brothers would watch TV and fight over the remote
• She joked with her dad about the school "walking" not "running

Visual below composed by Sam and Erin

Malala's Home in England:

• Sturdy Brick house  
• Dark and chilly outside
• Hears Quiet
• Hot and cold water running
• Large rooms with shiny wood floors
• Large furniture and a large T.V
• Hears family members crying for home (Pakistan)
• Answers her dad seriously about school

Visual below composed by Danny, Stan, and Shane

Student comments: 

Erin writes, "I would rather live in England than in Pakistan. The reason why I chose this country is so that I can have some peace and quiet while I relax, and so I can do my homework without any distractions. Although I don't mind the kids playing outside, because it brings joy to people. In Pakistan, there were men smoking while debating. I don't like smoking because it shortens your life. Secondhand smoking to me is suffocating because there is no fresh air nearby. I like having large rooms because I don't like tight spaces. It makes me feel uncomfortable. It's also great to have a large TV, so I can have a better view with the screen."

Sam writes, "The country that I would like to live in is England. One reason is that the place is quiet and most people are friendly towards Americans. Also in England, there is not as much violence as there is in Pakistan. In fact, they speak more English in England than in Pakistan, which would make it easier to talk to people. In Pakistan, girls are not allowed to go to school, which I don't think is fair because everybody needs to learn. For all these reasons, I would prefer living in England."

Linus writes, "I like it to be quiet. England is quiet where Malala lives. I like large rooms in my house. I like when people are serious. Dad is serious at home. I would rather live in England because it's less dangerous." *

Chris writes, "I want to live in South Korea because I love the songs. I like to go to the Dream Tower. South Korea has skyscrapers taller than United States." *

Stan writes, "I would rather live in England for two reasons; one it's a peaceful place and there's less danger, two there are large T.V.s,  furniture, and sturdy brick houses. That is why I would live in England instead of Pakistan."

Shane writes,"Where I would rather live is England. I would choose to live there because it is more quiet and peaceful. Pakistan is okay, except there are some parts where there can be danger. In the summer of 2012, I went to England and it is usually dark and chilly, but when I went there it was sunny. England would be a place to live in."

Danny writes, "My thought was England and not Pakistan because I wouldn’t really want to live in Pakistan.  I’ve never been to Pakistan, and it wouldn’t be a place I would want live in because there is danger.  Also I’ve been in England.  I was born in London (the capital of England). That's why I like England more than Pakistan."

*Response was scribed and prompted using sentence starters.

September 11th Museum and Memorial Field Trip

On Thursday, October 23rd, a group of students took a trip to visit the September 11th Museum and Memorial in New York City as part of a field trip for the Replacement History class with Mrs. Dilworth. We are going to share some photos we took and some thoughts about our experience visiting the museum and memorial.

Pictures we took on our trip: 

The Survivor Staircase  (taken by Mrs. Boccia)

Steel from Point of Impact (taken by Mrs. Boccia)

The Freedom Tower (taken by Mrs. Boccia)

The picture below was taken by Erin.  "The picture I chose was a piece of an antenna from the North Tower of the World Trade Center.  The reason why I chose this picture is because it was a biggest piece of the antenna from the North Tower. This piece was recovered after the buildings collapsed. The antenna was meant to stop lightning from hitting the building. It absorbs the lightning bolt from the cloud."

The picture below is of The Final Column, and it was chosen by Shane. "I choose a picture of the last column of the WTC because there were police officers and firefighters who died trying to save people. One of them was a friend of my mom and dad, and his name was Michael Francis Lynch. He met my dad in 1988 when he was in college over the summer. During the attack he was trying to save a woman who was in the South Tower, when the South Tower collapsed both him and the woman were killed."

The picture below was chosen by Linus. "The artist is Spencer Finch. He chose blue tiles to represent the color of the sky that day. There are 2,983 individual squares to represent every person killed in the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. I chose this picture because of the quote by Virgil and the color."*

 

The picture below was chosen by Danny. "My picture is of the 9/11 Memorial Museum exhibit of the faces of the people who were killed in the Twin Towers. It is interesting to see the faces of the people who were killed. When we see the face, we get to know who the person was."*

This picture below was chosen by Chris. "My picture is of the reflecting pool. The memorial shows the names of the people who died in the attacks. I like the picture because it shows respect to those who died.  The red roses layed next to the reflecting pool where the towers used to be."*

The picture below was taken by Stan. 

"I picked this structure because it's the most important part in 9/11 and a major installation.

This steel structure was part of the world trade center in the two buildings. It is from the South Tower. The planes caused a lot of damage and the fuel and heat may have caused the steel to bend."*

This picture below was taken by Sam. "The picture I sent you is a helmet that once belonged to a Fireman called Captain Patrick John Brown. He wore the helmet on September 11th and he didn't make it out of the buildings alive. It reminds me of how the firefighters helped with the rescue."*

Final thoughts from the class: 
This field trip helped us to learn about what really happened during the September 11th attacks. It was upsetting to see all the lives that were lost. It was scary to see what the attack was like. We learned about the sacrifice of the firefighters who saved so many people and gave up their own lives to save others.

*Indicates teacher support in developing this response

Our Life Timelines

In class, we read the article "Space Odyssey." Major historical events in space were documented in the format of a timeline which included pictures and brief summaries for each event. We decided to create our own life timelines in class to practice putting information into a logical (chronological) order. Students also worked on writing clear, complete sentences with an appropriate amount of detail. Students presented their timelines to the class and fielded questions from their classmates. They did a wonderful job with their timelines and presentations!

Danny's Timeline 

 


Chris's Timeline
 


Linus's Timeline
 


Sam's Timeline
 


Erin's Timeline
 

Shane's Timeline

Humans of Room 370

The website and popular Facebook page "Humans of New York," by Brandon Stanton has almost 10 million followers, and for a good reason ( http://www.humansofnewyork.com/ ). He interviews and photographs regular people on the streets of New York City, sharing their stories and pictures on his website. Stanton's work helps us to look past our differences and view each other as individuals. For this blog post, we'd like to share our own stories from room 370 to help readers get to know us a little better.

Question: What has been the most challenging experience of your life thus far?

"The most challenging experience is driving at certain times and on certain roads. Knowing when to turn around or turn onto a new road." -Sam 

"My most challenging experience was going through half of high school. My first two years was really hard and I had to do a lot of work. What's really hard about it is those exams. Listening to music and smelling lavender helped me to calm down." -Erin

"I used to be really afraid of going on roller coasters a lot. It looked really scary. I chose to go on slow rides the most. I overcame that challenge. It was years ago. It didn't seem as scary as it was.  I go on most of them now, except for the Mummy at Universal studios. I hated it! It was the worst." -Shane

"I take the train by myself to Albany. I was nervous the first time but I was fine. The train ride was 2 hours. I felt proud of myself after." -Stan

-T: What is something that is easy for you? 
-Chris: Math. Very hard [explained that he likes the problems hard]. 
-T: How do you feel when you solve a hard math problem? 
-Chris: Good. Very good. 
-T: What do you want to do when you get older? 
-Chris: Samsung tower [indicating he wants to work in the Samsung company tower in South Korea]. 


Question: What has been the most memorable experience of your life thus far?

"My most memorable experience was seeing all my graduated friends. I was super happy when I had a lot of friends around towns, neighborhoods, and school. Some other information is seeing them in school shows, watching them play sports such as basketball and softball." -Sam

"My most memorable experience was when I was going to Disney World when I was 4 years old. I stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. My brother was just a baby back then. When I woke up first thing in the morning I said my very first full sentence, 'Mommy, there are giraffes in our backyard!' When my mom heard my first sentence she was very pleased and happy." -Erin


"I had a memorable experience in Ireland. It was in 2011 and I was 12. It was my first time ever visiting another country. We went to pubs. We stayed at a cottage. Also, I was born in London. I was there a long time ago" -Danny

"This happened in 2009. I had a dream that I teamed up with some friends to defeat a giant robot. We ran into a museum and when we heard a loud boom there was a live t-Rex skeleton that helped us defeat the robot. We became friends with it. I remember my dad's voice waking me up." -Shane 

"I just got on the bike and I started pedaling. I learned how to stop by using the break. My dad helped me but I told him I knew how to ride a bike. I rode to the park with my dad. I still ride my bike."-Stan

T: What is something you like to do? 
Linus: Boston Library
T: What do you like to look at there? 
Linus: Marc Brown
T: Who is Marc Brown? 
Linus: Arthur the Aardvark [indicating Arthur the Aardvark books by Marc Brown]
T: Is there a Marc Brown exhibit at the library or at the Boston Children's Museum? 
Linus: Museum



Photo courtesy of http://oupeltglobalblog.com

About the Bloggers II

 ERIN 

My name is Erin, and I’m 17 years old. I’m a senior in High School. I live with my parents, my younger brother, and my two cats. My dad works in New York on weekdays and goes to L.A. every 3 weeks. My mom is the one who watches over me and my brother, and she mostly takes care of us. My two cats are Sam and Pumpkin. Sam is a peaceful cat who likes to hang out, and sometimes he sleeps with me, but not all the time. Pumpkin is a very social cat who loves to hang out with people. He hates being alone, and that’s why he comes to my room a lot. There are two activities that I like to do, and it’s art and baking. Art is what keeps me calm; I inherited the talent from my mom’s side of the family. I usually bake when I have nothing else to do, but I'm not bored anymore because I now work at a golf club as a pastry chef. I mostly bake cookies, and I bake some cakes for special events. What I don’t like to do is to study for school work, because school work gives me a lot of stress, and I don’t get enough sleep. That is the story of my life, and I hope you’ll enjoy my blog.

STAN

Hello my name is Stan, and I’m 16 years old. I live with my dad, and we are happy being together. I’m a person who likes to hang out with my friends, and go see movies at the theater. There are other things I like to do during my free time such as drawing. I like to draw skulls, Slender Man, The Devil, blood bath, and fire. I also go see my mom in Albany on the holidays. I hope you enjoy my blog posts. Sincerely, Stan

SHANE

Hello again, It is me Shane. I am 16 years old, and I am a high school student who lives in New Jersey. I live with my mother, my father, my sister, and my dog Stella. My mother has a job as a nurse, and my father has a job as a lawyer. Also, my sister is 11 years old, and she goes to St. Rose of Lima Academy (which is one block away from this school). I like to go bike riding around the neighborhood when it is a nice day outside. I like to play ice hockey on weekends, and I play with a few friends during practices and games, which I have been doing for years. I like to go to school because it helps me learn. I don’t like to stay home on the weekends because I get very bored. Great to see you again!

DANNY

Hello again. I’m Danny. I am 16 years old. I am a Junior in High School, and I live in NJ. I live with my parents, my sisters Caroline and Jane, and my brother Jack. I have an older sister named Emily, she is a freshman in college at Notre Dame in Indiana. I have another older sister named Katie, she is 26 and lives in Denver, Colorado. I do a work program called Structured Learning Experiences (SLE). I work 3 days a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays I work at Red Mango, and on Fridays I work at TJ Maxx. At Red Mango I wisk the yogurt in the machines, I fill up the toppings on the toppings bar, and when I start work I place the labeled spoons in the toppings. I get to have frozen yogurt after work. At TJ Maxx I mostly fold clothes in the back room. I have a good time in SLE. I do a morning program at Vocational Technical School. My program is called Office Occupations. It is a business class. We learn business related things in the class. On Mondays I do a class called Technical Finance, and on Wednesdays I do a class called Applied English. I have a good time at VoTech. I like to play video games, I like animation such as Disney, and I like to swim as exercise. I don’t like being inside my house all day, even on weekends, because it’s boring. Hope you enjoy again!

CHRIS

Hello, my name is Chris, and I am 17 years old.  I go to high school in New Jersey.  I live with my brother Tony, but right now he goes to Penn State College in Pennsylvania. I also live with my Mom and Dad. I want to move to South Korea in 2021 because I was born in South Korea and miss living there. I want to live near my grandmother and grandfather. I like to play Clash of Clans. Clash of Clans is an App on my iPad. It is a fighting game. This year in school, I began a work program. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays I work at Charlie Brown’s cleaning menus and silverware. I really enjoy my work program. I like to ride on and take pictures of elevators. I take pictures of the button panel, light indicators and the firefighter sign. Have a nice day!

LINUS

Hello, I am Linus. I am 19 years old, and my birthday is June 30th. I go to High School in New Jersey. I live with my mom, Raquel and my dad, Norman. I live with my dog, Pepe. My dog Pepe is a white chihuahua. I am a super senior in high school. This year I started a job at Spring Meadow that is an Assisted Living Facility. My jobs there are delivering newspapers, mail, notices and surveys. I help fold napkins and set tables in the Dining Room. My other job is helping the secretaries at the Ed Center in my town. There I help with shredding papers, filing papers and make new file folders. Another job I do is volunteer at New Eyes for the Needy. I sort glasses. My last job is processing magazines for my High School Library. I like to go to the Boston Library with my Mom. Going for a ride in the car makes me happy. I like to go look at posters at the movie theaters. When I visit Princeton, I like to go for a walk. Finding out what countries people visit is very interesting. I have been to Canada, Germany, Chile and Argentina. I don’t like onions and mushrooms. Goodbye!

DAVID 

Hello. My name is David. I am in 10th grade, and I'm 16 years old. I like to play video games and watch SpongeBob Squarepants. I do not have a work program. I have a twin brother named Jonathan, and he is in 10th grade. I have an older sister named Aliza. She is 18, and she is in college. I have 2 dogs. Their names are Shubey and Sassy. I play sports, and I run track and field. I like school because I get to see my friends. Hope you enjoyed my bio.

ETHAN 

What’s goin’ on?  My name’s Ethan.  I’m 18 years old, and I already graduated high school in 2015.  But I am still here in New Jersey for two more years.  I love planes, cars, trains, motorsports, action movies, and rock music (Punk, Thrash Metal).  I go to Votech to work on music production.  One day, I hope to be a performer, and hope to create my own radio station with Shane and Danny.  I have a sister named Hazel who is a senior this year, and I have a brother named Zane.  He is a Freshman in my high school this year.  Yep, you could say this whole family has joined the high school.  My favorite motorsports are NASCAR, Formula 1, Le Mans, and Air Racing performed by Redbull.  My favorite sport is soccer or in England, “Football.”  The soccer teams I love are Chelsea and The New York Redbulls. I love to wear leather jackets because they are comfortable for me. The leather jacket reminds me of The Ramones, my favorite band. Stay cool, and I hope you enjoy!

SAM (former student, graduated 2015) 

Hello, my name is Sam and I am 18 (almost 19) years old. I am a senior in Millburn High School so this would be my last year in the district. My family is a really awesome family. I have a Mom, Dad, and my very talented brother Jake. I also have two fish which are my current pets for now but I did have other pets in the past which includes Cassie which was my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dog, lot’s of other kinds of fish, and even a scorpion. What I like about my family is that I play Chess with my dad, Backgammon with mom, and occasionally video games with my brother. My dad also takes me to the JCC on weekends for training because one of my goals is to become really strong. What I like is animals, especially sea life because sea animals are incredibly mysterious. Another thing I like is video games. I mostly play games on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. My favorite game series are Sonic the Hedgehog, Pikmin, and Pokemon.  What I do not like to do is the taste of soda. See you later!