The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back to the blog.

So far this year, we've done a "Cities" unit where we studied ancient cities such as Machu Picchu and the Mesa Verde. We also learned about modern cities, and students completed a research project about murals. They specifically researched the area of Dallas, Texas known as Deep Ellum, an artsy community with many murals. Students interviewed the mural artist Frank Campagna as part of their research project. Below is a picture of one of his most famous murals.

Now we are reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the story of an American Indian teenager growing up on a reservation. We are learning about the many challenges that American Indians living on reservations face, including widespread poverty, alcoholism, depression, and inadequate access to education. Below is a drawing by Danny of the character "Rowdy," the narrator's best friend.

Thanks for visiting the blog. We will update soon on our progress in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian! 

Room 370 

Blog Highlights for the Year, 2014-2015

As a class, we've had an interesting and educational year. Let's take a look back at a few highlights: we went to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, we interviewed a famous ice sculptor, and we took a trip to Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in Manhattan. We also learned about Malala-- the girl from Pakistan who stood up to the Taliban and is fighting for the education of girls around the world.

We'd like to thank everyone who read and supported our blog this year. Your comments made us feel good and think more deeply about what we are learning.

To date, we've had 1, 214 page views of our blog! The large majority of our views are from the United States, however we have blog readers from France, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belarus, and India! This is our 10th blog post for the year, so we average about 1 blog post per month.

We are taking a break over the summer and plan to resume the blog next year. Congratulations to Sam and Linus who are graduating!

Thanks and see you in September!

Replacement Classes Take Cross-Curricular Field Trip to NYC

This article was written collectively by the students in Mrs. Boccia's English Class (Erin, Sam, Stan, Shane, Chris, Linus, and Danny).

Students of Replacement math, English, science and history classes went on a cross-curricular field trip to New York City, on Wednesday, April 29. Miss Brandt, a Replacement math teacher, obtained a grant through the Ed Foundation for the trip. Chaperoning the trip were administrators, paraprofessionals, and teachers. The group visited Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, ate lunch at Chevy’s Mexican restaurant, took a double-decker bus ride, and then took a sightseeing cruise around Manhattan.

The gang rode the train from Millburn, NJ to New York City. Due to unknown circumstances, all trains were rerouted to Hoboken. From there, the group took the PATH train to 33rd street. They arrived to New York City around 9:00 am and stayed until 4:10 pm. The class visited Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum because it covered four different subjects: math, science, history, and English. In math class, they planned the trip to NYC. In science, they learned about nutrition, which tied into the lunch portion of the trip. In History, they covered the landmarks of NYC, and in English, they researched the history of Robert Ripley. This trip did a great job covering all the different areas the students learned about at school.

Students weighed in on the highlights of the trip. Linus said “My favorite exhibits at the museum were Popeye and the two-headed cow.” Danny commented about the Ripley’s museum, “I liked everything. The ones I enjoyed the most were the heads in a jar where you can put your head in yourself, and the Empire State Building, and the black hole. I also liked the couch where you sit below a moose and next to a Native American.” Chris said, “Ripley’s BION. The black hole exhibit, the spinning. Double-decker bus… saw the Intrepid Museum.” 

Sam explained, “My favorite part of the trip was going on the cruise because I liked seeing all the buildings by the water. The spikes on the crown of the statue of liberty represent the seven continents of the world. I saw the bridges that I’ve learned about.” Shane said, “I liked going through the black hole. I liked how it felt like you were moving when you weren’t actually moving. I also liked the cruise and took a lot of pictures.” Erin explained, “My favorite part of the trip was the cruise because I got to see the entire city of Manhattan. I took pictures of landmarks from 3 boroughs. I also took a picture of the Statue of Liberty. Also I took a nice shot of the skyline.” Stan noted, “My favorite part of the trip was doing the impossible laser race at Ripley’s BION. You had to avoid the lasers in order to press the button to turn them off.” 

Overall, students had an exciting, interesting and educational day in New York City. 

Photos from the trip:

Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. (by Mrs. Boccia)

The two-headed cow. (by Linus)

The Jaw of the extinct shark called Megalodon. (by Sam)

Small wooden battleships. (by Shane)

The Buddha has 1 million shredded American dollars inside it. (by Danny)

Darth Vader helmet made from old keys on a keyboard. (by Chris)

The Manhattan skyline from the cruise. (by Erin)

Laurita Ice Sculpture Festival

Note: The article below was written collaboratively amongst the students in the class. We were practicing writing a news article. The students researched and conducted interviews to gather information for the article. 

By Erin, Sam, Stan, Shane, Linus, Danny, and Chris

The Laurita Ice Festival was on held on Saturday, February 21st and Sunday, February 22nd. The Laurita Winery in New Egypt, New Jersey was hosting the festival, which appealed to families, wine lovers, and anybody interested in a fun outdoor winter adventure. There were ice sculptures to look at and go inside of, entertainment, food and drinks. The festival had food trucks, wine, and hot beverages, a sledding path, music, and fireworks. One woman who attended the festival with her husband said, “We walked around and looked at the ice sculptures. We drank wine, hot chocolate, hot apple cider, and ate lunch.”

A festival attendee described her motivation for attending the festival, “We wanted to go away for the weekend, and visiting a winery sounded fun. I found out later that there would be an Ice festival, and that sounded like a fun winter activity.” Then she explained how they arrived there and what they did at the festival, “We parked at the Laurita inn where we were staying over night. Then we took a shuttle bus to the festival at the Winery. First we visited some outdoor attractions like the Ice sculptures, then we went inside the winery to eat and drink and warm up”.  The festival was a highlight of her trip, “I enjoyed the festival. It was a little cold, and it started to snow, and that added to the atmosphere of the festival. Because the festival was at a winery they had some delicious drinks and food. They also had an impressive fireworks show at the end of the night.” She really enjoyed this winter activity, “It’s nice to do something outside in the winter. An ice sculpture festival is a perfect event to attend in the winter.”

The ice sculptures at the festival included a snow dragon, a fire truck, and an igloo. The artists used a blowtorch, hand saw, ice knives, and a nylon brush to make the ice sculptures. A festival attendee said,  “My favorite ice sculpture was the igloo. We took pictures right in front of it, we touched it, and we went inside.” There were also some large ice sculptures that people could go inside of, “The biggest ice sculpture was a life size fire truck. Kids were going in it. There was also an igloo that people were going inside of.”

Ed Jarrett is the ice sculptor who created the various sculptures at the Laurita Ice Sculpture Festival. Ed Jarrett won the Guinness World Record for the tallest sandcastle. Jarrett has been sculpting ice for 28 years, snow for 15 years, sand for 11 years, and wood for 8 years. He first learned to sculpt in culinary school at Johnson and Wales University back in 1987. He learned to sculpt in Rhode Island, but he has sculpted all over the globe. He fell in love with ice sculpting after taking his first ice sculpting class in college. When sculpting in snow he uses tools such as drills and chisels with hammers. He also uses forms to help make different shapes. Dumpsters and backhoes are also used for ice and snow so Ed Jarrett can use them to build new sculptures. Erin interviewed Ed Jarrett, and he said it took him "6 weeks in a freezer set at a constant balmy 14 degrees fahrenheit" to prepare the sculptures for the Laurita Ice Sculpture Festival. He gains his inspiration for sculptures from himself first, then from others and google. He uses all electric tools to sculpt ice. When Erin asked Jarrett about his favorite materials to sculpt, he said, "In the hot summer, I would rather do ice... and in the cold winter, I would rather do sand."

The proceeds from the ice festival go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County. This festival occurs annually.

The igloo ice sculpture. 

Fire breathing dragon ice sculpture. 

Firetruck ice sculpture that children could sit on. 

Evening fireworks at the winery. 

Some Final Thoughts on I Am Malala

Hi Everyone, 

Here are some final thoughts on I Am Malala. 




Our Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 


Student Reviews and Thoughts: 

Sam writes, "When I speak to a friend about Malala, I will tell them that knowledge is a very powerful part of your life. According to Malala, education helps you learn many important skills such as communications and living healthier. Without knowledge, your life would be more difficult as you would have a harder time making friends and you may make more mistakes in your work."


Shane writes, "If my friend asks me about Malala, I would respond to them: Malala is no ordinary girl, she is a brave, courageous, and intelligent person who stood up to the Taliban. She was shot by the Taliban, but she survives, and she is grateful for surviving the Taliban. Malala doesn't want education just for the girls in Pakistan; she wants education to help children around the world. She says education is important around the world, and it even gives us power. Malala is the bravest girl on Earth, and she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014."

Danny writes, "The challenges Malala faced were being able to attend school and being shot by the Taliban. Malala was not afraid of the Taliban. Not only was she not afraid of the Taliban, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping girls get educated. She recovered in Birmingham, England, and she was supported by people all over the world."


Erin writes, "The word I described for Malala is intelligent. For starters, she is pretty smart for a teenager and she loves school. Her intelligence is undeniable because of the way she acts; she talks like a teacher, and she speaks with elegance. Her message is that children should have education. The reason why it is important is because everyone needs education in order to reach their goals and pursue their careers."


Stan writes, 
"I've written a paragraph about Malala. Malala was a brave person because she wasn't afraid of the Taliban. She wants to help children get an education. She is trying to get the government to help the people in Pakistan by getting children an education. Most people are afraid of the Taliban because they are dangerous, but to Malala they don't look that dangerous because she is not afraid of them. They threaten people and make people obey their rules. Malala is brave to stand up against them."

Chris writes, "The one word I chose to describe Malala is strong. This is because she didn't cry and weep when she talked to her father on the phone after she was shot in the head. She was all alone in the hospital in Birmingham, England. She was happy to be alive in spite of being shot. Malala still speaks out about the education of children and women, even though the Taliban tried to kill her."


Linus writes, "Malala is a girl who used to live in Pakistan. She had a baby brother. Her father ran a school. She liked reading with her brother. She liked to visit with her grandparents. A challenge she faced was the Taliban who didn’t want girls to go to school."


Final Words From 370: 
We suggest everyone check out this book. This was an awesome book and we look forward to hearing more about Malala. It teaches you the importance of going to school, and we feel grateful for the opportunity to go to school and learn. 

Thanks for reading! Please post your comments below! 

Life Under the Taliban in Pakistan

In class, we've been continuing our reading in I am Malala. We also viewed an interview from last year that Malala did with John Stewart, and we watched her recent Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech. The students express some of what they've learned in the writing assignments featured below. 

The following essay was written by Sam:

Malala Essay

    Everyone around the world deserves basic human rights. One very important part of human rights is freedom of speech. With freedom of speech, anyone can say what they want. In addition, people are allowed to practice their own religion. Also, anybody can express their feelings without being afraid. In the United States, we have all these important human rights. Everyone is equal because they live in a democracy. In Swat Valley in Pakistan there is no democracy. In Swat Valley the Taliban took away the basic human rights when they took over Swat Valley.

    In Swat Valley,  life changes for women and everyone. People are not allowed to have TVs, CDs, and DVDs. Also women are banned from entering public places. Girls are unable to go to school and everyone had to follow the Islamic law. That means men had to have long hair and beards, while the women had to wear burqas. All the people now have no rights or freedom under the rule of the Taliban. Another big change for all the people was the violence. The Taliban publicly whipped people, killed innocent citizens, and bombed many public buildings.

    The Taliban took away basic human rights of the people of Swat Valley. This current event is similar to the problems black people faced in the south during the time of the Civil Rights in the U.S. For example, freedom of speech was prohibited to a black person just like it is currently banned to the people of Swat Valley. Also, blacks in the south were discriminated against because they weren’t allowed to go to the same schools or hotels as the white people. In Swat Valley, the girls and women are treated differently and don’t have the same rights as Islamic boys and men. The difference between the people of Swat Valley and black people in the south is that the Taliban takes away religious freedom from the people of Swat Valley and in the south, black people could practice any religion they wanted.

    It is better to live in the United States because now that black people have all their civil rights, everybody is equal.  Unlike in Swat Valley, girls can have all the freedom they want. No major villainous governments or groups can threaten them. Now black people are able to go to any school, they can go to all public places whenever, it doesn’t matter if they are black or white. In the U.S. there is basic human rights for all people, while in Swat Valley, Pakistan there are no basic human rights at all. The Taliban has taken control of everyone.

*The following paragraph was completed by Danny: 

In the United States we have a democracy. In a democracy, all people are treated equal. Under the rule of the Taliban in Pakistan, people are not allowed to do certain things. People cannot watch television. Also, women cannot go to school. The Taliban is very powerful and they use violence to make sure people follow their rules. They use violence by killing people and flogging people. The people living in Pakistan feel fear of the Taliban. I would not want to live in Pakistan under the rule of the Taliban because I wouldn't be able to watch movies. I feel going to school could be dangerous in Pakistan. I feel happy about living in the Unites States because I can watch television and go to the movies, and I can go to school without worrying about danger. 

Happy New Year Everyone!


*With assistance from the teacher.