The Butterfly Effect. What YOU do MATTERS.

This quarter, students are reading nonfiction books of their choice about individuals who have had a positive impact on the world in some way. Anne Frank, Steve Jobs, Malala Yousafazai, Elie Wiesel, Dr. Paul Farmer, and Dr. Ben Carson are just a few of the inspiring individuals that students have selected to read about this month. In addition, we have read Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder" and watched Drew Dudley's TED Talk called "Leading with Lollipops" to examine the ways that even small actions can have a lasting impact.

After analyzing narrative elements in "A Sound of Thunder" and experimenting with three different ways to "hook" your reader to get them interested in a story, students were asked to write their own narratives about a "lollipop moment" from their own lives. Students are participating in an in-class writing workshop today, Nov 14, and tomorrow, Nov 15, to craft their rough drafts. Next week, students will revise and edit their final drafts and then share them with classmates before Thanksgiving Break.

Today I was impressed by the way students jumped right in to writing about the moments that have had a positive impact on their lives. Students are writing about moments with siblings, parents, other family members, classmates, coaches and teachers. Moments that students have chosen to write about include: the moment of success with a back-handspring, an afternoon spent taking a family photo, a day spent hearing stories from great-grandparents, the moment a classmate sat with a student who was sitting alone in the cafeteria, the day a teacher noticed the student was having a rough day even though she was trying so hard to hide it.  With so much negativity emphasized on the news in today's world, it is nice to see the leaders of tomorrow focused in on the positive ways we can interact with one another, see the small but powerful ways we can create change, and reflect on and be thankful for the individuals and moments that make our own lives better.

Students who are interested in sharing their stories with a wider audience will be able to publish their pieces on the class blog. I will provide a link here once the final drafts are polished and ready for your enjoyment.