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8th Grade  Project 4 weeks

Cranes of Courage: Our Stories Unfold

Crystal Y
Updated
Effective Communication
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Collaboration
Content Expertise
Self Directed Learning
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Purpose

The purpose of this learning experience is to deepen students' understanding of resilience and hope through personal storytelling and historical context. By crafting autobiographical narratives and engaging with community partners, students will enhance their communication, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. This project aims to foster empathy and self-reflection, allowing students to connect personal experiences with broader social issues.

Learning goals

Students will develop the ability to analyze personal and historical narratives to understand themes of resilience and hope. They will enhance their communication skills by crafting and presenting their autobiographical stories, focusing on empathy and clarity. Students will collaborate to integrate social studies content, creating timelines that contextualize their narratives within broader historical events. Through reflection and critique, students will refine their writing, demonstrating self-directed learning and critical thinking.

Competencies
  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
  • Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
  • Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.

Products

Students will create a published anthology of personal and autobiographical stories, showcasing their writing skills and reflections on resilience. They will also participate in a live reading event where they present their narratives to an audience, demonstrating effective communication and empathy. Additionally, students will engage in a pre-reading activity, teaching audience members how to fold paper cranes, enhancing the experiential aspect of the exhibition.

Launch

Begin with a "Story Seeds Workshop," where students explore moments of resilience in their lives through guided brainstorming and outlining activities led by a local author. Encourage students to share snippets of their personal stories in small groups, fostering a supportive environment for vulnerability and connection. Integrate a hands-on activity where students learn to fold paper cranes, symbolizing hope and resilience, to set the thematic tone for the unit.

Exhibition

Organize an outdoor exhibition titled "Resilience in Words and Cranes," featuring student-created origami cranes hanging alongside excerpts from their personal narratives. Invite community members, teachers, and school leadership to walk through the display, engaging with students' reflections on resilience. Include a pre-reading activity where visitors learn to fold paper cranes, fostering interaction and understanding of the themes explored in the stories.