a social justice program of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation

Showcase

« Back

Project Profile

Project Title:
How Free Will Impacts Peer Relationships
Initiative:
Literacy in Action - Listen, I Read
School Name:
St. Anne
School board / First Nations school jurisdiction:
Waterloo Catholic District School Board
Project Theme:
  • Connect [relationships]
  • Thrive [health & wellness]
Grade Level:
8
Subject Areas:
The Arts, English, Health and Physical Education
City:
Kitchener
Province/Territory:
Ontario
Community Partners:
St. Mary's high school - John Murphy, working with his group of seniors students that are a part of the "Link Crew". Students that support students moving in to grade 9.

How Free Will Impacts Peer Relationships

LISTEN, I READ
BOOK: FISHTAILING
AUTHOR: WENDY PHILLIPS

Students will produce a video, using AppleIMovie, to relate the theme and content of the novel to their investigation in Family Life, Language Arts, and Health about how an individual’s "gift" of Free Will impacts the friends they choose to associate with. Connecting to the themes "Connect" and "Thrive", students will examine cause and effect factors that will help them to make healthy choices about the peers they will select to "build bridges" with, leading in to high school.

Update (April 20, 2012)

We just completed our "Meet the Author" visit via SKYPE. Our 40 minute discussion with Wendy Phillips about her text, Fishtailing, was outstanding! She provided some really detailed and specific feedback about the context for her work and how she established traits for each of her four main characters. The grades really appreciated her ideas about writing in Free Verse Poetry because it is short BUT intense, like the lives of teens!

In writing class this year term, we spent considerable time discussing the origins of a good title and how do we create one. Wendy gave a very real example on where the title for her text came from and really gave my class something to discuss in looking at their own practice.

As a teacher, I was really grateful for Wendy's realism, honesty and the thoughtful connections she made to her students, both past and present. So much of what she has written, she said came from the experiences she's had working in a high school setting.

As my students move in to the creation of their culminating movie for this project, the time spent with Wendy was invaluable to their understanding of the text and the underlying themes it presents. As young growing writer's, my students also took away the wisdom that Wendy offered about when she really began to explore writing in a serious way.

We are very thankful for the time spent with Wendy, and look forward to any upcoming works she will present her audiences with in the future.