good news, vulnerability, & language

Have you seen John Krasinski's most recent amazingness? My incredible English 2 team is using episode 1 as our mentor text this week to analyze how the author's use of language informs and shapes the perception of readers.

We are all just trying to find a silver-lining in this pandemic.

Last week, we analyzed a letter from a county commissioner to an ambulance-trained woman during the 1918 influenza epidemic begging her to come in and work as a nurse.

Scholars and teachers alike imitated writer's craft moves in our own letter to a specified audience of choice regarding how the current COVID-19 pandemic is impacting our life.

For me, the best practice I know is to attempt to document the crisis, find the positives when we can, and share our own experiences to build a community. Being a teacher in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity be transparent in how literacy and life work in harmony.

For my imitation of Some Good News, my team encouraged me to film the creation of a bullet journal book-chat layout. I recently (during my actual spring break at the beginning of March) completed Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay, an incredible novel I highly recommend. My good news segment is hyper-focused on the trying step within a process. It's the best I can do right now, and I celebrate it.

Our scholars will begin to share their very own segment of good news later this week in the same space my English 2 colleagues and I published ours. We are teaching in the midst of a worldwide trauma. Don't distract yourself looking for the silver-lining, but do find some good news to help your spirit. Be strong in your abilities, but lean on your peers for support. There is immeasurable power behind words, so embrace your voice.