Promoting 'Wonder' as Island's Brilliant Book

The Book called "The Whale Rider' is the current book on the Year 9 reading list. They have to read the book over the summer holidays and come back to school having read to be prepared to evaluate and write an empathic response to it. However, as long as it has been in the school's curriculum there have been many negative responses to it as many people didn't really enjoy reading it. I personally didn't enjoy it that much because the plot and story-line wasn't interesting and was really boring. Although the Whale Rider had many themes involved in which made it easy to write about when the time came to write your empathic pieces. Because so many people hate the book, the Elements course "Brilliant Books' has chosen a new book to be Island's Brilliant Book and to replace the Whale Rider. Here are some suggestions on how to promote the book and to let people know about it:

• Letter
• Powerpoint and presentation
• Pecha Kucha
• Video
• Book trailer
• Poster
• Ad Campaign 
• Display for the library
• Draw my life
• Speech
• Press release
• Dramatisation

The best idea to promote the book around Island School is probably to have a speech about it in assembly to get people to know about it and start reading it. This is because people usually do things when it is recommended or when they get views from other people about it. People normally ignore the posters that are put up around the school because they have a right to just walk past it and get on with their day. However, when it is told to them everybody knows about it. 

Thinking Hats

Comparing and Contrasting between Wonder and The Whale Rider:

Red Hat (feelings) - How do we feel about the books?	Both books give a warm feeling of family. Wonder gives you more sympathy and teaches you different morals- “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover- Don’t judge a boy by his face.” This book also can show to younger readers that everyone is different in their own way, and we should accept it and not judge by the looks but who they truly are inside. We enjoyed this book and we feel others will too
Blue hat (thinking)	Wonder applies to all students as some of them might be bullies themselves. It doesn’t just focus on one type of audience, but all types of readers. Wonder also provides opinions and points of views of the topic from all of the characters-not just one character.
Yellow hat (Strengths)	Wonder has some special characteristics in terms of literature i.e. different character viewpoints, jumping from different times etc. Appropriate for all ages, generally family-friendly
Black hat (weaknesses)	Wonder has relatively less themes to study. Also, for the empathic piece, students don’t get many choices to write in a character’s voice as it has already been written in the book. It is therefore, difficult to chosel The book is also quite long so it may be hard to choose specific parts to study.
White hat (facts)	Wonder is a children’s novel. It is on a very serious topic that shouldn’t be made fun of.
Green hat (Creativity)	If Wonder is not chosen, we can study alternative books instead that have similar themes eg. themes of bullying, family, friends,

Question 5- The Idea of Human Sacrifice

What is Human Sacrifice? 

The Idea of Human Sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings and is usually an offering to a deity as part of a religious ritual. It usually reflects on the ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human Sacrifice goes back thousands and thousands of years ago to Jesus's time when he first sacrificed his life on the cross for us to be able to be where we are today. It has been practiced in various cultures throughout history. Victims of this type of human sacrifice are typically ritually killed in a manner that was supposed to please or appease the gods, spirits or even the deceased. For an example for an offering for a type of God. This also comes under retainer sacrifice when the king's killed their servants in order for them to continue to serve their master correctly and throughout his next life, initially eternally. Closely related practices were found in some tribal societies with cannibalism and headhunting.

Today, in modern times, the practice of animals sacrifice has pretty much disappeared  from all major religions. Human Sacrifice has also become extremely rare as it seldom happens today. Human Sacrifice is normally associated with Neolithic or Nomadic cultures on the edge of civilizations. It also has a connection with hunting hypothesis which traces the emergence of human religious behaviours in the Upper Paleolithic (around 50,000 years ago). Human Sacrifice is meant to give good fortune to the Gods' (completing building a temple or a bridge). There is an old Chinese legend that thousands of people climbed into the Great Wall of China. In ancient Japan, many tall tales talk about Hitobashari.

Pictures of My annotated work- Midwinterblood

These are the pictures of my annotated work from today's lesson:

Book Cover 1

Book Cover 2

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat Reflection

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat:

I thought that this lesson of "A Boy and a Bear in a boat" conducted by Aiden, Reina, Venus and Jessica was pretty good as it involved many activities to help people understand the book more. This was very impressive and interesting as it also helped us think of other concept towards the book such as afterlife, death and a dream. When I was reading the book I never thought of these concepts, therefore, when I came into the lesson today I learned a whole new perspective towards the book. This also changed my feelings towards the book as I know actually really love it and thought it was very fun and a great adventure. I overall thought that the lesson conducted today was very good as it outlined some fun ways of learning such as the music exercise where we had to create a soundtrack for a specific part of the book.

Maggot Moon Class Reflection

Maggot Moon Reflection:

     Today in Brilliant Books, we conducted a class describing to our fellow classmates about the book and the different aspects involved in the novel. In this session today we played many games and various activities to get people thinking about the book and to get into the zone. We played games to help everyone get a little energy before going into some of the harder work. We also chose games to make the session less boring and more on the fun side. However, we did have the students do many discussions in separate groups in which they thought was very boring. We also thought of more fun ways to, for example, get peoples' attention. This 'fun' way of getting attention was that we brought in a whistle to make sure everyone was listening to us, because if we didn't then we would have lost a lot of time and our activities might have been slower. 

     In our group including Shayna, Caitlyn and Cheska we had a lot of preparation for this session today as we made a plan so that we wouldn't be confused on the day. In our plan table we wrote down the times next to the activities that we would play with the students. This way of presenting the work was very clever and much easier to read off of because when were were conducting the class we just glanced down to see what to do next. I believe that this way much better than trying to remember what to do next. This also produced a better outcome! The whistle also helped us to stay on task and it saved us time from shouting at everybody to be quiet. 

What were you proud of? 

I was very proud of the games that we all thought of, especially the dyslexia game because there were all really fun and gave people an experience of what Standish Treadwell felt in the book. For an example, I thought that the Dyslexia games was very successful because everybody seemed to enjoy it and at the same time, it was a great way of showing people how Dyslexia works. However,during the discussion of the game I actually learned many knew things about Dyslexia that I didn't know before the game, including that Dyslexic people prefer colour coding next to the words when they are reading because this makes it easier for them read. Dyslexic people like to have darker colours like grey and black near the letters that they are reading because it helps their eyes focus on the letters rather than what is behind it. 

What were some strengths from the lesson today? 

During this lesson today, I thought there were many strengths because we were well prepared and knew what to say. Here are some of the strengths of the lesson conducted today:

• The games were a big success, especially the game "Green Flies." Green Flies was very successful as it really outlined some of the key events in the book and the main thing that Standish was doing towards the end of the book. The game that we played today helped people to understand that Standish was trying to avoid the Green Flies when he wanted to tell people that the Moon Landing was a hoax. This relates to the game because people were running away from the Green Flies (who were in the middle of block 5 playground) trying to avoid them, as Standish was trying to avoid the Green Flies at the end of the book.
• The Pop Quiz at the beginning of the lesson was very productive as it told us whom read the book or not. This helped us to know if we did all of the work for nothing. It ended up that actually only 3 or 4 people didn't read the book because they mostly stayed behind and didn't contribute much in the lessons anyways.
• I believe that the activity towards the end where the students had to chose between 3 writing tasks was also very successful as it really engrossed the students in the themes of the book and the main message of the book. 

What were some weaknesses from the lesson today?

From my perspective and the reaction of people really tells me that there weren't many weaknesses form our performance today. However, there are always things to work on to improve for next time. Here are some of the point that we struggled in:

• I believe that we spent too much time on the pop quiz at the beginning of the book because we were only meant to spend 5 mins on it, but actually spent 20 mins. Therefore, this left us with not a lot of time at the end to finish off our games that we planned to do. Therefore, next time we really need to stick to our time frame and make sure we don't go over time, because this may affect our performance. 
• In our lesson today we also could have also touched a little more on the Moon Landing conspiracy theories as this was a big part of the book as well. What I found difficult was speaking in front of the class because at some parts throughout our teaching I didn't know what to say even though I prepared. I felt that I said some things that didn't make sense and that weren't clear. This therefore made our job harder as some people didn't understand what we were saying.  

Top 5 Tips to conducting a class

1. The first tip would be to come into a class prepared. Even though some people might be lazy, being prepared really helps and will really make your performance engaging. It also helps you a lot during the lesson, because everyone knows that unpleasant and awkward feeling when you don't know what to say and everyone is looking at you like your crazy. This is a really embarrassing and you don't want to feel this way, so come prepared!
2. When your conducting a class of teenagers there are always going to be people who are noisy and won't listen to you. So, bring something that will attract a lot of attention such as a whistle!
3. Always play some games as this makes things not as boring for the people listening. Games also help get the blood flowing and brain cells thinking as it gives you energy. 
4. Always show videos to support something your saying because this helps the people listening to you to have a better understanding as a video is visual. 
5. Before you come into the classroom,make sure you go over what you are going to say in the class because this will also help a lot when talking in front of a big class. Go over your plan as many times as you can to get used to the order and format, because this was a big mistake that we made.  

 

Brilliant Books Leading session Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions:

1. Standish’s former teacher used to say, “start your story at the beginning,” (p. 3). Do 

you agree that is how stories should be told? Do you think this story would have had 

the same impact if it had been chronological?

2. Hector says, “there are train-track thinkers, then there’s you, Standish, a breeze in 

the park of imagination” (p. 4).What do you believe a train track thinker really means?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a ‘train-track thinker’? What are the rewards and dangers of thinking differently?

3. What was one of the downsides of Standish Treadwell that may haunt him for life? Given his 

circumstances, in what way are his other skills more useful to him than academics?

4. When people are killed by the government, all evidence of their existence is erased. 

Why do you think the Motherland does this instead of using the killings as an example 

of total control?

5. “I believe the best thing we have is our imagination,” Hector tells Standish (p. 142). 

What do you think about this quote? Do you agree or disagree?

6. The people in Zone 7 condemn the lies they’re told by the Motherland, but they all 

keep secrets and lie to each other. Do you think they recognise what they’re doing? If 

so, how do you think they justify their actions?

7. Standish’s mother paid with her tongue and ultimately her life for dissenting against 

the Motherland. Was she right to object, even though it put not only her, but her whole 

family, at risk? Can you remember instances in history where people have risked their 

own lives to stand up for what they believed in to change the way things were? What 

would you do?

8. Standish calls Hans Fielder the “real idiot” (p. 72), because he never questions 

anything. Why is it important to question authority?

The Books That I have Read So Far

The Course "Brilliant Books."

In this new Elements System I have chosen the course called "Brilliant Books." Brilliant books is basically a Book Club that offers students with the opportunity to read a certain amount of books in a matter of time. While I'm in this course our aim is to read 8 books until the end of December. The books that we have to read involve the books that have been chosen by young readers around the world which have rated them the best! I am really excited about this course because it will give me the opportunity to read more and to improve my reading speed. Brilliant Books also provides us with the chance to have presentations using the new world-wide method called "Pecha Kucha."

Books, Books Books!

I have read a few of the books in which we need to read by the end of the course. So far I have completed reading "Wonder", "The Weight of Water" and I am now reading "Midwinter Blood." All of these books were great and a really quick read! I really enjoyed them and I am really proud of myself from finding the time to read these books because they were truly worthwhile. The best of the books that I have read so far was definitely"WONDER" because I changed the way that I think towards people of special needs and deformities. This book is also one of the many books that have changed my world because looking at the way people in the book treated August Pullman, now if I see someone bullying another person, I won't be a bystander an stand up for the person being bullied. It is an amazing story as it ranges from different character's points of view of August Pullman involving his friends and family. This is very interesting as the storyline isn't just told from one person, but many. Therefore, this makes the story more fun and not as boring as some other books!

Book that have changed the world

What have you discovered about the power and influence of books?

There are many books around the world that have changed the perspectives of people. These kinds of books usually change the way that someone thinks and their daily life. For many centuries, books have been written to share knowledge, inspiration and discoveries with all kinds of people around the world. Some of the books that have actually made a difference in the world make such an impact that they change the way the world thinks about things. I have discovered that books are very powerful and that they can change the lives of many even though they aren't visual and in a movie format. There are many powerful books out there that have provided readers with mind-striking information including education in politics, the government, literature, society, academic subjects such as science, math and religion.

During the presentation that we did on "How books have changed the world" I have also learned how just a book can change someone's life and the things they do everyday.

Have you discovered any books that you now intend to read?

While I was watching the presentations of other and during the research in which I did, I have come up with a list of books that I now would love to read because of their following inspirations on the world. I cam across so many different types of genres including science, history, romance, drama and fiction. Some of these books include:

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Anne Frank- the Diary of a young girl
• Romeo and Juliet
• On the origin of species by Charles Darwin
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
• 1984 by George Orwell
• The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• The Harry Potter series
• The Christmas Carol

I have read some of the Christmas Carol and have seen the movie several times. However, now that I have learned how influential it is from my fellow classmates I would like to read it again!

During our presentations not only did we research about books that have influenced other people and the world, we also thought of the books that have had a significant influence on us. Therefore, when I was listening to other people speak about the books in which have changed their lives I discovered books that I would love to read next. Some of these books include:

• The Fault in Our Stars
• Goodnight Mr. Tom
• Animal Farm

The book that has changed my life and that has had an influence on me is "The Pig man" by Paul Zindel. The Pig man is a story about two teenagers that meet a man named Mr. Pignati who owns a collection of pigs in a secret closet inside his house. The teenagers throw a party at Mr. Pignati's house without his permission and when he's not even there. Mr. Pignati is an elderly man who has lost his wife and has no one to live with and the last he needs is a couple teenagers throwing a party at his house. When he arrives at the house he doesn't know what is going on and then actually ends up having a hard attack at the hands of the two young teenagers.This story has had a great influence on me to never grow up to be like those teenagers.

Which books have significantly changed the world?

Throughout the research that I have done I found many different kinds of books that have changed the world and the everyday lives of people. The books in which I researched came under many different types of categories including: education in politics, the government, literature, society, academic subjects such as science, math and religion. These books are very important for our life to teach us new things about the world. Some of the books that have significantly changed the world are:

• On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
• The Republic by Plato
• The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• The Diary of young girl
• The Odyssey by Homer
• Beowulf
• On the Road by Jack Kerouac
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X
• Common Sense by Thomas Paine
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• The Dictionary
• The Bible
• The Qur'an

Which books have changed the world of Politics

There are also many books that have changed the world of Politics. During our research I didn't come across many books about politics, although I do know some off the top of my head including:

• 1984 by George Orwell
• The Communist Manifesto 
• The Famine Mystique

What Skills have you developed?

Throughout the preparation of my presentation on books that have changed the world I gained many new skills. I learned how to become an independent learner and how to search on my own. I also learned how to speed up my research in order to finish work by a certain amount of time. I usually take my time on homework. However, on this task I typed really fast and found as much information about books that have changed the world in less than 2.5 hours. I also learned more about how to work in a group more intently and productively.

Was our presentation effective? 

I believe that our presentation was very effective! I think this because we followed the process of Pecha Kucha quite well, keeping in mind that we had 20s to speak on each slide and complete as many slides as we can. During the presentation we kept our audience interested by asking them questions to keep them updated with our information. Instead of looking at our computers the whole time we kept looking up at our audience one in a while to make sure that they were falling asleep. However, there were a few moments during our presentation when we didn't speak for 20 seconds on our slides. Therefore, next time we would like to practice as a team more because we didn't make the time to even practice at all.