Interesting Photo, Your Caption

Created by Shamus Clisset

In Readers Digest they have a feature where the magazine publishes an interesting photo, and the readers submit what they think the caption or headline will be. My challenge for you is to be creative and fun with this interesting photo. Be original.  I'll start it.  You continue it.  Don't be afraid to praise creative comments as well.

Check out some of our past photos and comments: snake  and  house

More Political Cartoon Ponderings

Political cartoons are a fun way to get a new perspective on issues and current events.  Artists creatively use metaphors of language to make readers have to think beyond the literal.  It is a great visual activity to promote your thinking. Study the political cartoon.  How is the author using this cartoon of a teenager to send a message?  Be sure to explain  your thinking.  Can you think of another way the author could creatively display a similar message?

Teaching 9/11 to Students Who Don't Know Enough to Care

It has been 12 years since the tragic day of September 11, 2001 when America fell victim to a massive east coast terrorist attack that shocked our nation and lured us into a brutal 10 year war. I am sure that classrooms around the country commemorated the event with various lessons and activities. In my class we read various articles that discuss 9/11 from different points of view as well as videos that show some of the most important images of that day and the days that followed. The question is, should 9/11 finally move into the pages of the regular history books, or should it still be given special regard, ceremonies, and extra class time?

A Good Book For Reluctant Male Readers

Monster by Walter Dean Myers: 

Steve Harmon is facing one of the most terrifying situations of his life.  He is looking at possible life in prison; an adult prison.  Steve is only 16 years old. Steve got caught up in the inner city life of New York City where poverty, gangs, drugs, and violent crime influence urban survival for many kids every day.  While waiting for his trial to take place, Steve starts to write down his experiences and feelings in jail waiting with some of the cities hardest criminals.  He reflects on the series of events that led to the shooting on the fateful day.  Steve’s writes in the genre of a movie script which includes all the mood details of each scene right down to the camera angles. The reader follows Steve and his emotional trip through the entire trial, witness examinations, opening and closing arguments, and taking the stand in his own defense. The reader can judge Steve like the jury and decide what his fate should be.

More Teen Characters Dealing with Adult Issues

Peeled by Joan  Bauer:  Sometimes an author gets into a theme that seems to play out in all of the books they write.  It's almost like some of the popular book series that are out their now, but each book is actually different.  The thing that connects all of the books are the types of problems, the type of characters, and how the problems are solved.  This is the case with Joan Bauer's book, "Peeled".  Joan  Bauer has over 12 books published that are all different, but all contain some kind of wayward teenager, a bit of disfunctionalism in the family, an adult mentoring character, and best friends. The most common denominator in  her books seem to be the fact that the adults in the stories seem to be ignorant, incompetent, misguided, and dependent on the teens to solve the major problems in the community.

Can We Take Living In America For Granted?

Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Danticat:
I have read a lot of books about refugees from countries that are torn by war and political strife.  Vietnam, Germany, Russia, the Middle East, and various African nations are just some of the regions that have become the setting for popular young adult novels in recent years.  This summer I  had the opportunity to read a few books about refugees from Haiti and Cuba. Learning about the political history of some of the countries in the Caribbean was a eye opener.  I am familiar with the published history book versions.  The books I read gave me a perspective into the hardships of families surviving political turmoil, the desire to move to the Untied States to escape persecution, and the sometimesunderhanded role the United States may have played in the region. This often times leads to new hardships in a country that was supposed to be so full of promise.