Yesterday we looked at the more somber side of secrets and learned about the Secret Annexe - where Anne Frank and her family, along with other Jews, hid from the Nazis during World War II. We watched two short films - one about the circumstances that led to Anne going into hiding and how she kept her diary and the other about Otto Frank, her father, the only one who survived after the war and the work he went on to do with young people, keeping Anne;s legacy alive.
We also continued to work on our stories about the secret that we randomly picked yesterday. Before diving in to more writing, we learned the elements of a story - plot, dialogue, setting, etc. and how to think about the arc of the story we're creating. Here are some excerpts from two stories thus far:
Secret: I cheat on almost every test in Math
"The numbers on the page swam in front of my face as I looked at the first problem on the math test. Cautiously I peered over the shoulder of Sue, the blonde haired girl sitting next to me and wrote down the answers to the first page....My name is James B. Martain and I live with my Mom, Dad and dog, Ms. Patterson....Over all I am a pretty normal boy except for the fact that I have a dark and terrible secret: I cheat on almost every math test. I don't want to cheat but I just think asking for help is too girly..."
- Tegan
Secret: I am planning to run away from home
"On the last day of school I sat at the bus stop watching all of the other kids filing out of school, laughing and racing to the street, hugging their parents and then jumping into cars and driving off to a happy, warm summer vacation. I sat there thinking of what my summer would be like, but the way it was going at that time I knew my summer was going to be as dull and boring as the rest of the year. My parents worked so much that they didn't even have time to pick me up from the last day of school like all the other regular parents, which left me, Alice, to stay at home alone with only our old cat for company..."
- Sophie
Then in the afternoon for our art session we finished putting together our sketchbooks and cut out doors, windows, drawers etc. in our secret places paintings. See the photo and you'll have to guess what's behind closed doors! We also decorated "mailboxes" and everyone wrote a message to be delivered tomorrow. Another fun day!