Summer SAVY Session 6, Day 5, Encounters and Experiences
Dear SAVY Families,
Wow! I can’t believe that our time at SAVY Session 6: Encounters and Experiences, Archetypes in Literature, has already come to an end. This week went by so quickly, but I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn with and from your scholars this week. Today’s culminating project presentations were examples of dedication, grit, and brilliance in the classroom, and this group was more than I could have asked for out of a SAVY class!
We started the morning completing part three of our novel study, Wonder, by R. J. Palacio. While we unfortunately did not get to read the entire book, students can find this book at their school or local library. I encouraged those who have not read the story to finish reading and analyzing it on their own before seeing the movie. I know they will enjoy reading the rest of Augie’s story!
Next, we finished yesterday’s lesson about writing narratives with archetypes. We watched the short film Lifted and discussed the many archetypes, encounters, and themes that were present in the film. We finished our discussion on storytelling by brainstorming common themes found in the stories we have read and discussing the message that these themes portray.
After ORA, we spent the remainder of our day working on, and ultimately presenting, our final projects. Students had the option to write their own story or create a comic strip that included an identifiable theme and a character, symbolic, and situational archetype. Students used a handout to organize their ideas and develop their main character, and then met with me before they got to work in order to fine-tune the ideas they had for their story. At the end of the day, students got to present their work to one another, and the audience had a lot of fun identifying each of the themes and archetypes present in their peer’s work. Some were nervous about the expectation to present their created work, which led to a conversation about vulnerability. However, they each took a leap of faith and did an amazing job sharing their ideas with their classmates. I encouraged those who did not quite finish their story to continue working on it at home, and to present it to family members or friends!
Discussion Questions: What was your favorite part about SAVY this week? How will the information you learned at SAVY help you out next school year? How did you choose to convey your knowledge in the final project? What was the experience like sharing your creativity with peers?
I am so proud of the students’ hard work this week. I wish them all the best of luck in the upcoming school year, and I know that they will excel in all that they do! Thank you for sharing your brilliant student with me for a small part of this summer!
Sincerely,
Miss Gruchot 🙂