SAVY parents,

Day three at SAVY was another great day. I am sad that it is over. I have really enjoyed getting to know this group of students. I know I have learned so much from them, and I hope they have learned as much from me. On day three, we started with a game of “Love, Like, or Leave It.” This was a fun way to get them to think critically, and it is always fun to hear their perspective and the why behind their thinking.

In class, we began by putting all the concepts we have learned together. Like we did on day one, we talked about how characters in books have a problem, or a complex reality, that they need and want to understand. Harry in Harry Potter had to deal with identity and a difficult family. Percy is also trying to understand who he is, his dyslexia, and why his father abandoned him. Dealing with complex realities isn’t just in literary fiction; we, too, deal with various complexities every day. To help us understand the world, we create ways to make sense of it all. One way is through patterns. These patterns help us understand that we are not alone. Regarding Percy, even though he may have felt different from others, his archetype (behavioral pattern) was the same as any 12-year-old boy.

After we put the ideas together, students continued to storyboard The Lightning Thief. Students improved upon their analysis using Campbell’s, Vogler’s, or Snyder’s hero’s journey models. After some discussion, students’ perspectives began to change through a deeper analysis of the story. By doing this, they really demonstrated what they have learned

In the second half of the day, students worked on creating their own hero’s journey. Students were given the option to use creative writing skills to write a story, storyboard their hero’s journey, or complete a graphic organizer of their hero’s journey. It was interesting to see the different ways students used to complete this final task. I was so happy that students were willing to share their stories. It is not an easy task to share something like a story that they have created, but all the students were very kind and supportive.

As we wrapped up for the day, each student was given a copy of the book, Percy Jackson: The Ultimate Guide. I showed them this book on the first day of class, and they couldn’t put it down. I hope they enjoy the book and learn more about the world of Percy Jackson. Just a reminder–the second season of the Disney+ Percy Jackson series comes out December 10th. I hope students will watch it with a newfound perspective!

I want to thank all the students who joined me on Saturday. I not only hope they learned something that they can apply in their ELA classes, but that they had fun discussing stories. Have a great rest of the weekend!