Grade 7: Literacy Unit Explores Unique Friendships
Seventh grade English students are preparing to read one of two books as part of the literacy component of their Alzheimer’s unit. Pop is a story about a high school football player who befriends a former NFL player suffering from Alzheimer’s, while The Cay is a story about an intergenerational friendship.
Seventh grade English students are preparing to read one of two books as part of the literacy component of their Alzheimer’s unit. Pop is a story about a high school football player who befriends a former NFL player suffering from Alzheimer’s, while The Cay is a story about an intergenerational friendship.
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“These books align so well with the class’s service learning program as they develop friendships with the elderly residents of Sunrise Senior Center,” says English teacher Kelly Gaudet. “My goal in introducing this literature is to cultivate authentic respect and understanding for the histories and stories of generations before us.”
Literacy, along with science and math, is the “learning” in our service-learning program focused on Alzheimer's disease. In addition to reading meaningful literature, students are writing one-page biographies that tell the story of the people they are honoring in their memory boxes. When both are complete, memory boxes will be on display alongside the written biographies.
Parents can be involved in this process by taking the opportunity to share stories about their own grandparents. “We talk a lot about what kind of mark we want to make in the world after studying the lives of older people, some who have memory loss and some who do not,” Kelly shares.
Parents can be involved in this process by taking the opportunity to share stories about their own grandparents. “We talk a lot about what kind of mark we want to make in the world after studying the lives of older people, some who have memory loss and some who do not,” Kelly shares.
The culminating activity for the Alzheimer’s unit is the Memory Box Event, later in February. Watch for more information coming soon!
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
