photo: Mrs. Gilbert

In Mrs. Gilbert’s 6th grade English and Language Arts (ELA) class, students are reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. The focus for this piece of literature is identifying and analyzing the elements of a story or plot. The 6th graders are currently charting the rising actions in a plot chart.  They have also been analyzing literary characters traits, motivations, attitudes, and relationships. The students are discussing the main conflict in the story and how the characters are developing and changing in response to the conflict. 

photo: Mrs. Gilbert

Mrs. Gilbert’s classes are about half-way through the book and enjoying the story. The students are often asking questions about the story and World War II (WW II) and get excited when discussing predictions and seeing who was right as they continue reading.  Mrs. Gilbert thought the many questions being raised about the historical setting of the book presented an opportunity for cross curricular integration. Mrs. Gilbert reached out to Berlin High School’s Global Studies teacher Mr. Gould to see if he could answer some of the students’ questions about WW II.  Mr. Gould then shared that idea with his class and several high school students volunteered to come visit the 6th grade ELA students to answer questions and discuss the historical context in which the Number the Stars story takes place.  Mrs. Gilbert and the 6th grade students appreciated the time the high schoolers took to answer their questions, in turn it was a great opportunity for Mr. Gould’s students to teach about what they are currently studying. -Mrs. Gilbert

photo: Mrs. Gilbert

photo: Mrs. Gilbert