Dear Parents/Guardians:

This year, we are excited to announce that your student will be participating in a class-wide literacy activity we like to call “One Book - One School”. This activity will require students to read the novel Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card as assigned by their teachers. Each core classroom teacher will be participating in this activity, from English to Math, so for the next two weeks, the students’ lessons will be revolving around, and based on the contents of this novel.

We, as a school, have decided to participate in this literacy activity for a number of reasons. The biggest of these reasons being that by reading a novel together as a grade, students will be able to see how literature can in fact relate to a wide variety of concepts outside of their English classroom. We have chosen the novel Ender’s Game because there are a number of ideas and lessons within the story that we believe all our students could benefit from learning. In the text, there are wonderful examples of students addressing bullying and racism, as well as deciding for themselves what is and is not morally just according to their own beliefs. The story itself is fictional, but written in a realistic manner that will capture the students’ attention. In addition, a large part of the story takes place in outer space, so there many concepts that the math and science teachers will be able to use for building connections into those content areas. 

That being said, the story is written for middle school and high school aged students so there are a couple of instances in the story which will require some explanation due to the vocabulary and actions of some of the characters. For instance, there is a moment early on in the story where a derogatory word is used to describe an African American boy. We will, of course, prep the students for this moment, and explain the background associated with the word so that the students can properly handle the book like the mature 8th graders we know they can be. If you have any concerns regarding how your student may react to this, we highly recommend reading along with your student so you can help answer any questions they may have. 

These next two weeks are sure to be interesting in each of your student’s classes so be sure to ask them all about what we talk about with them when they arrive home. The repetition and reminder of their classes will help instill the information they have learned. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact any of your student’s core teachers. We will be happy to answer any question you may have.

Sincerely,

The 8th Grade Team 

Tier 1:  Student begins to fall behind on classwork regarding to Ender’s Game.

Tier 2: Student continues to fall behind and is not understanding topics regarding Ender’s Game.

Tier 3: Student does not participate in in class activities/discussion and is not turning in work.

School Wide Intervention

Our eighth graders are going out of this world! Figuratively, of course! These 2 weeks are going to be spacetacular! The Eighth graders will be reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Our teachers will be connecting their content area to the book in order to make this a fun and informational reading. It will be important for the students to already have some knowledge about how our society works so they can further understand how the society within the book functions. They will also need to know basics about how the governmental system works because the book takes place in a futuristic world where the government plays an essential role in society. We will be doing many exciting activities with them. For example, we will be taking a trip to Science City in Kansas city, Missouri. Science City has a planetarium where students will get to see a virtual reality of outer space! We want this to be an interesting and educational experience for our eighth graders, so as a team we would like everyone to participate in this outer space adventure. Can you handle the challenge and go out of this world with us?    

Sincerely,

8th Grade teachers

This Website will be our main source of information for the One Book One School unit. This is important for students who may have to miss class so that they will be caught up on the reading and assignments for the next day. This is also a great way for parents to be involved in the classroom.