Grauer English Class: Identity Box Project

From Christina Burress, English 10 Teacher:

The 10th grade English class starts their 4th quarter by reading Elie Wiesel’s important book, Night. Before the students do any reading, they are asked to make an Identity Box where they pick 10 symbols to represent their life right now. They are allowed to include photographs or objects that represent important people, animals, places, mementos, treasured gifts, symbols of personal strength, goals, dreams, struggles, beliefs, or deep secrets. Then they are asked to reflect on what they discovered about themselves in creating the project. The goal is to have students consider the key question: What is the relationship between our stories and our identity? And after reading Wiesel’s powerful account of surviving the Nazi death camp, students are asked to consider: To what extent are we all witnesses to history and messengers to humanity?

This is just one example of the many project-based learning activities for Grauer students, helping them take their understanding of the curriculum and empathy for others to a deeper and more meaningful level.