Fictional Literature Students Get to Know Each Other

Students in Ms. Layton’s Fictional Literature class for juniors and seniors are getting to know one another through the book The Freedom Writers Diary. The story is about students who face numerous challenges in their lives including intolerance, race wars, homelessness, and normal adolescent struggles. Through the authors’ diary-style writing, CD students are learning about the hardships that others face. Through their own diary writing and class discussions, they are learning about their classmates and the struggles that they may have in common. By focusing on how they are the same rather than how they are different, students are building bridges rather than walls, establishing a safe environment in which to learn, and creating community. Students made and shared their own Coat of Arms, which was an initial opportunity to get to know one another. Now the shields hang outside Ms. Layton’s room so others can get to know them, too!

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