In Their Own Words

It's always very interesting to read first-hand accounts of events rather than just read about them from someone else's reporting.  For this reason, you may want to check out the following links to transcripts of interview with two important people who knew Anne.

Here the transcript for an Interview with Miep Gies.  As we know, Miep was a crucial helper to the Frank family while they were in hiding.

Miep Gies

Here is the transcript for an interview with Hanneli Pick-Goslar.  Hanneli was one of Anne's closest friends and a Holocaust survivor.

Anne and Hannah.  Anne is kneeling. 

Both of these interviews are based on questions that students asked themselves.  Because of this, they may be questions you are wondering as well.  If you still have any questions that you are burning to know, feel free to leave a comment and we can discuss them in class.

Google News Archive

I know it. You know it.  Whenever we are given something to research, our first instinct is to Google it.  My 4-year-old nephew knows about google.  My 84-year-old grandmother knew to Google.  Googling is so common that it has now officially become a verb.

There's nothing wrong with googling, but there are other ways!

Sometimes you're looking for something more than just a generic google search.  Maybe you want research that's more focused, more specific, more timely, more unique.  Maybe you're just looking for options to explore.  Today, I bring you Google News Archive.

Google News Archive is a collection of newspapers/articles scanned in to an electronic archive.  It is a searchable database for a multitude of topics.  All you do is enter in your keyword and lots of articles (real scanned copies of newspaper articles) pop up.  The archives can add a new level to any research project/ task you're working on.

Click this link to access the Google News Archive.

I've also created a very brief Google News Archive screencast to walk you through the site if you would like a tour.

Happy Researching!

Our Library

In the beginning, there were books... then a few more..... then a few more... then some more.... and more.  So many, in fact, that the people of the world needed a building to house these glorious books in (yes, that's when books were written down on actual pages, you know, pages made from paper!)  The people of the world came together and built the very first library.

According to my research, the earliest libraries date back to Egypt and the Messopatianian era.  Having a library was very elite because so few people actually knew how to read.  The books all had to be hand scribed as well, a very time-consuming and exact process.

Today we are lucky to have wonderful libraries all around us, as well as a wealth of digital reading material at our fingertips.  Here are a few of the most impressive libraries out there today.  

No question about it, there are some fantastic libraries out there, but you don't have to travel very far to pick up some great books.  Our own Deering Middle School Library has tons of resources in print and digital forms.  Be sure to check them out!

And who could ever forget our favorite library here on the White Team: the Enos Library, open for business every day in room 47.  

Hundreds of books to choose from.  Are you a fan of realistic fiction?  We've got that.  More into Sci-Fi?  We've got that.  Is dystopian lit your thing?  Oh, yea, we've got that... a lot of that actually.  It's all the rage.  Many of you have seen for yourself, I've got pretty good taste.  Let me make a suggestion.  No charge :)

If you are interested in checking a book out, please use this form :  Enos Library Check-Out Form

If you are checking in, please use this one:  Enos Library Check-In Form

Happy Reading!!

***All lost books will be paid for by hours of scraping gooey, disgusting, chewed up, stale,old, really old, we're talking old enough to have been stuck there when I went to this school in the 90's, pink bubble gum off the bottom of the tables, or anything else I think of that may actually be worse!   Don't loose my books!  

Don't Be An Evidence Plopper!

You know the story.  We all know the story.  You (teenager) want to sleep over your friend's house on a school night.  You know it's against the rules: no sleepovers on school nights, but you want to give it a try anyway and ask your mom.

Look at him.  Worrying that his parents will say no to a sleepover at his friend's.
Don't be this boy.  Be prepared!

You have two choices: A) Go into the conversation completely unprepared and spend the evening with your little brother watching cartoons again or B) Get mom to agree that a sleepover is just what you need. 

What is the best way to sway mom's decision??? Why, gather some well-founded, intriguing, strong evidence, of course!  

As you prepare your case, be sure to remember that you don't just want to slam mom with some fast facts and sit there nodding your head stubbornly.  "So, there!" will never get you far in life.  Your goal is to smoothly create a conversation, weaving your thoughts in with all the facts that say sleepovers are important for health, the environment, and academic success.  

To prepare you  for that all-important life skill of getting your parents to change their minds, let's give your providing evidence muscles a workout with this more common, everyday, just regular-old school assignment.  Who knows, maybe writing really will come in handy in the real-world some day.  

Don't just plop that evidence down.  Be smooth and take control of your writing.  Check out these two resources for extra help on how to smoothly incorporate text evidence into an argument:

Sentence Starters:  This sheet is gold!  Don't rely on the same old, same old, phrase to introduce your quotations.  Let this list of words and phrases help you to shake things up and avoid repetition.  Use it!  Learn it! 

Screencast: Journey with me as I show you exactly how to incorporate text evidence into a constructed response.  Walk through my thinking process as I reflect on why Malala Yousafzai deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Use these resources as references to strengthen your writing and your skills at argument!  Never sleep at home on a Wednesday night again! 

Hello Wonderful White Team!

Hi Wonderful White Team!!

Welcome to our first blog!  It is my vision to use our blog to share resources, book recommendations, ideas, news, and inspiration.  Let's give this thing a whirl!

Miss Enos