![\"IMG_4976](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/IMG_4976-water-buckets.jpg\")
<\/a> Offer and her seventh-grade peers lined the hallway to showcase their English, math, science and social studies work related to topics and themes from A Long Walk to Water<\/em> by Linda Sue Park.<\/p>\nThe books tells the true story of Salva Dut, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, and also gives a fictional view into the life of a village girl named Nya.<\/p>\n
Brandon English teacher Charlotte Baedke and her colleagues purchased enough copies of Park\u2019s book for all seventh-graders after Baedke was awarded a Virginia Beach Education Foundation (VBEF) grant funded by The Tom Wilson Memorial Fund and Dixon Hughes Goodman. Now, with a permanent set of books in the school\u2019s inventory, Brandon\u2019s seventh-grade teams will be able to continue the integrated studies they call \u201cA Shorter Walk to Water\u201d for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were really touched by the book when we read it, and we thought the students would really like it and the two different story lines,\u201d said Baedke.<\/p>\n
Studying the novel in English class was only one component of the cross-curricular connections Baedke and her grade-level colleagues planned when they applied for the VBEF grant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked to our seventh grade colleagues about the book, and they were very cooperative and willing to add elements to their existing lessons,\u201d she said. \u201cIn Math, they connected surface area and volume to the rain barrel we created, talking about the book and how conserving water helps. In science, they connected the book to their lessons on water footprints and the Chesapeake Bay and how conserving water locally will help. In social studies they discuss conflict, and students learned how the scarcity of water and other precious resources often lead to conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also awarded a VBEF grant with this goal in mind is Debbie Hubbard-Jones, one of Baedke\u2019s seventh-grade English colleagues.\u00a0Her grant project\u00a0supports another novel study to \u201cbalance literacy goals with character development strategies in order to reduce incidences of bullying,\u201d wrote Hubbard-Jones. With VBEF grant funding from GEICO, Hubbard-Jones purchased copies of Wonder<\/em> by J. R.\u00a0Palacio, which features a main character born with a facial deformity who tries to fit in at school.<\/p>\n \u201c[It] is an ideal novel for teaching kindness, compassion and empathy. There are many examples of bullying behaviors in Wonder<\/em> countered by heartfelt acts of kindness,\u201d explained Hubbard-Jones. She also purchased of a limited amount of extra copies of Wonder<\/em> to permit parents to check out the novel to read along and discuss with their children.<\/p>\n This night, however, was focused on A Long Walk to Water<\/em> and students having the opportunity to share with parents and other guests lessons learned as well as to discuss their fundraising efforts for a charity that digs wells in South Sudan.<\/p>\n \u201cHelping our students become globally-aware, responsible citizens\u201d is another goal of the novel study according to Baedke, adding that \u201cthey learn what life is like for a student their age in another country who is dealing with real-world conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n One need only ask seventh-graders about A Long Walk to Water<\/em> for confirmation that Brandon\u2019s seventh-grade teachers have achieved their goals of fostering empathy, kindness and global awareness.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned what a refugee is and how hard it is for them to survive. I can\u2019t imagine,\u201d said Jayla Nicholson.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should help each other,\u201d said Julissa Bishop about what she learned.<\/p>\n \u201cWe learned we have to be more thoughtful of how others live and who they are,\u201d said Sarah Hafley, \u201cand we have to conserve more water.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince they don\u2019t have it as easy as us and we know that now, we shouldn\u2019t take water for granted as we do,\u201d said Michaela Offer, \u201cand if we have a chance to help, then we should because it would nice to have clean water.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know how far they had to walk for water, and it\u2019s made me realize how we take advantage of water,\u201d said Amber Cowherd. \u201cWe just go downstairs and get water. It\u2019s so easy for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Student research on water and its measurement, usage and conservation is featured in the math and science projects taped to Brandon\u2019s yellow lockers for visitors to view.\u00a0Frequency tables tally rainfall amounts in inches. Volume equations calculate rain barrel capacity.\u00a0\u201cInteresting facts\u201d detail water usage in the United States and Virginia.<\/p>\n Cowherd and Hafley were stationed at a table to discuss their science class work with water footprints.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used a computer program to analyze how much water we use in our homes,\u201d said Hafley. Pointing to one analysis on the table she said, \u201cFor example, in this house, the toilet was 40.3 percent, the faucet was 35 percent and the shower was 41.5 percent. We reviewed our percentages and wrote about how we can conserve water in our homes.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Hafley\u2019s house? \u201cMy house was a little under average, so it was better,\u201d she said. \u201cMy parents used to live in California, and California has some water problems there, so my parents are really good at conserving water.\u201d Hafley shared that she is trying to emulate her parents and take quicker showers at her house.<\/p>\n Cowherd also is mindful of her shower usage. \u201cI take very long showers, so I cut those down. Also, I have a bad habit of letting the water run when I brush my teeth, so now I turn the faucet off. I realize that every drop of water has a big impact on communities and the world,\u201d she said. \u201c[The book] makes me realize that even technology is something we take for granted\u2026They don\u2019t have technology or proper clothing \u2013 they don\u2019t have anything. I think it made a big impact on me to donate more of my clothes. I have clothes that I know I\u2019m not going to wear in this lifetime but I\u2019ve still kept. Now I donate those.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking her book reflections one step further, Cowherd commented on student relations in her middle school, demonstrating what Baedke and her colleagues hoped would be an outcome of the studies \u2013 empathy and kindness.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s made me realize that there are people in our school that don\u2019t have as much as we might have, and we don\u2019t need to be mean about it or say anything about it because that may be all they can do for themselves. They can\u2019t do anything more,\u201d said Cowherd. \u201cI feel bad about things that I have said and that others have said in the past.\u00a0The book\u00a0has had an impact on me.\u201d<\/p>\n As guests arrived for Brandon Middle School\u2019s parent night event April 21, they received a turquoise brochure with the title \u201cWater is Life.\u201d \u201cWould you like to carry a bucket?,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[89,31],"class_list":["post-3628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-connections","tag-brandon-middle","tag-literacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3628"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6390,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3628\/revisions\/6390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>The goal of this interdisciplinary work, however, extends beyond the primary purpose of helping students achieve academic proficiency. \u201cWe do have specific curricular objectives,\u201d said Baedke, \u201cbut our secondary goal this year has been to foster kindness and empathy through literature.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cI learned that not everybody has the same things as we do,\u201d said Ajani Jones. \u201cNot everyone is as fortunate as we are, so don\u2019t be selfish with what you have.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>For more information about the Virginia Beach Education Foundation, including how you or your organization can support future grant projects to benefit students, visit <\/em>vbef.org<\/em><\/a> or contact VBEF coordinator Debbie Griffey at (757) 263-1337 or debbie.griffey@vbschools.com. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"