I love these ideas! I would love to build in 1:1 conferencing, but it might end up being 1/month due to time.

Thanks for the ideas Denise! The academic writing is a little bit beyond what these students are currently working on. Many are just starting to build writing stamina and fluency and a single paragraph is a stretch.

Hi Brent! 👋 I was thinking of something similar to this. 2 day rotation - 1 day syntax/grammar and word work with mini lesson and hands on activities and 1 day mentor text study/quick write and editing practice. With a goal of a finished piece of writing each term.

If you could design a 20-30 min writing intervention/skill building block for middle schoolers, what would you include? What routines would you use to structure the time?

I also took note of the shadows and made notes about how shadows are fleeting, just like the moments of happiness at the carnival.

Something else that stood out was Denver’s description of her secrets as sweet. Late in the chapter there is an implied comparison to Sethe’s secrets. In the comparison, Sethe’s secrets are sour because they are “things she wouldn’t tell; things she halfway told” (45). #BelovedFebruary

Despite loneliness, Denver takes “pride in the condemnation” others have for the house. She claims to see the “pleasure of enchantment” in the haunting. Is this an accurate representation of her feelings, or simply a story she has imagined to deal with her loneliness? #BelovedFebruary

I appreciated digging into Denver’s story a little more in Chapter 3. Previously, I mentioned that Denver must feel alone/lonely and this was confirmed in this chapter when it was revealed that her imagination is “badly needed because loneliness wore her out. Wore her out” (35). #BelovedFebruary

Something I’m wondering about is Morrison’s use of compound words: whitewoman, schoolteacher, Redmen. Is this because the words represent a group rather than an individual? #BelovedFebruary

Thank you for organizing this! I haven’t had the chance to do this kind of critical literary analysis of complex texts for a few years. It reminds me of what I loved about teaching high school

And the sadness of that trauma is “crouched in corners” (24). This makes me think of predators waiting to pounce on their prey; lying in wait to strike in the moments of joy where the prey won’t notice or be aware of it. #BelovedFebruary

This brings us back to the grief and sadness - the haunting - of intergenerational trauma that is literally carved into Sethe’s body. #BelovedFebruary

Finally, I noticed the repetition of the phrase “how loose the silk” in the final pages of the chapter. Each repetition changes from imprisonment to running free to freedom. It appears to be a metaphor where shucking corn is compared to the shift from enslavement to freedom. But is Sethe truly free?

The location of joy and the search for it happens not in monumental moments, but in the simple vicissitudes of daily life. #BelovedFebruary

At the end of Chapter 2, I was struck by the mention of joy: “there was no accounting for the way that simple joy could shake you” (33). This reminded me of the discussion of colour and the winter sky on page 4 where “counting on a Cincinnati horizon for life’s principal joy was reckless.”

On the next page, Morrison writes that “men and women were moved around like checkers” (27). Life and the relationships between men and women are simply a game controlled by an outside force. #BelovedFebruary

Sethe describes how men are untrustworthy: “They encouraged you to put some of your weight in their hands and soon as you felt how light and lovely that was, they studied your scars and tribulations, after which they did what he had done: ran her children out and tore up the house.” #BelovedFebruary

Or are the legacies of trauma untrustworthy and alienating for those living with them and those who interact with survivors? This also feels contradictory because Paul D was also enslaved. Does he not also have “revolting” scars that make him untrustworthy? #BelovedFebruary

If the tree of scars represents how trauma has taken root and branched out of Sethe’s experience with slavery, is Paul D saying that the trauma makes her “revolting” and not to be trusted or be near? #BelovedFebruary

After laying with Sethe, Paul D describes her scars as “revolting” and “not a tree” because “trees were inviting; things you could trust and be near” (25). #BelovedFebruary

#BelovedFebruary

A few things stand out to me in Chapter 2 including the repetition of the tree metaphor, relationships between men and women, simple joys, and a comparison between shucking corn and freedom.

“I can’t live here. I don’t know where to go or what to do, but I can’t live here. Nobody speaks to us. Nobody comes by…It’s not the house. It’s us! And it’s you!” (17). #BelovedFebruary

I’m also thinking about the ways that Denver is carrying and living with intergenerational trauma. In many ways she is alone with her own grief - her brothers have left and Sethe won’t really acknowledge her pain. #BelovedFebruary

Throughout Chapter 1, Morrison uses paradox and juxtaposition to highlight the grief and beauty of life. This is especially highlighted in the discussion of Sweet Home where it is noted that “it never looked as terrible as it was and it made [Sethe] wonder if hell was a pretty place too” (7).

Sethe lives with these daily reminders, but chooses “no more running — from nothing” (18) because she “understood the source of the outrage as well as [she] knew the source of light” (4). #BelovedFebruary

I’m rereading Beloved for the first time in 20 years with @heymrsbond and @marcusluther for #BelovedFebruary

The first thing that struck me as I was reading was the dual metaphors for intergenerational trauma - the haunted house and the tree of scars on Sethe’s back.

I haven’t read Beloved since I was in university 20 years ago. I think it might be time for a reread.

I am an unabashed Courtney Summers fangirl and have read all of her books. The structure of Sadie is so unique and really effective.

Roller derby - I played for close to a decade and it was probably one of the most challenging and empowering sports I’ve ever played.

Crib, Uno and Trivial Pursuit