Ask the author!

We are so excited to invite you to join a conversation with Eric Walters

on Thursday, May 25th at 9:30 am!  You will need to use the Google Chrome browser on a laptop that is connected to a data projector and speakers.  That way your students will be able to see and hear Mr. Walters clearly.

You will be watching a livestream of the interview.  

You will also be able to send questions to us on Twitter during the live event by adding @scdsbreadaloud into the tweet to bring it to our attention. For an even better chance of having your question read to Mr. Walters, please work together with your students to brainstorm and then add your best ideas on this Google form:

Questions for Eric Walters   

A few minutes before 9:30 on Thursday, May 25th, visit SCDSBreadaloud.blogspot.ca

and click on the link on the homepage

to watch the hangout.

Please have your email open during
the video conference. If we run into technical difficulties, we will send out a message.  

Leave us a comment.  Are you planning to attend?

Weekly Discussion Post - Week 6

Week #6 Discussion: What does the phrase "war on terror" mean to you? Where have you heard it? Do you have any new perspectives on terrorism or racial prejudice after reading this novel?

"Shockingly common misconceptions about Islam" Video

Watch the video "Shockingly common misconceptions about Islam" by Business Insider: 

Why did people have these misconceptions about Islam? What perpetuates them? How can we counter them or promote the truth? How could these misconceptions about Islam affect a person's day-to-day life?

Share your thoughts in the comments and include your teacher's name so we can draw for prizes based on participation! 

Weekly Discussion Post - Week 5

Week #5 Discussion: There is an argument between Zana and her mother about wearing religious clothing. Do you think it is a good idea for people to wear religious clothes? Why or why not? Do you know of cases where people are prejudged because of religious clothing?

Islam Understood

Today, Megan Duff and her Intermediate students hosted Ahmed, a speaker from an organization called Islam Understood. Have a look at the video below:

Many of the wonderings of audience members were cleared up today.  Was any of the information in the video a surprise to you?  If so, what?  What other questions are you still wondering?

Video: "Hijabi World"

In the short film Hijabi World, Rutgers University students—specifically, Muslim women who observe hijab—talk about the day-to-day challenges of wearing a headscarf. “Sometimes you itch in your own skin,” says one woman named Halima. These are the heartening testimonies of a handful of Muslim women about why they decided to wear the scarf and how it impacts their lives and religiosity.

There are many reasons to observe hijab - why did these women chose to wear hijab? What challenges might they face? How does wearing hijab impact their lives and choices? Have you seen women wearing hijab? What were your thoughts? Why?

Remember to include the name of your teacher at the end of your comment and only use your first name on the internet! 

Weekly Discussion Post - Week 4

Week #4 Discussion: Do you think there is a difference between 'good religion' and 'bad religion' as some of the students suggest in Ms. Singh's class? Why or Why not?

As a reminder, responses must be kept respectful and free of any discriminatory language.

"Registration Day" video

Watch the video "Registration Day": 

What do you think? What if this were you? What are the issues around the idea of creating a registry of all the followers of a specific faith or religion? 

Weekly Discussion Post - Week 3

Week 3 Discussion: Do you agree with retribution (saying a tooth for a tooth or an eye for an eye)?

"Home" by Wali Shah

Watch this video by Wali Shah, a highly acclaimed Canadian poet and speaker:

What do you think about his message? His style? The language used? Share your thoughts! 

We will be drawing for prizes based on participation, so make sure to mention your teacher's name and only use your first name online! 

Weekly Discussion Post - Week 2

Week 2 Discussion:  Do you think that people are judged as being 'guilty' by the general public even before they have completed a trial in court? What famous cases have you heard of where you think people have assumed the accused has been guilty? Do you think this is fair or unfair?

Weekly Discussion Post - Week 1

Each week a discussion question will be posted here for students to respond to. Students are encouraged to thoughtfully respond and make connections between their thoughts and the posts of others. 

We will be reviewing responses and drawing for prizes based on participation! Teachers are welcome to have students write their responses in class or use as an extension opportunity. Class responses can be submitted by teachers if needed.  

Participants are encouraged to include teacher's name and school at the bottom of their post to help with prize distribution. 

Week 1 Discussion: Do you think Azeem has been wrongly accused? Why do you think some people say he's innocent and others aren't so sure? 

Assessment Resources

By popular request, all the assessment files are in one, easy to access, Google Drive folder. 

The assessment folder can be found HERE.

The folder has two versions of a rubric for assessment of Daily Write tasks, assessment tracking sheets for Daily Write entries and participation in class discussions. There are also classroom posters explaining all 4 levels for class discussion contributions and participation. 

More assessment resources will be added as they are developed or requested. Please email Megan Duff (mduff@scdsb.on.ca) or comment on this post if I have missed any assessment tools. 

Bifocal Unit Plan!

I would like to highlight the Unit Plan that was created specifically for this year's read aloud! The unit plan has daily lessons for the entire length of this project. It is broken down into a very structured daily lesson, which you can choose to use in part or in whole. It covers curriculum from reading, writing, oral language, and media, as well the learning skills. 

General Daily Lesson Structure:

• Minds-On for Every Day: Get into groups of 3-4 using Name Sticks (popsicle sticks with student names on them - this helps to randomize groups). Share yesterday’s writing in the groups. Quickly discuss similarities and differences between the approach taken to respond to the prompt, identify trends and differences, word choices, etc... (15 min. or so) (optional based on time)
• Reading: Read selected pages. (15 min. or so).
• Discussion Question: As a whole class, address that day’s discussion question. Encourage students to respond to one another’s comments and thoughts (i.e. “I agree with … because…”, “I am not sure about …. because…”). Encourage higher order thinking by looking at reasons why, encouraging students to use textual evidence to support their ideas, etc… (10 min. or so)
• Daily Write: Display writing prompt for the day (have this link projecting on the board: http://tinyurl.com/BifocalPrompts). In their journals, student have a set time limit to write. Teacher might need to discussion how to begin, gather ideas, etc… with students who are struggling. (20 min. or so)

Go HERE for more information regarding assessment and to see the daily lessons for Bifocal. 

Bifocal Novel Study Unit Plan

To give an idea of what is included, here is the first week of lessons: 

Lesson 1: Preteaching Minds-on: What do we know about prejudice? Racism? Discrimination? Bigotry? Create a class KWL chart (digital or on chart paper) and have students share ideas for what they think they know about these related topics. Action: Break students into 7 groups. Assign each group a topic from the following list: Prejudice Racism Bigotry Islamophobia Anti-semitic Discrimination Extremist Each group gets a blank frayer model (found in the Google Drive folder) and writes their topic/term in the middle circle. Using devices (own or school-provided), groups need to research the topic and fill in the frayer model appropriately. Give approximately 15-20 minutes for work. Then gather as a class and share learned topics - may want to post this vocabulary as well for use with the book. As a class, complete the second part of the KWL chart - What do we WANT to learn? Have students stay in their present groups or mix them up a bit. Either project the quote (found in Google Drive folder) or give a copy of it to each group. They have 10 minutes to discuss the quote and what they think it means. As a class, discuss connections they have to the quote Which groups in society don’t see themselves represented accurately in the media? Do you feel that your religion, identity, or culture is accurately represented in the media? Did anything from the quote resonate with you? Do you agree or disagree with what he is saying? Why? Optional: Watch Islamaphobia killed by brother - let’s end the hate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiEQmcZi8cM What is the impact of discrimination on various groups in our society? How can hate spread so quickly? How can we combat this? Consolidation: As a class, complete the last section of the KWL chart - what have we LEARNED? Focus on the ideas of new vocabulary, cleared misconceptions, etc…

Lesson 2 Read Chapter 1 Discussion Focus:  Based on what you know of the situation so far, did Jay and Kevin react appropriately? Safely? What were they expected to do? What were their motivations? Why? Daily Write:  How do rules and procedures help us in our daily lives? How do they hinder or interfere with our individuality? Why?

Lesson 3 Read Chapter 2 Discussion Focus: How does Ms. Singh react to the situation? Does her reaction/actions help or hinder the situation? What would be an ‘appropriate’ reaction to this happening in front of you? Daily Write: How do lockdown procedures help in such a situation? Do you believe that they are effective or not? Why? OR Do you believe that Ms. Singh did the right thing during the lockdown? Why or why not?

Lesson 4 Read Chapter 3 Discussion Focus: There is an old saying: “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” How does this idea relate to the novel so far? Is their truth to it or is it simply an exaggeration? Why? Daily Write: How can the impact of gossip, rumours and assumptions be measured? What are the consequences? How do you know this?

Lesson 5 Read Chapter 4 Discussion Focus: What rights do you have as a Canadian citizen?  What impression do you get from the police when they approach Haroon in the morning before school? Do they violate Haroon’s rights? Why or why not? Daily Write: When it comes to being Canadian, which right most defines us? Why?

Welcome and Bifocal Resources!

Hello! SCDSB Read Aloud is sure that you and your students will be excited to use Bifocal by Eric Walters and Deborah Ellis in your Literacy program this spring!

The best part of SCDSB Read Aloud is that you can use as much, or as little, of the resources as you want to help integrate the chosen novel into your literacy program. You can choose to simply read the novel with your students, have in-depth discussions about the issues within, or cover a number of curriculum expectations by using the specially-created unit plan and literacy centers.

Bifocal Resources

Title / Link	Description
Bifocal Novel Study Unit Plan	Full unit plan to integrate Bifocal into your daily literacy block. Has daily lessons, reading schedule, discussion prompts and daily writing tasks. Also includes a pre-reading lesson and culminating tasks.
Bifocal Novel Study Literacy Centers	Literacy centers that can go along with the above unit plan. 5 weekly centers that can be used as class activities or as rotations. All accompanying rubrics, resources and organizers included.
Bifocal Daily Writing Prompts	Google presentation with a daily writing prompt for each chapter of the novel. Created to be used with unit plan but can be used independently.
Bifocal PDF	Google Drive folder containing the PDF copy of the novel for use by SCDSB employees.
Self Directed Reading Guide for Bifocal	Reading guide that generally offers ways to have students work their way through the novel in an independent manner. Offers some interesting wrap up questions.
Collated Online Resources and Ideas for Bifocal	Collection of various resources for use with the book from various sources.

Join the Conversation

Welcome to the Bifocal blog!  

Here, you will get to get and give ideas about how you are exploring this book during the 2017 SCDSB Read Aloud!