What we're reading (November edition)...

Each month, we are sharing a glimpse at "What we're reading..." This ILS blog features a variety of news articles, blog posts, or other websites that have caught the eye and the attention of our faculty recently. Covering a range of different topics in each post, we hope that you might also find these pieces interesting, intriguing or inspiring. 

What has captured your imagination or caught your attention lately? If you have found an interesting article, blog post or website lately, we would love to add that to our personal reading list. Please share in the comments section or email us any time.

Classroom Sneak Peek: 8th Grade Literature, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe; an Analysis of the Allegories

As a literature teacher, one of the best things that can happen in a class is for students to be so intrigued by a theme or idea that they explore it on their own. This year in 8th grade literature, the students were particularly struck by the Biblical parallels between Narnia and the Bible. Students spent multiple class periods arguing the possible allegories, pushing past the more obvious connections to tease out possible less-apparent similarities. As a final project, students compiled their observations in an essay, complete with a cover illustration. Ella presented thoughtful comparisons in a clear, organized way. She restricted herself to analyzing a few of the most striking characters and included good support from the Bible. I was particularly intrigued by Ella's "weak" parallels; she makes some connections which I've never considered. Not only did Ella present good content, but she demonstrated a strong grasp of form and structure. She employed an introduction with a clear thesis, made use of topic sentences, wrote a satisfying conclusion, and meticulously documented her references.  ~ Miss Carissa Davis, Upper School Literature

Meet Us Monday: Mrs. Anastasia Krumwiede, 3rd Grade Teacher

We love our outstanding faculty, and we hope you enjoy this series every week on the ILS blog as we introduce our teachers and staff with our "Meet Us Mondays" feature. This week we are highlighting another member of our excellent ILS Lower School team, our 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Anastasia Krumwiede. Enjoy!

Classroom Sneak Peek: 4th Grade Fables

One of my personal favorite curricular series is the fourth grade writing workbook: Writing and Rhetoric, Fables by Classical Academy Press. Not only are students exposed to short stories that include a beginning, middle, and end with conflict resolution, but they are taught how to write by parodying and then recreating. In one particular assignment, students were asked to amplify an uninteresting fable by adding details. I was impressed with Jessica's fable because of her rich descriptions! One of my favorite lines in her story was "in angry despair, she kicked a pebble which landed neatly at the bottom of the pitcher." I found myself imagining the scene with ease and clarity. Thank you, Jessica, for writing such a winsome tale.  - Miss Leithart, 4th Grade Teacher

Reformation History Song

Blessed Reformation Day! 

Are you as excited about the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation as our ILS teachers?

Our outstanding 1st and 2nd grade teachers (and sisters!) Miss Kirstin Reistad and Miss Rebekah Reistad, collaborated to write the lyrics to this amazing song to teach their students all about the Reformation!

Meet Us Monday: Miss Kristin Malcolm, 5th Grade Teacher

We invite you to better know our excellent teachers and staff with our "Meet Us Mondays" series each week here on the ILS blog. This week features another member of our outstanding ILS Upper School faculty, our 5th grade teacher, Miss Kristin Malcolm. Enjoy!

Meet Us Monday: Mr. Barnett, Upper School Latin & History Teacher

We invite you to better know our excellent teachers and staff with our "Meet Us Mondays" series each week here on the ILS blog. This week features another of the newest additions to our ILS faculty this year, our new Upper School Latin and History teacher, Mr. Shawn Barnett. Enjoy!

Meet Us Monday: Ms. Katherine Kramer, Assistant Headmaster

Our "Meet Us Monday" series continues this week with our Assistant Headmaster, Ms. Katherine Kramer tackling our 10 questions! Each week, we hope you are enjoying this short series of questions and answers with our excellent teachers and staff as we further introduce each member of our team to our broader ILS community.

What we're reading (October edition)...

Happy Fall! The first month of school has flown by, and we're excited to be moving into the second half of the first quarter of our year.  

We hope that you've been enjoying our new blog series, "What we're reading..." in which we share news articles, blog posts, or other sites that have caught the eye and the attention of our faculty. Whether related to classical education or the myriad of other interests of our faculty, we hope that you might also find them interesting, intriguing or inspiring. 

Have you read an interesting article, blog post or website lately? We would love to check it out as well! Please share in the comments section or email us any time.