Hey Survivor Fans! Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a Survivor Cast Member?
The third graders had some very special visitors come talk to them on Thursday, January 15th.
Jeremy and Val Collins came to speak to our students about PERSEVERANCE. Jeremy and Val were casted on this past season on Survivor. Jeremy is a former classmate of Mrs. Roderick, and he is a Morse School graduate.
Jeremy currently is a Cambridge Firefighter and Val is a Foxboro Police Officer.
Our students were beyond excited! The students in C4 have been preparing for this for quite some time. They have been focusing their reading around questioning. Asking questions about characters and situations that go beyond a yes or no response. Students generated questions based on ideas and discussions they’ve had around the books they’ve read to find out more about Jeremy and Val’s experience on the show Survivor. Most importantly students were curious about the topic of perseverance and how to work with others.
We also did a class read-aloud with the book,
Stranded. Please read the synopsis of the book to see the connection to the topic of teamwork.
When a five-day boat expedition off Hawaii hits an unexpected storm, new stepsiblings Vanessa (13), eleven-year-olds Buzz and Carter, and Jane (9) struggle to stay on course. When they are forced to abandon ship, the kids' uncle and the boat's first mate get aboard the life raft, but the boat is torn away with the four children still inside. They end up stranded on an uncharted island and have to learn to work together. The narration shifts between the perspectives of each of the kids as the true nature of their circumstances become clear and tasks like finding water turn into a struggle for survival. Each character brings a different strength to the table; some are obvious like Carter's knowledge of the outdoors, while others, like the tips couch potato Buzz has gleaned from reality TV (a nod to Survivor, the show hosted by Probst), are revealed with more subtlety. Little distinguishes the voice of one character from another, but the high stakes and novel environment should ensure rapid page-turning. A sequel, Trial by Fire, is due in June. Ages 8–up. (Feb.)