Bobcat Stories

By Sean Etigson, 7th-Grade Humanities Teacher

7th grade is a bridge made of stories, and throughout the year, students ask the question: “What are the aspects of a great story?” Over the course of the fall and early winter, the students explored effective storytelling.

Any Time, Anywhere, Any Way

Challenging education takes Bosque School students and staffulty members on a journey every day, but for two days in November, the 7th graders traversed time and space.

In a dazzling and dizzying display of literary time travel, the class of 2030 took their own Eras tour—from Ancient Egypt, the Trojan War, and ancient Macedonia to a Led Zeppelin embezzlement mystery and a fashion heist set in the 1970s.

In their English classes, 7th-grade students were challenged to research any person, place, and time in history and then use their findings and imagination to create an original piece of historical fiction. During October, they read existing historical fiction novels, using these texts to analyze and emulate each author’s craft.

Since they were allowed to use any medium, including poems, ballads, or other songs, Josephine and Maddie chose to write a rap about Cleopatra. When asked why, Maddie offered, “Cleopatra is very inspiring in women’s history and women’s rights. Because she stood out in world history, we wanted to stick out from everyone else, so we decided to write a rap.” In a daring literary endeavor, Maddie and Josephine chanted: “Cleopatra ruled with panache, fearless making history clash/Cleo was a woman who dared to defy/She ruled her country with a purpose to edify.”

 

7th grader Daniel articulated more about why the project was a wonderful experience: “I thought that the historical fiction project was very compelling because with this format of optional choice for who or what you're going to do your project on, it makes all the other stories more interesting, and it also makes your story more intriguing.” Inspired in part by his novel of choice, The Inquisitor’s Tale, Daniel crafted a narrative that took place before Arthur took the throne. His piece ended with Merlin declaring, “You have much to be answered and much to be learned, but now you have a destiny that is done waiting for you. Now is your time to be King.”  

While some students leaped at the chance for choice and an open-ended project, others had to wrestle with too much freedom. As Maelyn explained, “It was really hard because there were so many historical people. Some were worthy of the time, and some weren’t.” In the end, Maelyn and Bailey wrote a song about Dolores Huerta, inspired by tunes from Hamilton.

The historical fiction writers shared their original work at Author’s Celebrations in early November. 

The Bosque Newseum: Real People; Real Stories!

Later in November and December, the 7th graders engaged in a joint humanities unit on print and audio journalism. They eagerly brainstormed newsworthy topics and interviewed people from Bosque and beyond about stories ranging from New Mexico's surprising sneaker culture and the enduring appeal of the Frontier to the challenges of being a musician in the state and the impact of the elections on immigration.

In researching and writing stories about Bosque School and New Mexico, the students worked on using some of the techniques from previous units—narrative lead, descriptive language, and narrative structure. In this genre study, however, the connection between the people and the topic stood out most.

Irina explained, “I liked getting to interview new people and learning from their experiences. We did a podcast about the health of the Rio Grande, and what Mr. Shaw said about our river really struck my heart.”

In the middle of the unit, Ms. Gegg, a 7th—and 8th-grade Humanities teacher, brought in her old friend Ben Casselman from the New York Times. During a Zoom session, Mr. Casselman answered student-written questions about journalism. 

The print journalism portion of the unit featured pieces focusing on issues connected to Bosque School. For example, Kwintyn’s article, “The Daily Mile: A Daily Dilemma,” explores the extent to which a 15-minute walking/playing time in the morning and afternoon would serve all middle schoolers. Currently, only 6th graders participate in the Daily Mile—a fact that garnered divergent opinions from students and staffulty alike!

The next part of the journalism journey involved creating audio journalism. This part of the project encouraged students to venture beyond Bosque, so students like Sawyer and Mikahe produced a podcast on supporting people in need during the holiday season. In their piece, they used interviews with Locker 505 and the Kiwanis Club. Students were challenged to integrate technology into their work, and some used Padlet, while others employed voice memos or even Capcut as editing tools. 

 Middle School Humanities Department Leader Sky Jenkins reflected on the journalism study recently, “I have two memories that stand out to me. One was just the ownership that I saw students taking with regard to reaching out and making connections in the community and practicing authentic journalism. The second salient memory was when students had the opportunity to speak with a New York Times journalist. The quality of thought with which they approached this experience was inspiring.”

The 7th graders shared their print and audio pieces on December 19 at the second annual Bosque Newseum.

The 7th-grade journey across their bridge made of stories continues this spring as students spin folktales for second graders and uncover Shakespeare’s lost scene!