Book Recommendations from Cathedral to Bank Street

8th grade English students in Mr. Harrison’s class are using their creativity and analytical skills to provide some multi-media literary recommendations for their 8th grade peers at the Bank Street School for Children. The interaction was made possible through Mr. Harrison's connection to the school through Bank Street College of Education—where he received his M.Ed.

Cathedral students have narrowed down a large list of books by female Authors of Color and divided into groups based on their final choices. Each student read and annotated their chosen book. As a group, they are using a list of character traits based on bell hook’s definition of love to critique the actions of their book’s main character. The groups have then collaborated to make a video review of the book, a one-page written critique, and a rating out of five stars for their book. These reviews are being delivered to 8th grade English students at Bank Street who will use our students' thoughts and insights to make their own reading decisions.

“Some of us know students at Bank Street so it’s cool to know that they will get to see these reviews,” remarked Luna M. Caleb L. added, “I feel like our writing was different than if we were submitting these to a teacher. Because we were writing for other kids, I think we wrote in a way that allowed our personality and voice to show through a little more.” Congratulations to our 8th grade students for offering their thoughtful ideas and opinions to their peers at Bank Street. Who knows, maybe Bank Street students will reciprocate with some reviews of their own for Cathedral students.