Sharing my Favorite Things: Reading and Snacks

This week we had our book club for class. As one of our last activities we have book club, an opportunity to share the book we most enjoyed this semester and eat! As snacks go, ours was tasty, but pretty standard. I can't wait to read everyone's blogs this week as one of our topics is the snack we would like to share with out book. This isn't always possible in the middle of the afternoon at school - soup or elephant ears would be tricky to prepare and serve, so we are letting our imaginations enjoy our snacks today.

I chose to share the book Rhythm and Resistance: Teaching Poetry for Social Justice by Linda Christensen. I liked the opportunity to pull some poetry into our class work and Christensen offers a clear plan for me to follow.

This image is my graphic organizer of Rhythm and Reisitance. I made it at mindmeister.com

Love mindmeister, but it takes time to learn.





We were each asked to select one section of our book to share at club, and since I am still enjoying the poems for two voices (seriously, this is powerful voice!), I chose the poem "Two YoungWomen" by Deidre Barry

I’m 18, and years older than that. 
I’m 18, and I can’t believe I’m that old.

I get up before sunrise, because I have to be at work.
I get up at 6, because I need time to do my hair and makeup before school.

I walk two miles to work, the blisters on my feet open from wear. 
I drive to school, and walk carefully, because I need to keep my shoes clean.

I spend my day inside a factory, with hundreds of other girls, unable to take breaks, and unable to leave. 
I spend my day in classes, wanting only to get out.

I would give anything to go to school, to learn, to be able to get somewhere in life. 
I would give anything to be done with school. Who cares anyway?

I think this poem will give my students both points of view. I especially appreciated that Barry didn't sound judgmental; she simply presents the two lives as they are. Barry maintains a respectful tone and selected words and phrases that balance the two lives presented. This is one of the poems from the book I plan to use with my class on social justice next year.

If I were sharing this book in a more formal book club, I would need a food item that helps us connect to the character or theme. Early in the book I found myself smiling over the "I am From..." poems. On page 11 is a poem by Oretha Storey that includes these lines:

I am from chocolate cake and deviled

eggs that made afternoon snacks just right.

(complete poem found at Rethinking Schools)

Since I love both chocolate cake and deviled eggs, this would be my snack offering! Since I can't feed you through the Internet, I shall simply feed your imagination with the recipes I have selected for these goodies.

Thanks for spending this term with us!

Coca-Cola Chocolate Cake (source: Brown eyed Baker)

A classic Coca-Cola Cake - supremely moist chocolate sheet cake with a boiled chocolate frosting.

Brown eyed Baker

Ingredients:

For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) can cola
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:
1 (12-ounce) can cola
½ cup salted butter, cut into small cubes
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

3. In a small saucepan, stir together the cola, butter and cocoa powder over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Pour into the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until moistened.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until blended. Add to the batter, whisking constantly.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

6. Make the Frosting: About 15 minutes before the cake is finished, begin the frosting. In a small saucepan, bring the cola to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is reduced to ½ cup, about 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the butter and cocoa powder until the butter is melted, then remove from the heat. Add the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, whisking until smooth. Pour immediately over the hot cake in an even layer. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before serving. Leftovers should be covered and stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

For the deviled eggs, there are dozens of recipes, but if you need step-by-step directions, I recommend SimplyRecipes.

Source: flickr

Next week's plan: Rebels by Accident by Patricia Dunn. Hayley recommended this book to me. Her topic for the term was Danger (interesting!), and I am ready for some fiction, so I grabbed it. I am almost half-way through it, so I will finish it as we finish the term.