In The Vine Basket by Josanne La Valley, fourteen-year-old Mehrigul has dreams. She wants to continue to go to school, but her family needs her to sell in the market. There she meets a woman who admires a vine basket Mehrigul made. She offers to buy more if Mehrigul will make them.
Mehrigul's mother is depressed and her father discourages her from creating these baskets. Mehrigul perseveres, because she knows she will be sent away to work in a Chinese factory.

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"When people talk, listen completely."
~Ernest Hemingway
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"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
~Thomas A. Edison
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Gaby's mother has been deported and her dad moves back into the house to "care" for her. Gaby writes adoption notices for an animal shelter as a service project, but really wants a cat for herself.
Gaby is a strong character who must handle difficult circumstances. She finds the will to fight for what she needs and what she wants.

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"For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Words change their meaning. When I first taught fifth grade, I created this activity for students to look up the meanings of rights, responsibilities, and privileges. They would brainstorm examples and we would discuss what this would look like in our classroom.
I taught other grade levels for several years and returned to fifth grade this year. As I was preparing my beginning of the year activities, I realized that how I thought about privilege in the past had changed.
I have updated this lesson to reflect the idea that privilege isn't always something that is earned. I still call my incentive system "Privileges", but it is with the understanding that privilege has different meanings in different contexts.
To download the new version of Rights, Responsibilities, and Privileges, please visit Artistry of Education @Teachers Pay Teachers.
"To add value to others, one must first value others."
~John Maxwell
Have a good week,