Eighth Grade Students Compare Education Then and Now After Reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Villa’s Eighth Graders recently finished the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith, to go along with their studies of immigration. Set in a pre-war Brooklyn neighborhood populated largely by immigrants, and focused on the life of protagonist, Francie Nolan, an 8th grader, who is a talented writer and an excellent student, but has to drop out of school at age fourteen to earn money for her family.

The girls were asked to choose a theme in the novel and do a creative comparison project of that theme in the 1900s and now. Many of the girls choose education. “It was a creative way for them to demonstrate their comprehension of the novel without doing a written assignment,” said Mrs. A, their Eighth Grade ELA Teacher. “They really enjoyed the project and did such a great job with their posters. The book has many themes, so it was interesting to see which ones they choose.”

On being asked what their favorite part of the study of the novel was, the girls choose the poster assignment. It really let us be hands on and creative to express what we learned, they said.