Shades of Gray-- Book Group

Thomas S. Monson , boldly declared: “Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but as the determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well.”

 During our Civil war unit, we have read the book Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder.
Here's what Amazon says about the book:  COURAGE WEARS MANY FACES 
The Civil War may be over, but for twelve-year-old Will Page, the pain and bitterness haven't ended. How could they have, when the Yankees were responsible for the deaths of everyone in his entire immediate family? 
And now Will has to leave his comfortable home in the Shenandoah Valley and live with relatives he has never met, people struggling to eke out a living on their farm in the war-torn Virginia Piedmont. But the worst of it is that Will's uncle Jed had refused to fight for the Confederacy. 
At first, Will regards his uncle as a traitor -- or at least a coward. But as they work side by side, Will begins to respect the man. And when he sees his uncle stand up for what he believes in, Will realizes that he must rethink his definition of honor and courage.

We had a wonderful time reading, discussing and contemplating what courage is and how we show or have it in our own lives.  We also watched the Mormon Youth Messages--Dare to Stand Alone.  

 We also pulled out our literary education book and started reviewing the lessons.  We went over the elements of literature: context, structure and style.  Shades of Gray was a wonderful book to discuss the concept of conflict (theme would have been good too--courage and pride, Will had to conqueror quite a bit of pride to learn what courage really was.)

 

 The kids had fun making muffins....choosing their own toppings/fillings.  They did this to represent that the "structure" of a muffin is the same, just as it is for all stories, yet the 'style' of each author is shown by the stylistic tools (metaphor, simile, personification, onomatopoeia) they use.  Each muffin is created differently by the toppings/fillings that each baker chooses.

 Oh so CUTE!!