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The Freedom Writers Diary Teacher's Guide
A standards-based teacher’s guide from the educator behind the #1 New York Times bestseller The Freedom Writers Diary, with innovative teaching techniques that will engage, empower, and enlighten.
Don’t miss the public television documentary Freedom Stories from the Heart
In response to thousands of letters and e-mails from teachers across the country who learned about Erin Gruwell and her amazing students in The Freedom Writers Diary and the hit movie Freedom Writers, Gruwell and a team of teacher experts have written The Freedom Writers Diary Teacher’s Guide, a book that will encourage teachers and students to expand the walls of their classrooms and think outside the box.
Here Gruwell goes in depth and shares her unconventional but highly successful educational strategies and techniques (all 150 of her students, who had been deemed “unteachable,” graduated from Wilson High School in Long Beach, California): from her very successful “toast for change” (an exercise in which Gruwell exhorted her students to leave the past behind and start fresh) to writing exercises that focus on the importance of journal writing, vocabulary, and more.
In an easy-to-use format with black-and-white illustrations, this teacher’s guide will become the essential go-to manual for teachers who want to make a difference in their pupils’ lives.
Don’t miss the public television documentary Freedom Stories from the Heart
In response to thousands of letters and e-mails from teachers across the country who learned about Erin Gruwell and her amazing students in The Freedom Writers Diary and the hit movie Freedom Writers, Gruwell and a team of teacher experts have written The Freedom Writers Diary Teacher’s Guide, a book that will encourage teachers and students to expand the walls of their classrooms and think outside the box.
Here Gruwell goes in depth and shares her unconventional but highly successful educational strategies and techniques (all 150 of her students, who had been deemed “unteachable,” graduated from Wilson High School in Long Beach, California): from her very successful “toast for change” (an exercise in which Gruwell exhorted her students to leave the past behind and start fresh) to writing exercises that focus on the importance of journal writing, vocabulary, and more.
In an easy-to-use format with black-and-white illustrations, this teacher’s guide will become the essential go-to manual for teachers who want to make a difference in their pupils’ lives.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2007
59 people are currently reading
589 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 9, 2008
Freedom writers, a book written by students, made into a great movie. But what makes this book so good. Is it how it is based on true events, or is it how these kids survived in the "ghetto" or is it how it can a teacher almost a years worth of assignments. Well what ever it is this is definitely a 5 star book to me.
True events is always a key in a book. The difference between this book and any other book is what these teenagers went through. Some of these went through gang wars, killings, robberies, not being my accepted, race etc... Some of these stories you would swear they was lying but I highly doubt if anybody can make up lies that good. Them stories really can touch a heart (no homo).
These teens survived almost everything. Some survived getting shot at, some survived gang wars. How can you be so strong not to just break down. That book reminds me so much of now, what we are going through how we have to watch our backs but still we survive and stay strong. That is what these teens did they survived in the hood and tried there absolute best to get out of there and become better people. They tried to cut out the violence and stuff that were problems in the hood. They survived almost anything you can think of and I have respect for every last story I read and for all the students who wrote them.
In 8th grade I had this english teacher who made us write stories on any topic this book had. If it was about one of their people getting killed we would write an story on our own experience. It was fun, I believed it made many people strong writers. I would love to do that again just to see how my stories would change over time. We made our own book doing it but it was not published because we had to graduate. This was one assignment that made me want to attend school every day.
To conclude this I will like to recommend this book to any body who survived something and has a story to tell. This book was great and I gave it 5 stars because it was based off true events, survival and a teacher can make it fun by the assignments.
True events is always a key in a book. The difference between this book and any other book is what these teenagers went through. Some of these went through gang wars, killings, robberies, not being my accepted, race etc... Some of these stories you would swear they was lying but I highly doubt if anybody can make up lies that good. Them stories really can touch a heart (no homo).
These teens survived almost everything. Some survived getting shot at, some survived gang wars. How can you be so strong not to just break down. That book reminds me so much of now, what we are going through how we have to watch our backs but still we survive and stay strong. That is what these teens did they survived in the hood and tried there absolute best to get out of there and become better people. They tried to cut out the violence and stuff that were problems in the hood. They survived almost anything you can think of and I have respect for every last story I read and for all the students who wrote them.
In 8th grade I had this english teacher who made us write stories on any topic this book had. If it was about one of their people getting killed we would write an story on our own experience. It was fun, I believed it made many people strong writers. I would love to do that again just to see how my stories would change over time. We made our own book doing it but it was not published because we had to graduate. This was one assignment that made me want to attend school every day.
To conclude this I will like to recommend this book to any body who survived something and has a story to tell. This book was great and I gave it 5 stars because it was based off true events, survival and a teacher can make it fun by the assignments.
June 2, 2013
The Freedom Writers Diary Teacher's Guide is a how-to manual on creating community in the classroom and tolerance in the minds of your students through writing. The book works as a stand-alone resource, but can also be use even more effectively with the original book, "The Freedom Writers Diary," and the movie based on the book, "The Freedom Writers" starring Hillary Swank.
The book ties lessons used in the movie to national standards with step-by-step instructions on how to make the magic happen in the classroom. Activities include "the line game," "getting to know you bingo," debates, creating your own talk show, and more. Also included in the back of the book are writing assignments for each of the diary entries from "The Freedom Writers Diary" book.
I can attest to the effectiveness of these lessons as a teacher of "at risk" students. By implementing "Freedom Writers Fridays" I watched students who refused to lift their heads from their desks actually get excited about coming to English class. I found the movie by accident at Half-Price Books and after my first viewing I started using it in my classroom. It wasn't until the next school year that I found the book, "Freedom Writers Diary." That was when I started teaching it as curriculum regularly. I had to wait another year before discovering that Erin Gruwell herself had already written lesson plans for ideas and skills presented in the movie and the book. Now, with all three: the movie, the book and this teacher's guide, I am able to effectively connect something from The Freedom Writers to my district's prescribed curriculum each and every week.
The book ties lessons used in the movie to national standards with step-by-step instructions on how to make the magic happen in the classroom. Activities include "the line game," "getting to know you bingo," debates, creating your own talk show, and more. Also included in the back of the book are writing assignments for each of the diary entries from "The Freedom Writers Diary" book.
I can attest to the effectiveness of these lessons as a teacher of "at risk" students. By implementing "Freedom Writers Fridays" I watched students who refused to lift their heads from their desks actually get excited about coming to English class. I found the movie by accident at Half-Price Books and after my first viewing I started using it in my classroom. It wasn't until the next school year that I found the book, "Freedom Writers Diary." That was when I started teaching it as curriculum regularly. I had to wait another year before discovering that Erin Gruwell herself had already written lesson plans for ideas and skills presented in the movie and the book. Now, with all three: the movie, the book and this teacher's guide, I am able to effectively connect something from The Freedom Writers to my district's prescribed curriculum each and every week.
June 5, 2016
liz
pd:6
teacher: Lev
word count : 879 Believing is Success
When it comes to reading I’m the type of person who admires life changing stories. These stories involve so many wonderful emotions that only encourage you to be better in life and to give back to your society. My mind set is fully devoted to a book. If I make time I actually get to connect with the characters experiences. Also reading magically takes me on a wild adventure that is filled with amazement, sorrowness or amusement.
Violence and poverty has shaped the living situation of many families across the world. But in the book The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers is a story that will captivate your soul. This story emphasizes the importance of life changing people who make a positive impact on kids who are raised by low income parents. In the novel Erin is the good luck token that inspires all her students into becoming successful in life. It all starts in Wilson High School in Long, Beach California were Erin an American english teacher will be teaching for the first time and was given a classroom full of mischievous students that none of the other teachers were willing to teach because they were not going to devote time, energy and attention to some dump kids that had no goals in life and were most likely not going to graduate. But Erin was up for the challenge. Her class consisted of various races but the only thing that made them similar was that they came and lived in the ghetto and had lived hell all their childhood and as teens still face these terrifying circumstances. Erin loved these students as her own and she was more than determined to change every single individuals aspect on life and education. The problem these scholars faced was that they lacked hope in themselves. They completed doubted everything they did and it's because nobody had confidence in them that they would graduate or even become somebody of great importance in life. But Erin was very considerate as she was the only person who made time for them and believed in them.
Determination and patience was very essential for Erin because she had to constantly hear the rude comments her students told her. Her students had no respect for her as Eva said “ white people wanting their respect like it's free”. This clearly shows that Eva has a grudge toward white people and it’s because as a kid her father was taken to jail by American cops and also she's Mexican and gets discriminated by Americans. Each student treated Erin as if she were the person responsible for their problems. But they only did this because they had no attention or anybody at home to talk to. And as always Erin encouraged them every single day she also made them write in journals and write how they felt or anything they wanted to and in exchange Erin promised not to read them. Erin had a plan and it worked perfectly as her students began to explore the world or literature by writing in the journals. Thanks to Erin her students were on the pathway to success.
Erin was a strong person as he didn't let her students rude comments get to her. She was determined to help them out and wasn't going to quit on them like everybody else. As stated by Andre “And why should I give respect to you? Because you're a teacher”. This shows how little respect they had for her they thought she was like any normal person they could mess around with and make her feel miserable. But Erin stuck with her goal. She would encourage them to stop the fighting because “ fighting doesn't solve matters , they just make things worse”. This made a lot of sense and the students began to realize that rudeness and discrimination was wrong. These students all lived in fear as said by Jamal “ At sixteen, I've seen more bodies than a mortician. Every time I step out my door I face the risk of being shot”. This proves that they all lived in terror and feared for their lives. But nobody what happened Erin always had their backs she established a bond with them she even lost her marriage with her husband because he believed she was doing the wrong thing. She was loyal to these Freedom Writers and she was going to change them no matter what.
Eventually one will succeed in life but the key factor is to have motivation. Don't let simple characteristics tie you down and make you one less step closer to your goals. They were committed to school and Erin. Erin was a brilliant teacher as she stood up for them and never doubted anybody. She was a strong believer and kept her hopes high. Simply true inspiration was brought upon the class as they looked at life differently.
Finally, The Freedom Writers Diary won the number one New York times best selling book. This book is very inspirational and it will catch the emotions of many readers. It also sparked connections with kids who may be facing the same circumstances . But overall anything is possible in life never double doubt yourself because anybody is capable of achieving goals.
March 2, 2008
The movie does not do justice to this inspiring story. The students' personal lives are interwoven with the activities that Erin Gruwell plans for them throughout their high school career. For anyone who teaches, this book is an inspiration. What was most amazing was seeing the changes in attitude that the students expressed and trying to figure out which journal entries were by the same person to see the changes in attitude of specific individuals.
Read
April 17, 2008Did you ever feel that no one ever paid attention or listen to you? Well in this book a teacher aloud student to write what they wanted to get heard but remain annomymous. I really liked this book because no one really care about urban kids, she was very caring to do somthing like this, and it inspried me.
First of all,
First of all,
March 22, 2011
Great guide for teachers of all levels. Detailed instructions on how to use every activity most effectively in your own class, and comments from students and other teachers regarding each activity. Ideas for discussion, videos, vocabulary, and get-to-know-you activities. Great for individual, class, and pair work, as well as building a classroom community.
September 2, 2010
amazing. learned a lot. feeling inspired. :0)
March 14, 2023
Great read!
June 10, 2008
Freedom Writers, a book written by students, made into a great movie. But what makes this book so good. Is it how it is based on true events, or is it how these kids survived in the "ghetto" or is it how it can a teacher almost a years worth of assignments. Well what ever it is this is definitely a 5 star book to me.
True events is always a key in a book. The difference between this book and any other book is what these teenagers went through. Some of these went through gang wars, killings, robberies, not being my accepted, race etc... Some of these stories you would swear they was lying but I highly doubt if anybody can make up lies that good. Them stories really can touch a heart (no homo).
These teens survived almost everything. Some survived getting shot at, some survived gang wars. How can you be so strong not to just break down. That book reminds me so much of now, what we are going through how we have to watch our backs but still we survive and stay strong. That is what these teens did they survived in the hood and tried there absolute best to get out of there and become better people. They tried to cut out the violence and stuff that were problems in the hood. They survived almost anything you can think of and I have respect for every last story I read and for all the students who wrote them.
In 8th grade I had this english teacher who made us write stories on any topic this book had. If it was about one of their people getting killed we would write an story on our own experience. It was fun, I believed it made many people strong writers. I would love to do that again just to see how my stories would change over time. We made our own book doing it but it was not published because we had to graduate. This was one assignment that made me want to attend school every day.
To conclude this I will like to recommend this book to any body who survived something and has a story to tell. This book was great and I gave it 5 stars because it was based off true events, survival and a teacher can make it fun by the assignments
True events is always a key in a book. The difference between this book and any other book is what these teenagers went through. Some of these went through gang wars, killings, robberies, not being my accepted, race etc... Some of these stories you would swear they was lying but I highly doubt if anybody can make up lies that good. Them stories really can touch a heart (no homo).
These teens survived almost everything. Some survived getting shot at, some survived gang wars. How can you be so strong not to just break down. That book reminds me so much of now, what we are going through how we have to watch our backs but still we survive and stay strong. That is what these teens did they survived in the hood and tried there absolute best to get out of there and become better people. They tried to cut out the violence and stuff that were problems in the hood. They survived almost anything you can think of and I have respect for every last story I read and for all the students who wrote them.
In 8th grade I had this english teacher who made us write stories on any topic this book had. If it was about one of their people getting killed we would write an story on our own experience. It was fun, I believed it made many people strong writers. I would love to do that again just to see how my stories would change over time. We made our own book doing it but it was not published because we had to graduate. This was one assignment that made me want to attend school every day.
To conclude this I will like to recommend this book to any body who survived something and has a story to tell. This book was great and I gave it 5 stars because it was based off true events, survival and a teacher can make it fun by the assignments
Read
April 28, 2015Freedom Writers is a non-fiction book about the kids in the slums in Long Beach. It’s about the kids in the projects and the hood in Long Beach. Most of the kids have been put down or introduced to a bad life ever since they were born. Many of the parents are druggies,cheaters, or just a plain bad influence on their children. Of course, there are some exceptions who are doing the best they can to support their children. Most of the children grow up to be gangsters or drug dealers. Though most of the community was black, there were also bad white people in the hood. All these kids have gone through countless injustices, including, rape, murder, robberies, beat downs, and many more. This is the norm for these teenagers, until they met a new language teacher who changed their lives.
I think Mrs. Gruwell is trying to show that you shouldn't judge a person by the way they look or talk, if they’re black or white, or they look different or act different. The entire book is just experience after experience of mistreatment or hurtfulness, and I think that writing down their personal stories helped the students to get all the frustration out. I think that people shouldn't be judged by the way they look. They should be judged by their character.
I think Mrs. Gruwell was very effective in conveying the theme of prejudice. She is one of the people who realize that social injustice isn't always on the outside; sometimes you have to take it on from the inside. I think my favorite piece of information in this book was when the kids realized that their teacher was trying to help them, not hurt or embarrass them in anyway. She was showing them that everyone has bad memories or experiences, not just themselves. She was showing them that they weren't alone.
In conclusion, I think this book was fantastic and very informative; I would definitely recommend this book to other people.
May 20, 2015
The Freedom Writers Diary is a book about a topic that we still face today. As Erin's students learned more about how awful stereotyping was, they started to become who they truly wanted to be. These are the kids that are in the slums of New Jersey, how do you think this would go?
I love everything about this book. The fact that these are real students with real problems, makes this so realistic and relatable. It sends a great message that people still aren't grasping today. Racism and stereotyping is not O.K. and this book does a great job of making people realize that.
I would write about what I thought was bad about the book, but I simply cannot think of anything. I do think the stories can be disturbing, but that's the whole point of the diaries. The fact that these are real events should disturb you. This book is doing exactly what the Freedom Writers wanted it to do and there is no way that I can complain about it in any way.
Finally, the theme. The theme in this book is clear and you'd have to be blind not to understand it. The ideas of this book are segregation, racism, making a better life for yourself, and basically any other inspirational life motto you could possibly think of. This sounds like a cheesy book if you just look at the themes; but believe me, the realness and actuality of the entries are captivating.
I love everything about this book. The fact that these are real students with real problems, makes this so realistic and relatable. It sends a great message that people still aren't grasping today. Racism and stereotyping is not O.K. and this book does a great job of making people realize that.
I would write about what I thought was bad about the book, but I simply cannot think of anything. I do think the stories can be disturbing, but that's the whole point of the diaries. The fact that these are real events should disturb you. This book is doing exactly what the Freedom Writers wanted it to do and there is no way that I can complain about it in any way.
Finally, the theme. The theme in this book is clear and you'd have to be blind not to understand it. The ideas of this book are segregation, racism, making a better life for yourself, and basically any other inspirational life motto you could possibly think of. This sounds like a cheesy book if you just look at the themes; but believe me, the realness and actuality of the entries are captivating.
March 23, 2008
I read the book after i saw the movie tih my wife. My wife a teacher and she said it's an inspiring story. The students' personal lives are interwoven with the activities that Erin Gruwell plans for them throughout their high school career. For anyone who teaches, this book is an inspiration. What was most amazing was seeing the changes in attitude that the students expressed and trying to figure out which journal entries were by the same person to see the changes in attitude of specific individuals.
Tapi ada satu catatan, yaitu propaganda Yahudi sangat kental. Mengangkat Holocaust sebagai contoh untuk dijadikan inspirasi merubah kehidupan murid2 dengan kasus istimewa di ruang 203.
However, I think all teacher should read this book. Setidaknya, untuk referensi tentang metode mengajar.
Tapi ada satu catatan, yaitu propaganda Yahudi sangat kental. Mengangkat Holocaust sebagai contoh untuk dijadikan inspirasi merubah kehidupan murid2 dengan kasus istimewa di ruang 203.
However, I think all teacher should read this book. Setidaknya, untuk referensi tentang metode mengajar.
May 19, 2010
The journal entries in this book are very touching and I found myself getting emotional many times over them. I'd say the book is about as good as the movie, which I loved. The disappointing thing about the book is that although it's about a class taught by an incredible English teacher, there is a frustratingly large number of errors in the book--in spelling, in grammar and in punctuation. It's as if someone started proofreading, but stopped in the middle of the book. Also what disappointed me was the amount of cursing in the book. I wouldn't mind a little, to be honest, because I think it brings out the intense reality of the students' lives, but the language could have be cleaned up a little in the editing without taking away from the effectiveness of the writing.
December 23, 2008
I read this book a while ago and remember feeling inspired by Gruwell's commitment to her students and her ability to create curriculum that really exemplifies social justice at its best... At the same time, I can't help but be disheartened by the fact that she left teaching so early on in her career, which makes me wonder about how to celebrate longevity of teaching careers instead of just glorifying "one shot deals". That being said, I don't mean to demean the amazing work she did...
June 2, 2009
My review for this book is that i enjoyed reading this because i can relate to this book in alot of ways because in this book young kids in the hood are writing journal entries to express their feelings. In some of these entries students discuss how they live and what they are going through. Also Ms. Gruwell the students teacher is a young english teacher who is trying to help get these kids through high school and make them become succesful.
May 25, 2010
I love this book in theory, but I wish it contained some more explicit strategies for helping struggling students succeed academically. I am all for inspiring and teaching relevant world lessons, but I question how Gruwell was able to turn her students from borderline illiterate to articulate and successful graduates. This gets half of it right: teachers, overall, should see caring about their students as their primary responsibility.
Read
June 7, 2010This book is about a really bad school where the kids didnt care the least bit about school and there were rival gangs and they put the whole school at danger by fighting. These kids direspect all their teachers but one really nice teacher came in for them and they were the same way to her at first but then the teacher really wanted them to learn something. she taught them to appreciate writing and then they started to love writing, true story
April 13, 2008
This is a collection of writings by high school kids who were falling through the cracks of the educational system and headed for a life of gangs and crimes. There were several very good selections, and the best one formed the basis of the movie of the same title. I enjoyed many of them, but the language is pretty rough in some of them. These were written by angry kids.
November 22, 2011
This book had me laughing and crying all the way through. It's a great pick-me-up for teachers, and since it's all true, it was even better. The students from Room 203 were/are amazing in all that they did in high school and beyond to form the Freedom Writers and take back what society had stolen from them before they even had a chance: an equal education.
May 17, 2015
I thought this book was great in that it was raw and the anecdotal setup was a nice break from the usual overdone descriptions. I thought the personal stories were enlightening and it does put things in perspective, for sure. I'd recommend it to all who want to see things in a different light and won't be bothered by some minor grammatical errors and slight diversion in topics.
May 19, 2015
I give this book a 5/5 start rating, because it is not only written well but gives people hope that people really can change for the better. It shows the way the world is being treated and how people need to stick up for themselves. It gives you different peoples point of views on things that many people can relate to. It educates people of the past and the present and is an inspiring novel.
March 19, 2008
i learned that the people that are in "gangs" are fighting a secret war and no one cares about them.. i would say more but you have to read the book. i messed up on the book that i choose it was the DIARY OF THE FREEDOM WRITERS not the teachers guide..OOPS im sorry
November 11, 2013
2013/05/06 = 80min (1-22 page)
7 words:
Gruwell diary school history start students gun
DQ:
Q: What is your dream?
A: I wanna be a mother like my mother! I want to teach English to kids at home!
I just started reading, so far, this is great book!!
Thanks for the book:)
7 words:
Gruwell diary school history start students gun
DQ:
Q: What is your dream?
A: I wanna be a mother like my mother! I want to teach English to kids at home!
I just started reading, so far, this is great book!!
Thanks for the book:)
February 6, 2008
Nothing new here, move along.
May 8, 2008
really fascinating!
Read
March 14, 2008A very inspirational story on how a teacher can change the lives of the students. See the movie too.
March 15, 2008
An amazing and truly inspirational story. One of the best books I have ever read.
March 19, 2008
This was a beautiful and inspiring story. It made me want to share and help somewhere in the world.
April 18, 2008
this book was good it was about a school and their students writing in journals about their lives and when they were done they put them all together and made this book called the freedom writers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews