Thankful for Traditions?

Each Fall at this time of year, I ask the students to write about what they are thankful for.  This year, the students got to choose between this topic and another-- their favorite family traditions.  We've been having a great time discussing these traditions in class.

The past few weeks, we have been reading The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi.  This is one of my all-time favorite read alouds, and has the kids intrigued from the beginning.  After all, it's not every day that a 13 year old girl is accused of murder and found guilty...

We hope to finish the book before Thanksgiving break and will later use the book to explore how characters change throughout the course of books.