Undercover Journalists

Reporting from The City of Ember

Dear Readers,

We are students in Ms. Gross' 8th grade Language & Literature Class. We are currently undercover in the City of Ember, therefore we cannot reveal our true identities. The mayor is not kind and we must leave nothing that might cause suspicion.

Lina (a messenger) left us a task to complete in class today. We had to reflect on our Break-Out Experience. It is "code" for how things are going in the city as we attempt to communicate with the above ground world.

We would love some comments and feedback as reassurance that Ms. Gross was able to pass our message on. 

A sincere thank you. We continue to move forward in our investigation.

Best Wishes

Anonymous Students

Student #1:

Dear Lena,

Hello, I hope your day has been going swell!  Through my journey in Ember I learned a whole lot about myself.  While down here I learned that I am great at solving clues.  While down here I have also learned that I am patient while solving puzzles and I don’t quit when I'm frustrated.  While we were in a group I contributed by solving puzzles that other folks couldn’t solve.  I also helped by telling lock combos to open safes.  I made sure my voice was heard by politely asking for things.  In life people might not be able to solve things that you can.

Sincerely,

?

Student #2:

Dear Lina,

As a leader in Ms. Gross’ fun break-out challenge. I had a different perspective from most other students. During our game, one thing that i had learned about myself during this game is that I am not good at sitting out and being a teacher. I noticed that I would much rather be a part of finding all the clues, solving the mysteries and most importantly, the puzzles. It was hard for me to stay out of the group to help them solve clues. One way that I did contribute to the team is that whenever the students were stumped and wanted to use a clue card me and the other student teacher helped them solve very hard mysteries. One thing that was very hard during this was being heard throughout the game. And for me to be heard by everybody I had to speak up and try to get everyone to listen up. This game was cool because we could relate some of the puzzles from this game into our everyday lives. One way this happened was when we were all working on one of the problems, it showed us that when we worked together we had solved the problems a lot faster when we worked together. But all together, this was a great activity and I think that we all had fun while playing the game.

Sincerely ?

Student #3:

Dear Lina,

Thank you for the note! During the game I learned about myself that sometimes I get a little overwhelmed and too excited about what's going to happen next. And that solving puzzles is definitely not my thing, They take a lot of effort, which I do have but the puzzles are so confusing. But I never gave up and always tried my best. I contributed to my team in many ways. If I ever saw a clue I tried to tell my team loud and clear so that they could come over and help. I also showed and contributed team work.  I made sure to show the Pal-Mac way and never disrespect anyone, I made sure to let other people have a turn too. My idea were heard by me stating what I think. Then everyone helped. Solving puzzles definitely relates to solving a problem in the real word. It relates by showing that it can definitely be difficult but never give up and always show effort. Using the 7 h

Habits also helped us a lot. Like listening to each other and having positive attitudes. I hope you are proud of us, we did pretty well but could do better next time!

Sincerely,  your anonymous friend!

Student #4:

Dear citizens of Ember,

In both life and these tasks, you use your resources and other people's help to solve problems and that's just what we did in the Break-Out. Making sure others hear your voice and ideas is very critical and important when working together to achieve a common goal. I made my voice clear by waiting at a quiet moment to shoot my ideas out. When it comes to trying to solve clues it can get very chaotic and speaking louder over everyone else's voices would just make it more chaotic. Contributing to your team is the best thing to do when you have a common goal because it is always about teamwork. I tried to help out by doing the tasks asked by the clues and I realized that there were 2 people who always wanted to be in control and didn't let others help out so I tried my best with what I could do. Speaking of this I realized that I didn't like being in the background and that I wanted to be in control and be more of a leader. But on the other hand my strength is to encourage others to better themselves and to be supportive. Can't wait to take another chance and to help save you all!

Sincerely,

a go getter

Student #5:

Dear Lina

While trying to provide light to the city of Ember a lot of things went very well but things also need a little improvement. Also I learned a lot about myself as well. I learned that I am not very good at solving puzzles but I am a good communicator. Furthermore I contributed to my group by communicating well with others. Using my communicating skills I made sure my ideas were heard by not trying to yell at others but by getting their attention in a calm manner before stating my ideas. Solving the puzzles to restore light to the city helped me because when I need to solve problems later in life I will know how to communicate with others and using my thinking skills.

sincerely , ?

Student #6:

Dear Lina,  

In this game I wasn't a player I was a leader. During the game I learned a lot about myself. I helped the players understand the game more. I gave them good hints when they needed it. I also think I contributed  to the team because when they were confused and I helped them through it. I was there when they needed it but I wasn't in there way. I made sure my ideas were heard because they kind of needed me when they were stuck but also I was a leader and they listened to me because of that. In the game there was a lot of puzzles and tasks that we had to go through they were complicated but it will help us with real life to. The puzzles showed us to work together and don't leave anyone behind. I think in this game I was kinda a big part of it and helped contribute a lot.

Sincerely,

Student Teacher

Student #7:

Dear Lina,

In the break out box I learned a lot about myself like, that I am a risk taker. I also learned that I need to be more of a leader. I contributed by helping when people need help. I help solved the puzzles and helped open the lockers. I had to talk loud and clear because sometimes we would all get loud  and noisy. With the puzzles we all had to work together and that will help us in the real world because we will all sooner or later we will all need to work together.  

       From

                 ?

Student #8:

Dear Citizens Of Ember,

One thing that I learned from the game was that I did not like the puzzles because they were very challenging, the clues were my favorite I enjoyed looking for the clues the most.  I contributed with my team by giving them ideas, making sure I was heard, and I made eye to eye contact to make sure they were actually listening to me.  Also, solving a puzzle in a game relates to solving a problem in a real world because in life you will experience difficult times and problems and the game helped us by showing solutions and communicating with other, and also asking for help from others.  There were many hard and difficult challenges throughout the game but the main thing that helped us the most was teamwork and listening to others carefully.  Also having others that haven't tried a puzzle having them try and solve one.

Sincerely: ?

Student #9:

Dear Lena,

While participating in the Break-Out Box some things I learned was I am really good at hunting for clues and trying to keep people on task.  Also I learned that it takes a lot of teamwork and caring for each other.  I contributed to my team by finding clues and solving them.  Also by showing the Pal-Mac way throughout the task.  I made my ideas heard by speaking and telling them and showing them my ideas.  Also by being caring and waiting until they could hear my ideas and being open-minded.  Solving the puzzles relates to solving problems in the real world by using and show the Pal-Mac way and including people and being respectful to people.  As you can see this is what I learned throughout the Break-Out Box task.

Sincerely ?

Student #10:

Dear Lena,

Hello hun, I wish your day so far has been going well! Throughout my journey in Ember I learned much about myself. I like moving from task to task, between two spots. I learned that I love solving things, I especially like those clues when you need them. With my team I helped and contributed by helping solve the block man. I helped find the Malala book with two other students. When I needed my thoughts to be heard I would say hey and get everyone's attention. This is like the real word, in many ways, for example, we use synergy to solve issues. When we go into the world, we need to work with others easily. We need to know how to make decisions and share our opinions.

Sincerely,

?