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To engage students in the classroom in meaningful dialogue about diversity using the medium of the classroom blog and personal interaction with multicultural text.
International Studies Unit
ENG2D1 - Grade 10 Academic English
Irish American Culture
Native American Culture
Jewish Culture
African American Culture
Universal
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York Catholic District School Board
INITIAL SURVEY
ALL STUDENTS MUST COMPLETE BEFORE 10/28/11 11:59 PM
I think that the story, “Nana upstairs and Nana Downstairs,” is a touching story about a four year-old boy’s relationship with his grandmother and great grandmother. I found this story to be interesting because we usually see our grandparents as the oldest elderly people that have an impact on our lives. This story takes an extra step and shows that even a person’s great grandmother can have an influence on their life. My great grandmother is still alive. When I was a little boy both my grandmother and my great grandmother would take care of me. I see her almost once a week and we will talk for hours. I try my hardest to make her life easier and I want to make sure that when she passes away she will be happy. She is ninety-nine years old and we will be celebrating her one hundredth birthday in one month. I hope that she will be with us for a bit longer and that she will remember all of the fun things we did.
ReplyDeleteI think that the story “Nana upstairs, Nana downstairs” was an inspirational story that showed the closeness that a four year old boy can have with his great grandmother. It was great to listen to because it explained that age does not matter when it comes to a relationship with a loved one. Tommy had the privilege of getting to see his great grandmother and grandmother every Sunday, as some of us do not get to. When Tommy’s great grandmother passed away, and the overall effect it had on him devastated me. Knowing that a boy so young can understand something so sad makes me think about my own relationship with my great grandmother and the impact it had on me. I had the privilege of seeing my great grandmother on special occasions but not the privilege to get to live with her. When she passed away I regretted not seeing her often, but I know she will always be watching over me.
ReplyDeleteIn the children's literature Nanna Upstairs and Nanna Downstairs, there is an inspirational meaning to the story. The American-Italian-Irish culture is shown to be an understanding and close culture with meaningful relationships, between 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations. The 1st generation in this novel is the great grandmother. She has a close relationship with Tommy (4th generation) and the grandmother (2nd generation). This is shown when Tommy and the grandmother both love her by taking good care for her. Tommy shows his closeness with both his grandmother and great grandmother when they die and he cried innocently. The mother (3rd generation) also shows care when she tries to comfort Tommy telling him that both his grandmother and great grandmother will be remembered in his memories. That gives a deep meaning to the Irish culture.
ReplyDeleteI think that "Nana upstairs and Nana downstairs" is inspiring. It showed us how this little boy was so close to his grandmother and his great grandmother. I am close with my grandmother's but not my great grandmothers. One lives in Italy and just recently passed away my grandmother was sad for the longest time. Tommy was lucky that he got to visit her every Sunday I only got to speak to mine over the phone. We need to learn to appriecate things that others can't have. When my other great grandmother passed away I remembered her the most. Sometimes, times like this when someone close to you passes away in any culture we have our own way to comforting each other.
ReplyDeleteI felt that the story “Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs” is very moving. I can relate to it 100% because I visit my grandparents a lot. I’m very close to both of them. While hearing this I was touched because it brings back many memories that I have made with my grandparents. They live around the corner from me so it is easy for me to get to their house. I like how in the book the mother said “perhaps it was a kiss from nana upstairs”. Tommy was so close with his grandmas so wishing on that star made him really think about how amazing they truly were.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Nana upstairs and Nana downstairs is a very emotional story with a lot of value written in the text of the book. It tells us that nothing lasts forever and we should savior every second we have with our family and friends. I have never met any of my grandfathers and this makes me think what could have been. My grandmother on my moms side helps me relate to this story because I knew her when I was only eight and she always gave me treats and a quarter here and there. But one day she was gone and I didn't understand why for w while. My other grandmother is still with us and I appreciate having her more and spending time with her more. This book was a very inspirational and emotional story that meant a lot to me.
ReplyDeleteI think that "Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs" was a great story about the Irish American culture or any culture because it illustrates how important family really is especially in the early parts of your life. When the great grandmother had died it really came through how much he needed his parents because he had never been through such a tragic loss before. I am lucky enough not to have went through any losses of close family members yet so I can not really relate to this as well as others could.
ReplyDeleteHaving read the book "Nana Upstairs,Nana Downstairs" I have come to realize that this book is somewhat similar to the relationship I have with my grandparents.My favourite part of the book was when tommy would go to visit both grandmothers on Sunday, and spend a few hours at their house bonding with them. Towards the middle of the book tommy's great grandmother passed away and Tommy found that very difficult to cope with because he was so young. This reminds me of when my family and I would get together with my grandmother every Sunday for lunch before she passed away. I truly think that you never really realize what a person does for you until they are no longer around, to continuously be doing those little things that make up the big things.
ReplyDelete"Nana upstairs and Nana downstairs" shows a special bond between a four year old boy, Tommy, and his great grandmother and his grandmother. Like Tommy, I visit my grandparents every Sunday for lunch. Tommy is very fortunate to have his great grandmother around; not many people get the chance to meet their great grandparents. In my family, I am also very fortunate because I have all four of my grandparents around that are all aged in the 80's. Years ago, I had the chance to meet my great grandmother, who lived in Timmins. Although she was every sick, I still felt lucky to meet her. I am thankful and appreciative for every minute I spend with my grandparents.
ReplyDeleteI think that the story “Nana Upstairs Nana Downstairs” shows us the different relationships we can have with different family members. Tommie shows us the two different relationships he shares with both of his grandmothers, because Tommie visits them every Sunday he has a close relationship with both. Once Nana Upstairs passes away he sees the shooting star which he knows she’s always with him, and the same for when Nana Downstairs passes again. It seems that Tommie has learned a lot from the two, they both had different things to offer and share. Reading this story I realize it’s important to go visit your grandparents whenever u can because you never know when they can just be taken away from you
ReplyDeleteI think that the story “Nana Upstairs Nana Downstairs” is a great story that shows how even your Grandparents can reflect your life a lot. I can reflect from this story because I am very close with my Grandparents, even though I don’t live with them. My Grandfather recently passed away and my Grandmother has been very sad lately. I go visit her every day to show that I’m here for her even when times get hard like this. Tommy is very lucky to have his Great Grandmother still around. My Grandmother is still alive and I am grateful because of that. I got to see my Great Grandmother on holidays but I only wish I can see her more. Be grateful for what you have, because in a matter of a second you can lose it.
ReplyDelete"Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs" Tells us about a special bond between a 4 year old boy, named Tommy, and his grandmothers. He does different things with each of the grandmothers that creates a special bond. For me I see this as when I visit my grandmothers. Before my grandmother on my dad’s side passed away, I would go visit her every Sunday and she would make me cookies and I would listen to her talk. Although I didn’t really understand her, I would still listen and communicate. We weren’t really close and I regret that. When I go visit my mom’s mom, we have a different kind of connection. We get along and I can understand her because she would speak a little bit of English as well as Italian. I would say I was closer with my grandmother on my mom’s side and that’s why our connection was much stronger. Overall, this book taught me to cherish the moments we spend with our family because anything could happen at anytime.
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ReplyDeleteI think this is a wonderful story about a four-year-old boy whose great grandmother passes away one morning. He loved his grandmothers very much and he had a very strong relationship with them. They built a strong friendship. But then his great grandmother died. He was sad and wished she'd be back.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the time my great grandmother passed away four years ago. The loss was very hard to me. I wished she'd be back and I miss her a lot.
I can make a connection to Tommy's experience of seeing the shooting star out of the sky. For example, several hours after my great grandmother's funeral, I was sent by my grandparents to buy some milk with my brother. We left the house and we talked about her and how much we missed her. As we drew closer to the store, three stray dogs stopped randomly in front of us. They sat there, watching us, not moving a muscle. They kept their distance but sat there. We left, suspicious by them. Later, my brother and I came back with the milk and found the dogs still sitting in the same spot where we left them! We watched them carefully as we walked home. After we passed by them, they got up and either ran or just walked away. I don't remember because it was a while ago.
But I am sure that my great grandmother was protecting us, and watching us while we bought the milk. It was a pretty weird experience!
Overall, this book brought memories and her memories and her influences brought by her love and generosity. She is my nanna upstairs.
I thought that the story “Nana upstairs and Nana downstairs” was a very cute a touching story. This story shows how a four year old boy has a close relationship with his grandmother and great grandmother. I liked how this was a personal story that really happened to the author. I think it’s nice that the author when he was younger was able to spend time with his great grandmother and grandmother. I personally never had this opportunity. All of my great grandparents past away long time before I was born, and I only had the true privilege to really know one of my grandmothers. Finally I really liked how Tommie defended his great grandmother when his older brother called her a witch. That showed that Tommie really cares about his great grandmother.
ReplyDelete"Nana upstairs & Nanna downstairs" was a story that was very touching for me. The relationship that Tommy and his grandmothers was one very similar to mine. My great grandmother lived with my grandmother and she was bed ridden in the upstairs bedroom of my grandmothers house. My great grandmother couldnt speake english so she always used to give me and my brother chocolate dollars. This is similar to tommy's nana upstairs giving him mints. Tommy had such a strong relationship with his nana that he was even willing to defend her to his own brother. One day Tommy's great grandmother passed away and i felt his sadness because my great granmother also passed away. Nothing can replace the relationship people share with their grandmothers and great grandmothers.
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ReplyDelete"Nana upstairs and Nana downstairs" was an incredible story. To me it shows the true meaning of what caring for someone is really like. Tommy and his Grandmothers had a very close bond.If I had to relate to this story , I would say that it's very moving. I live with my grandmother and great grandmother, and it's ironic that one of my grandmother's live upstairs and one lives downstairs. I have a very close bond with both of them. Tommy cared for them so much. For example in the story Tommy's grandmother takes down her hair, and Tommy's brother calls her a witch. Tommy tells his brother that she's not a witch and that shes beautiful. When Tommy's grandparents passed away , I could relate to his sadness because I know how it feels to have someone pass away that you care about.I personally don't think there is a stronger bond than a bond a child has with they're grandparents because we learn so many things about traditions and cultures from them. They teach us things in different ways , the bond is just indescribable.
ReplyDelete“Nana upstairs and Nana downstairs” is a great story talking about the relationship between a 4 year old boy and his grandmother and his great grandmother. This story makes me wish I knew my great grandmother. I love spending time with my grandmother but I always wondered how it would feel to be with my great grandmother. This story shows that both grandmother and great grandmother are important influences in our lives. I liked when the grandmother told the boy that the shooting star was her great grandmother winking at her. That reminded me something that my grandmother told me. She told me that shooting stars represented your loved ones gone giving you a sign saying that there okay and they love you. The bond between the kid and his grandmother were strong and for him to accept it was great.
ReplyDelete"Nana upstairs and Nana downstairs" is a fantastic story about a 4 year old boy who lives with his grandmother and great grandmother. It is kind of hard for me to relate to this story because i did not get the opportunity to meet my great grandmother or did I live with my grandmother. In this story, the 4 year old boy takes care of his grandmother and great grandmother while spending time with them and bonding. When the great grandmother dies, the boy doesn't take it very well. I also can't relate to this because I have never lost somone in my life that was close with me. When the grandmother tells the boy that the shooting star was his great grandmother, it shows how God is always there for us and even though a loved one passes, they will always be there. I hope that if a loved one passes in my life, God shows me that they are still there watching over me.
ReplyDeleteNana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs is a story that describes the relationship between a little boy and his grandmother and great grandmother. Like many children, Tommy has a very special bond with each of his grandmothers. He had the privilege to spend time with each of them every Sunday which most children don’t get a chance to do. When the great grandmother dies, Tommy becomes devastated knowing that he won’t be able to spend time with her anymore. It is not until he sees a shooting star for his emotions to be restored. Seeing this star made him realize that his grandmother would always be there watching over him, and that the bond they had will never be broken. I think the author was trying to stress that you never know what you have until it’s gone. Most people take things for granted and later on realize that they should enjoy the time spent with others as much as possible because moments don’t last forever.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself lucky that as an immigrant child I had all four of my grandparents in one home in "Little Italy"- downtown Toronto. Amanda's correct in saying,"Be grateful for what you have, because in a matter of a second you can lose it." Mario is also corrent when he calls grandparents "the oldest elderly people that have an impact on our lives."
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion ladies and gentlemen.