Combat Paper Project

So for the culmination of this unit, students worked on something called a "Combat Paper Project."  I learned about the Combat Paper Project from a professional development workshop I attended last spring.  What the organization does is sets up a forum for soldiers to process their experiences from war, and literally transform them into art.  Soldiers shred their actual uniforms, turn them into pulp, and then create paper and artwork from that pulp.  It's about re-purposing that pain.  This had a clear connection to the text we were reading, The Things They Carried, in which Tim O'Brien highlights the importance of writing for him, about how it allowed him to literally separate himself from certain experiences.  What my students did to connect the book to the project was write about a painful experience (or draw, whatever), or just something they needed to get off their chest, and then they shredded it.  We worked with the art department to learn paper-making techniques, and went through a very similar process as members of the Combat Paper Project.  Seldom have I seen my students so engaged in an endeavor.  I made a blog detailing both what they did as well as sharing some images.  Please feel free to check it out:

http://ourcombatpaperproject2012.blogspot.com/

So happy about everything that's happening in this particular class.  Thank you guys for reading!  :)