Remembering the Holocaust Through Literary Circles

1
Remembering the HolocaustThrough Literary Circles

• Mrs. Jennifer Hull
• 8th grade
• February 2008

2
Holocaust Study

• Research the time and place of the books will be
  completed before actually beginning the reading
• Cooperative groups will complete research
  including mapping the countries involved, the
  Jewish experience, Hitler and his defeat

3
Holocaust and WWII Study

• Complete the Freedom chart
• Study the timeline of what happened to the Jewish
  peoples rights during Hitlers reign
  http//www.remember.org/educate/mtimeline.html
• Read Terrible Things by Eve Bunting aloud to the
  class

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Holocaust Study

• We are reading non-fiction and fiction books that
  show how Hitler used fear and prejudice against
  Jewish people
• Many Jewish peoples lives were completely and
  totally changed
• As each book is introduced in the following
  slides, take notes on your note card
• When all books have been introduced, each student
  will turn in an index card with your name, class
  period, and first, second and third choices of
  books

5
The Upstairs Room

• By Johanna Reiss
• 5-8 grade level
• 196 pages
• A Dutch Jewish girl describes the
  two-and-one-half years she spent in hiding in the
  upstairs bedroom of a farmer's house during World
  War II.

6
We Are Witnesses Five Diaries of Teenagers Who
Died in the Holocaust

• By Jacob Boas
• Grades 7 up
• 196 pages
• Jewish teenagers David, Yitzhak, Moshe, Eva, and
  Anne all kept diaries and were all killed in
  Hitler's death camps. These are their stories, in
  their own words. Author Jacob Boas is a Holocaust
  survivor who was born in the same camp to which
  Anne Frank was sent. Includes a photo insert.

7
Heroes of the Holocaust True Stories of Rescues
by Teens

• by Allan Zullo
• 183 pages
• Gripping accounts of six teenagers who willingly
  put their lives in jeopardy for the sake of
  saving Jews. The legacy of these remarkable
  young people who made a difference will captivate
  and inspire you.

8
Heroes Dont Run A Novel of the Pacific War

• by Harry Mazer
• Grades 5-9
• 128 pages
• To honor his father who died during the Japanese
  invasion of Pearl Harbor, seventeen-year-old Adam
  eagerly enlists in the Marines in 1944, survives
  boot camp, and faces combat on the tiny island of
  Okinawa.

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True Stories of the Second World War

• by Paul Dowswell
• Ages 9-12
• 5-8 grade level
• 144 pages
• Epic naval encounters between titanic warships,
  monumental battles involving hundreds of
  thousands of men, and duels between lone snipers
  facing almost certain death, these are just some
  of the dramatic tales in this collection of
  stories from the Second World War. For those who
  survived, it would remain the most intense and
  vivid experience of their lives.

10
Elly My True Story of the Holocaust

• by Elly Berkovits Gross
• Grades 4 - 6
• 105 pages
• When Elly was just 15 years old, she, her mother,
  and brother were deported by cattle car to the
  Auschwitz/Birkenau concentration camp. On the
  day they arrived at Auschwitz, a soldier directed
  Elly to the right her mother and brother were
  sent to the left. She never saw her family alive
  again. Elly later learned that her father also
  had been killed in a forced-labor camp.

11
I Am a Star Child of the Holocaust

• by Inge Auerbacher
• 5-8 grade level
• 96 pages
• The author's reminiscences about her childhood in
  Germany, years of which were spent in a Nazi
  concentration camp. Includes several of her
  original poems.

12
Behind the Secret Window A Memoir of a Hidden
Childhood During World War II

• by Nelly S. Toll
• Ages 12 up
• 163 pages
• The Nazis come to Poland when Nelly is six. By
  the time she turns eight, the events of World War
  II have taken almost everyone she loves. Scared,
  lonely, and running from the Nazis, Nelly hides
  in the bedroom of a Gentile couple in Poland. For
  over a year, she lives in fear of discovery,
  writing in her diary and painting pictures of a
  fantasy world filled with open skies and happy
  families. Illustrated with Nelly's original
  watercolors, this powerful memoir tells the true
  story of how a little girl's imagination helped
  her survive a nightmare.

13
Survivors True Stories of Children in the
Holocaust

• by Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun
• 5-8 grade level, ages 9-12
• 196 pages
• These are the true-life accounts of nine Jewish
  boys and girls whose lives spiraled into danger
  and fear as the Holocaust overtook Europe. In a
  time of great horror, these children each found a
  way to make it through the nightmare of war. Some
  made daring escapes into the unknown, others
  disguised their true identities, and many
  witnessed unimaginable horrors. But what they all
  shared was the unshakable belief in-- and hope
  for-- survival. Their legacy of courage in the
  face of hatred will move you, captivate you, and,
  ultimately, inspire you.

14
Four Perfect Pebbles A Holocaust Story

• By Lila Perl and Marion Blumenthal Lazan
• Grades 7 up
• 132 pages
• Following Hitlers rise to power, the Blumenthal
  family father, mother, Marion, and her brother
  Albert- were trapped in Nazi Germany. They
  managed eventually to get to Holland, but soon
  thereafter it was occupied by the Nazis. For the
  next six-and-a-half years the Blumenthals were
  forced to live in refugee, transit, and prison
  camps. Their story is one of horror and
  hardship, but it is also a story of courage, hope
  and the will to survive.

15
Hanas Suitecase

• by Karen Levine
• 5-8 grade level
• 120 pages
• A biography of a Czech girl who died in the
  Holocaust, told in alternating chapters with an
  account of how the curator of a Japanese
  Holocaust center learned about her life after
  Hana's suitcase was sent to her.

16
I Have Lived A Thousand Years

• by Livia Bitton-Jackson
• Grades 7 up
• 196 pages
• A graphic narrative describes what happens to a
  13-year-old Jewish girl when the Nazis invade
  Hungary in 1944. Includes a brief chronology of
  the Holocaust. The author describes her
  experiences during World War II when she and her
  family were sent to the Nazi death camp at
  Auschwitz.

17
Marika

• by Andrea Cheng
• 5-8 grade level
• 163 pages
• Although she has been raised Catholic, Marika
  learns how dangerous it is to be of Jewish
  heritage and living in Hungary during World War
  II.

18
Room in the Heart

• by Sonia Levitin
• Grades 7 up
• 196 pages
• While Jews are persecuted in other countries by
  Nazis, Julies family and friends have a safe
  haven in Copenhagen, Denmark. Then German planes
  fly overhead, dropping leaflets stating that
  theyre occupying Denmark. Suddenly, German tanks
  roll down the streets, German ships float into
  the harbor. Julies family and friends might be
  separated and sent to concentration camps. Now
  Julie and her friend Niels must risk everything
  to protect the people they love. This epic novel,
  told in interchanging voices, paints a riveting
  portrait of Copenhagen during the occupation and
  the everyday heroes who overcame evil with
  courage and kindness.

19
Behind the Bedroom Wall

• by Laura Williams
• 5-8 grade level
• 170 pages
• Thirteen-year-old Korinna must decide whether to
  report her parents to her Hitler youth group when
  she discovers that they are hiding Jews in a
  secret space behind Korinna's bedroom wall.

20
The Devils Arithmetic

• by Jane Yolen
• Grades 7 up
• 170 pages, fiction
• Hannah resents the traditions of her Jewish
  heritage until time travel places her in the
  middle of a small Jewish village in Nazi-occupied
  Poland.

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Holocaust Literature Study

• After all students have turned in their index
  cards with their preferences, groups will be
  selected based on book choices and ability
  grouping.
• The groups will need to be able to work well
  together.
• Once determinedthe following assignment will be
  shared.

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Holocaust Literature Study

• Students will need to begin by creating a plan
  for each book on completing the reading within
  the time period available.
• Deadline should be before Spring Break!
• Preferably by the AR deadline
• Teacher will also need to assist groups in
  creating a timeline for each of the books
• Help each group determine their plans for reading
  and completing the book on time.

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Holocaust Literature Study

• Will need to develop an assessment for presenting
  the books to the entire class
• Project based presentation required to acquaint
  all students in each class with each book and the
  information shared in particular with the
  non-fiction selections
• Will need to include an outline to follow for
  presentation purposes

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Holocaust Literature Study

• All students will be required to take the AR quiz
  on their Holocaust book for a grade in English
  class gradebook
• Book report ideas found at the following website
  http//www.teachnet.com/lesson/langarts/reading/b
  ookrepts1.html