Greetings! We are entering an exciting themed literature unit in Portable D, and the theme is framed by the following central questions: 1. What does it mean to help others in a dangerous time? 2. What does it take to be a child who finds courage to help others, in spite of danger? The backdrop for our learning will be a selection of excellent children’s literature, in which children face daunting and dangerous situations and find courage to help others. We will be discussing these books in class in book groups that we call “literature circles.” Students will need to be prepared and thoughtful during those discussions, in order to come close to the heart of the central questions. They will also need to keep up in their reading in order to discuss the book. I encourage you parents and guardians to take this wonderful opportunity to read some of these books with your child. (And I encourage you students to read these books with your parents and guardians!) An annotated list of our books follows. Many of the stories tell about difficult times, including several books dealing with Nazi terror during World War Two. Please consider exploring that topic with your children in a sensitive way before and during this unit. On this note, if any of you know of a relative or someone on the Island who had an experience of maintaining courage in the face of danger, and who might like to address our students in class, please let me know. I am aware of some Holocaust survivors living on Mercer Island, and their stories from their childhood leave an impression. It is possible that we may have one of them talk to our class. Lastly, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time during this unit to discuss any concerns or comments you would like to share. I would welcome the chance to speak with you! Sincerely, Dave Menz (206) 236-9997 davidmenz-at-earthlink-dot-net - - - - - - - - - - - - - Book List
Lawrence, Jacob. (1968). Harriet and the Promised Land. New York: Simon & Schuster. This book contains the dramatic and richly-colored art and poetry of Jacob Lawrence, describing the childhood and life of Harriet Tubman as she prayed for continued courage to lead slaves to freedom in the antebellum South. It depicts the conditions of slavery in the United States and risks and hardships of trying to escape. It will provide ample material for initial discussion. McSwigan, M. (1942). Snow Treasure. New York: Scholastic. This book provides an interesting perspective on the stoicism expected by an earlier generation. It is a story set in Nazi-occupied Norway during World War Two. In winter, the children of Riswyck are told that they must help their country by smuggling gold bars from the national banks out of the Norway. Adults in their community help them load their sleds with the gold for a 9-mile trek down to the fjord. On each trip, they must pass Nazi guards and hope not to be caught. The characters find themselves examining multi-cultural viewpoints. Ransom, C. (2002). Rescue on the Outer Banks. Minnesota: Carolrhoda Books, Inc. This book can be a choice for a literature circle. Ten-year old Sam Deal likes to ride his horse on the Atlantic coastline in North Carolina. It is 1896. His favorite pastime is riding the beach to visit the Life Saving Station at Pea Island. There he learns the techniques used by the surfmen to rescue people shipwrecked at sea. He is repeatedly told that he is too young to help them for real. Yet, on one stormy night, it is Sam and his horse who prove instrumental in helping during a shipwreck in the raging sea. Sam is Black, and Pea Island was the first all-Black life saving station in the U.S. Life Saving Service (later the U.S. Coast Guard). Ardizzone, E. (1958) Tim All Alone. Oxford: Oxford University Press. This book can be a choice for a literature circle. Richly illustrated by the author, this is a story from the Tim series, in which young Tim (about age 10) comes back from being at sea to find that his parents have moved (they believe he has perished). Tim embarks on a harrowing solo trek down the coast to find them. Along the way he finds the courage to sustain himself and to help the crew of the Amelia Jane. Tim’s industriousness and devotion to hard work are some of his main character traits relating to his courage in this book. As in all of the Tim books, this one has a disastrous shipwreck. Lewis, P.O. (1997). Frog Girl. California: Tricycle Press. Literature circle book choice. Richly illustrated by the author, this is the story of a Native American girl living with her tribe on inland Pacific Northwest waters perhaps 200 years ago. When a volcano threatens her village, she finds the courage to rescue spirit “people” in danger. She faces raining lava and forest fire alone. Driscoll, L. (2003). George Washington Carver. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. In contrast to the other books, this one provides a choice of an expository informational text on the life of George Washington Carver, who faced a childhood of significant isolation and abandonment, only to keep courage alive and to put his learning to work to serve the common good. Polacco, P. (2000). The Butterfly. New York: Philomel Books. Literature circle book choice. Richly illustrated by the author, this is the story of Monique, around age 11, living in a French village being terrorized by Nazi occupiers during World War Two. She discovers by accident that her own family is part of the Resistance, helping to smuggle Jews out of France. Monique has to have courage to live under the Nazi occupation, but she has to find even more courage to help her new friend, Sevrine, when they are discovered in hiding. Sendak, M., Kushner, T. (2003). Brundibar. New York: Hyperion. Book choice for literature circle. This is an unusually formatted text which may suit certain developing readers or readers who are artistic and willing to take a risk. It is the re-telling - through lavish drawings and text - of an opera created by Jews in the Jewish concentration camp of Terezin during Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. The actual opera was performed 55 times - by children - within the ghetto camp between 1938 and 1942. It is the story of two children who venture into the town to find some milk to help heal their ailing mother. They find the going rough, and eventually stumble into Brundibar, a tyrant (representing Hitler). With the help of other children from the ghetto, Brundibar stumbles and loses his control over them. A limitation in this book is its artistic and poetic phrasing, which may be hard for some children to follow. Yet, the pictures and the theme are likely to lead the reader on to sufficient comprehension, to enable thoughtful discussion of the book in class. Lowry, L. (1989). Number the Stars. New York: Random House. This could be a book choice for literature circle, or a second read-aloud book for the teacher, or both. It is the story of ten-year old Annemarie, living in Denmark in 1943, who discovers the dangers of Nazi occupation, when her school friend must abruptly leave her home because she is Jewish. Annemarie becomes an actor with a part in smuggling Jews to safety. Learning Objectives Here, are the learning objectives for our unit, beginning with five content “generalizations” which I derived from the central questions. After we examine these stories more closely as a class, I will be open to students coming up with their own generalizations about the character traits that give rise to the courage to help others, even in the face of danger. 1. Students will understand that even when faced with risk to themselves, people of any age can make effort to protect others. 2. Students will understand that even when you find courage to help others, you may need help from others in order to take action. 3. Students will understand that the courage to help others in the face of danger can come from inner belief in goodness and rightness. 4. Students will understand that helping others in a time of danger may be a way of being true to yourself. 5. Students will understand that there may be costs and sacrifice when using courage to help others in a dangerous time. Skill objectives: 6. Students will be able to identify several key passages in their book that show how the character had courage to help others. 7. Students will be able to summarize events, ideas, and character traits, and to form declarative general statements about what it takes to have courage to help others in a dangerous time. 8. Students will be able to discuss their reading, their questions and observations, in a way that addresses the theme of courage to help others in times of danger. Resources Finally, here are some resource links, for those of you able to get to a computer with internet connection. About literature circles About Patricia Polacco http://www.patriciapolacco.com/books/butterfly/butterfly_navigations.html For adults interested in the foundations of a themed literature unit http://fac-staff.seattleu.edu/kschlnoe/web/TLU/TLU.html
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