Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust

Hidden: A child’s Story of the Holocaust

Written by Loic Dauvillier, Illustrated by Marc Lizano and Greg Salsedo

Published By First Second, New York, NY

2012

Reading Level: Lexile- 300, Grade- 3

Winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award 2015

“Holocaust, hiding, France, separated, concentration camp”

Suggested Delivery: independent reading paired with whole class discussion and social studies lesson 

Electronic Resources:

1.   https://kidskonnect.com/history/holocaust/

This resource provides a kid-friendly version of information about the holocaust. The language is simplified and focuses on how the Nazi’s came to power and how the Jewish were discriminated against and forced out of their homes. This resource reflects a lot of the main events that the book covers and would be a great way to have students read about the holocaust before reading to build comprehension.

2.  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/holocaust-collection-teaching-resources

This site provides tons of useful and interesting teaching suggestions for teachers. The site contains ideas for classroom activities, teaching resources, lesson plans across the disciplines and much more for teachers to use to help teach the holocaust.

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Vocabulary:

• Holocaust: destruction or slaughter on a mass scale
• Victory: an act of defeating an enemy or opponent in battle or competition
• Display: to show something in a place where it can be easily seen
• Protect: to keep safe from harm or injury
• Sulk: to be silent or bad tempered out of annoyance or disappointment
• Humiliating: causing someone to feel ashamed and foolish by injuring their dignity and self-respect
• Traitor: a person who betrays a friend, country, principle, etc.
• Pleasant: giving a sense of happy satisfaction or enjoyment

2. Before, During, and After Reading Strategies:

Before Reading

Since the subject of the Holocaust may be a little unfamiliar to some third grade students, introduce the book by asking students to create a KWL chart as a class. Ask the students what the Holocaust is and to jot down on sticky notes what they know about it. Then, ask the students to write down what they would like to learn from the book or lesson about the Holocaust. By creating the KWL chart the students will gain a sense of purpose in reading and build some background knowledge before reading.

During Reading:

The book is told from a narrator’s point of view who leaves a lot of events and feelings open for inference from the reader. Create and inferential comprehension anchor chart that reminds students how to make inferences in the story. Since this is a graphic novel, the illustrations can be very helpful in making inferences as well. Use lines from the text that require comprehension ad in a whole class discussion, have the students make inferences on what the text truly means and record their responses on the anchor chart.

After Reading:

Using this page which provides many short biographies of children from the holocaust, (https://www.graceproducts.com/fmnc/main.htm) . Encourage students to red about other stories that may be similar to Douina’s experiences. Ask the students to write a letter to one of the children they read about and how their biography affected them. The letter should contain specific details from the time period as well as the child’s biogrpaphy

 Writing Activity:

Have students further explore graphic novels by having them create their own graphic novel. Give students the opportunity to brainstorm ideas, create storyboards with illustrations that help to tell the story, and add dialogue and narration. Once students complete their graphic novel, encourage them to publish their work.

Elijah of Buxton

Elijah of Buxton

Written by Christopher Paul Curtis

Scholastic Press, New York, NY

Copyright 2007

Reading Level: Lexile- 1070L, Grade Level: 5-6

2008 Newbery Medal Honor
2008 Corretta Scott King Award
2008 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

“slavery, freedom, Canada, journey, courage”

The first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit, Elijah is best known in his hometown as the boy who threw up on Frederick Douglass. (Not on purpose, of course — he was just a baby then!) But things change when a former slave calling himself the Right Reverend Zephariah W. Connerly the Third steals money from Elijah's friend Mr. Leroy, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the south. Elijah joins Mr. Leroy on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the disreputable preacher, and he discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled — a life from which he'll always be free, if he can find the courage to go back home.

Suggested Delivery: independent reading

Electronic Resources:

1.  http://www.buxtonmuseum.com/history/virtual-elgin-settlement.html

This resource is the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum website. The site contains a ton of great information on the history of Buxton including timelines, significant people and events, photographs, and information on museum exhibits. I think this resource would be useful in building background knowledge of the setting and people in the story.

2.  http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_war/underground_railroad.php

This resource is a page from ducksters.com which provides a lot of useful information about the underground railroad. This page would be useful for incorporating social studies into reading lessons for the book. The website also contains many other articles and pages of important people, events, and interesting facts from the Civil War era

Teaching Suggestions

1. Vocabulary

•       Conjure: to make something (appear) unexpectedly or seemingly from no wear as if with magic
      Scallywags: a person who behaves badly but in an amusingly mischievous rather than harmful way
      Shackles: a pair of fetters connected together by a chain, used to fasten a prisoner’s wrists or ankles together
      Paddy rollers: slave patrollers
abolitionist: a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially slavery
 slavers: a person dealing in or owning slaves
plantation: an estate on which crops are cultivated by resident labor

2. Before, During, and After Reading Strategies:

Before Reading:

Since much of the dialogue from the story is authentic to the setting of 1860, Buxton Canada, most of the dialogue and language in the book contain some unknown vocabulary as well as words and phrases from a different dialect than the students are probably used to. Use the below infographic chart to pre-teach some essential vocabulary, jargon, and vocabulary comprehension strategies. Students can use the infographic as a reference during reading to remind them of the meaning of some difficult words or slang, and to remind them how to use context clues and words parts to identify unknown words.

During reading:

The cast of characters demonstrates strong character traits that differ greatly from one another.  Ask the students to think of how some of the characters differ in the story. During reading, have the students split a piece of paper into thirds and label each third as “Elijah,” “The Preacher,” and “Mr. Leroy.” Ask students to think of each character’s character traits and write down what each character would say if they were talking about Elijah. Students should think about how would Elijah describe himself, how would the preacher or Mr. Leroy describe Elijah

After Reading:

Using Picktograph, have the students work in pairs to analyze and create an infographic map (like the one above) of Elijah’s character change throughout the story. Give students the opportunity to look at events and major turning points in the group, brainstorm and create a graphic organizer or outline before creating their infograph. Encourage the students to share their infographs with the rest of the class.

Writing Activity:

The following writing prompt draft can be used after completing the story to have students demonstrate their inferential comprehension of the story by having them explain the significance of some important events from the text.

Frederick Douglass says the second hardest step to freedom is the first one, and the hardest step of all is the last one. This quote is first mentioned when a family of escaped slaves arrives at the settlement, and is brought up again at the end of the story when Elijah is bring baby Hope back to the settlement. Why do you think Elijah says this to hope?” What do you think the quote means and why do you think its important?

The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus

The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus

Written By Jen Bryant, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Eerdman’s Books for Young Readers, Grand Rapids Michigan

Published in 2014

Reading Level: Lexile – 590L, Grade Level – 3

2015 Caldecott Medal Winner

2012 Golden Kite Award Winner for Picture Book Illustration

"lists, writing, biography, words, thesaurus"

For shy young Peter Mark Roget, books were the best companions -- and it wasn’t long before Peter began writing his own book. But he didn’t write stories; he wrote lists. Peter took his love for words and turned it to organizing ideas and finding exactly the right word to express just what he thought. His lists grew and grew, eventually turning into one of the most important reference books of all time.

Suggested Delivery: Individual Reading

Teaching Suggestions

1. Vocabulary:

• Thesaurus: a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms
• Clattered: to make loud rattling sounds, especially made by hard objects
• Peppered: to pelt with or as if with shot or missiles
• Intrude: to bring in without invitation, permission, or welcome
• Lockstep: a way of marching very close in file at the same time
• Concisely: expressing or covering much in few words
• Clarity: clearness as to perception or understanding
• Conviction: a fixed or firm beleif

2. Before, During, and After Reading Strategies:

Before Reading:

Build prior knowledge before reading by asking students questions that promote literal and inferential comprehension of the book. This activity can be done in small groups or whole class discussion and students can respond to questions such as

            1. What is a thesaurus? Who might need one?

            2. What is meant in the title by “the right word?”

Ask students to create a venn diagram that compares and contrasts a thesaurus and a dictionary. Ask students to think about why someone would need to use either, what the purpose of both are, and how they can be used for reading and writing.

During Reading:

Encourage students to closely read the lists in the book. Ask students to keep a vocabulary journal in their reading journals as they read the book. Students can “Think Pair Share” their notes for the words they are collecting and discuss their vocabulary words with a partner and write down additional ideas they receive from the discussion.

After Reading:

Split students up into small groups and ask students to assemble a timeline of Roget’s lifetime. Students can use words from the book, or words they’ve been documenting for vocabulary in their reading journal to incorporate into labeling and describing events on their timeline. Students should try to use as many interesting synonyms as they can to describe Roget’s life and can also incorporate photos, or illustrations to portray the events.

Writing Activity:

Provide students with some of their writing assignments from the past and invite them to look back and re-read them. Ask students to search for words that they would like to replace with more meaningful synonyms. Students can use the text, their vocabulary lists, or a thesaurus to search for synonyms to add into their writing assignments.

Heart and Soul: The story of America and African Americans

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

Written and Illustrated By Kadir Nelson

Copyright 2011

Harper Collins

Reading Level: Lexile- 1050

2012 Nominee of Jane Addams Children’s Book Award for Older Children

2012 Winner of Audie Award for Children’s Titles Ages 8-12

2012 Winner of Coretta Scott King Award for Author (and Illustrator Honor)

“history, African American, inspiration, discrimination, triumphs”

Plot:

Told through the unique point of view and intimate voice of a one-hundred-year-old African-American female narrator, this inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice—the true heart and soul of our nation.

Suggested delivery: Whole group read aloud, a good resource to use in social studies/history lessons

Electronic Resources:

1.  PBS: Slavery and the Making of America

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/

This site provides multiple resources for students to use to learn about the History of Slavery in the United States and the slave experience. The site provides resources such as videos, articles, and first hand accounts of the time period.

2.  The Great Migration: The African- American Exodus North

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129827444

This site offers an interview with Author Isabel Wilkerson about the The Great Migration of African Americans to the north in radio broadcast form and written form. The site also offers great historical picture from the time period and an excerpt from Wilkerson’s book.

Teaching Suggestions:

1.  Vocabulary:

• Complexion: the color or appearance of skin
• Rotunda: a large, round room, sometimes covered by a dome
• Laborers: a person who does hard physical work
• Abolish: to officially end or stop something (such as law)
• Union: The states that were opposed to slavery and never recognized the confederate states’ succession from the country
• Confederacy: The states that supported slavery and succeeded from the Nation
• Emancipation Proclamation: a technical document that granted freedom to all slaves in all areas of the Confederacy
• Sharecropper: a farmer especially in the Southern U.S. who raises crops for the owner of a piece of land and is paid a portion of the money from the sale of the crops

2. Before, During and After Reading Strategies:

Before Reading:

To introduce the book and initiate the lesson, begin by reading the prologue of the text aloud to the class. The entire book is written from the unique point of view of it’s 100 year old female narrator who introduces herself in the prologue.  In order to help students better understand the narrators tone and point of view, use the following comprehension questions to facilitate a whole-class discussion.

1.     Who is speaking, in the prologue? Who is “Honey”?

2.     Who is she addressing?

3.     Why do you think the author chose to tell this story through the voice of a narrator telling the story to someone she cares about?

2. During Reading:

The illustrations Nelson uses in this text are very powerful and help to visually tell the overall story. project some of the illustrations from the text on a screen for the class to see closely while the teacher reads a passage. After completing a passage ask the students questions that relate the art to the literature. Students will use the “Think Pair Share” strategy to discuss their ideas with one another before sharing with the teacher/ class. Have students respond to:

1. What do you see in this picture?

2. Think about what the author described in the passage we just read. What do you think is happening in this picture?

3. What are some major themes you see in Nelson's paintings?

4. How can you use the paintings to help you better understand the story?

3. After Reading:

Have students select a specific person or topic that they would like to learn more about from the book and further research their topic of choice. Students will present the information they’ve learned on their topic to the class in any form they want. For example, students who choose to research a significant person can present their information through a mock interview, by writing a biography, or by creating a mini-movie of the person’s life. A student who chooses to research a specific event can write a play, create a timeline of events, or write about the significance of the event.

Writing Activity:

Ask students to choose a specific event/ time period that was discussed in the book and write a letter from the point of view of an African American boy or girl who took part in the event. The letter should describe what is happening, and require the student to demonstrate inferential comprehension by describing how the event impacts them and how they are feeling.