Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down

Sit-In

How Four Friends stood Up By Sitting Down

By Andrea Davis Pinkney

Illustrated by Brian Pinkney

About the book:

Courageously defying the Whites Only edict of the era, four young black men took a stand against the injustice of segregation in America by sitting down at the lunch counter of a Woolworth’s department store. Countless others of all races soon joined the cause following Martin Luther King Jr.’s powerful words of peaceful protest. By sitting down together they stood up for civil rights and created the perfect recipe for integration not only at the Woolworth’s counter, but on buses and in communities throughout the South.

Poetic storytelling and exuberant illustrations combine to celebrate a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality.

About the author:

Andrea Davis Pinkney is the author of many acclaimed picture books and young adult novels and she received a Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor for Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters. She is a children’s book editor at a major publishing company.

About the illustrator:

Brian Pinkney has illustrated numerous books for children, including two Caldecott Honor books, and he has written and illustrated several of his own books. Brian has received the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration and three Coretta Scott King Award Honor Medals

Andrea and Brian are a husband-and-wife team who have collaborated on a number of books for children including the Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor book Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra. They live with their children in New York City.

Curriculum Connections:

Writing

Reading

Social Studies

Mathematics

Music

Art

Across the Curriculum:

Today teachers are asked to get so much done with a standard school day: expand student’s understanding of the world, build their fluency and comprehension of texts, prepare for high stakes tests. Adding children’s literature to your classroom is the perfect way to do all three at once. The lyrical quality of picture books makes them perfect for discussing literary elements like conflict, character and more language oriented goals like identifying similes and metaphor. In addition, the connections that can be made to real-world people and events give authority for the social science curriculum. If the book is too complex for students to be successful independently then it makes a great read-aloud for whole class discussion. Use the following discussion questions and projects as a guide for your exploration of the early 1960’s just as the Civil Rights Movement begins to take shape in the South. This award-winning team will make it easy to weave this compelling story across your curriculum.

Discussion guide:

1. Do you think David Joseph, Franklin and Ezell expected to get a doughnut and coffee when they went to Woolworth’s that day? Why or why not?
2. Why were they so patient and silent? Would you be able to sit without complaining like that?
3. How were they treated like the hole in a doughnut at first? Why do you think it changed?
4. What did the laws of segregation expect people to do (and not do)?  Do you think this was fair?
5. How were they encouraged by Dr. King’s words? Whose words encourage you?
6. Could you sit all day long without anything to eat? How did the first day end?
7. Why do you think more students showed up the next day at Woolworth’s? Why do you suppose they wore their best clothes?
8. How did the students pass the time? What do you do to pass the time?
9. What does the author mean when she says that lunch counter protests “spread faster than a grease fire?”
10. What was tougher than any school test? Do you think you would pass or not? Why?
11.  Describe how hatred was served to the students. How did some people show their support of the students?
12. Besides lunch counters where else was segregation part of each day?
13. Why were some students arrested? How did they react?
14.  Explain what you think “We are all leaders” means. How can you be a leader in your own community or school?
15.  In the end, what was the result of those brave students’ action? How can a few people end up making such a big difference?

Across the curriculum:

Language Arts-

Reading:

Being able to distinguish what is important and what is extraneous can be difficult for young readers. Help your students build this pivotal skill by teaching them to read with a purpose. Have your students fill out the following graphic organizer as you read the story aloud (or for independent readers on their own). Students should list important facts they hear on one side and on the other write questions they have about the text. Afterwards, discuss student responses and see if any of the questions are answered in the extensive back pages of timelines and historical information.

Important facts:	Questions about the text:
Ex: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words got them started	I wonder if they knew Dr. King or all went to hear him speak together?

Writing:

Andrea Davis Pinkney uses the language of a recipe to bring this story to life. Now you cook up your own ideas and write a recipe for a topic that is important to you or your community. First, have your students bring in copies of their favorite recipes from home. Then, in pairs have them highlight or circle all the verbs in it. Next, brainstorm ideas for a recipe topic (a few to get you started: friendship, love, fairness, a great school year, sportsmanship, etc) and add them to a chart so children can explore other topics as the year progresses. After that, have children take their recipe through the entire writing process. Note how recipes use the fewest words possible but everything must make sense! When complete, have children copy onto a recipe card and display outside your classroom (or in a recipe box)!

Listening:

The four students who began the sit in were inspired by the great speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Have your students listen to Dr. King (and provide a printed copy too) and then discuss why some people have the power to inspire others.  Allow students to highlight or underline the part of the speech that mean the most to them. Then, let them turn and talk to a partner about their selection.

Speaking (or not):

The four cornerstones of language arts are reading, writing, listening and speaking. But in the book the students spoke the loudest by not saying anything at all. They let their actions and their silence speak volumes about what they wanted. Have children brainstorm situations where doing or saying nothing takes more courage than acting out. Have the role play these choices in pairs or small groups.

Art:

Revisit the book and discuss each page of the art and have children discuss why they think Mr. Pinkney made the choices he did to bring the story to life. Be sure to point out the loose lines and the changes between blurred figures and detailed portraits. Ask the children: Why do you think he focused on these figures? Why do you think he chose these colors?  Which illustration is your favorite? Why? How do some pictures depict movement? Then, inspired by the art from the book, have children illustrate their recipes or another scene from the Civil Rights Movement.

Music:

Listen to songs that inspired a generation to stand up against injustice. As people protested or were hauled off to prison they often sang together to show unity and remain peaceful. It’s easy to find recordings of them on the internet but be sure to provide your students with the lyrics if you can. Use them as a springboard to discussion. Some of the most popular titles include: “We Shall Overcome,” “Oh Freedom,” “I Shall Not Be Moved,” “When Will We Be Paid For the Work We’ve Done?” and “going Down to Mississippi.”

Math:

Research the average price today for the following goods compared to their price in 1961. For older students have them calculate the percentage of change.

Prices in 1961	Prices today	Difference or % of increase
Bread:   .25 cents
New car: 2,850.00
Eggs per dozen: .30 cents
Gallon of gas  .27 cents
New house: 12,500.00

Social Studies:

Include Sit In as part of a larger unit on peace or as part of your study of the Civil Rights Movement itself. Have children create a bulletin board display titled Portraits of Peace by painting, drawing or using collage to show important leaders in history who promoted peace. You could extend the lesson by having children create portraits of scenes where children create peace with each other at school or play. Under each portrait have students write on an index card explaining why this person was included in the gallery.

Timeline Project:

Using the timeline in the back of the book as a springboard assign small groups of students to each major event. Have them answer the five journalistic questions (who, what, when, where, why) and create a poster or PowerPoint presentation about what they learned. Present projects in chronological order and share with parents or other classes.

Copper Sun

aCopper Sun by Sharon Draper

About the author:

Sharon M. Draper visited the slave castles in Ghana several years ago. She was so moved, she knew she had to tell the story of one girl who might have made that harrowing journey through “the door of no return.” Sharon currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she writes the stories that teenagers love to read. She’s also a popular conference speaker, addressing educational and literary groups both nationally and internationally. The recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent for Tears of a Tiger, she has also won the Coretta Schott King Award for Forged by Fire, and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor for The Battle of Jericho. Her other books include Romiette and Julio, Darkness Before Dawn and Double Dutch.

About the book:

When Pale strangers enter fifteen-year-old Amari’s village, her entire tribe welcomes them; for in her remote part of Africa, visitors are always a cause for celebration. But these strangers are not here to celebrate. They are here to capture the strongest, healthiest villagers and to murder the rest. They are slave traders. And in the time it takes a gun to fire, Amari’s life as she’s known it is destroyed, along with her family and village.

Beaten, branded, and dragged onto a slave ship, Amari is forced to witness horrors worse than any nightmare and endur humiliations she never thought possible—including being sold to a plantation owner in the Carolinas who gives her to his sixteen-year-old son, Clay, as his birthday present.

Now, survivial, and escape are all Amari dreams about. As she struggles to hold on to her memories  in the face of backbreaking plantation work and daily degradation at the hands of Clay, she finds friendship in unexpected places. Polly, an outspoken indentured white girl, proves not to be as hateful as she’ first seemed upon Amari’s arrival and the plantation owner’s wife, despite her trappings of luxury and demonds of her own, is kind to Amari. But these small comforts can’t relieve Amari’s feelings of hopelessness and despair, and when an opportunity to escape presents itself, Amari and Polly decide to work together to find the thing they both want most…freedom.

Grand and sweeping in scope, detailed and penetrating in its look at the complicated interrelationships of those who live together on a plantation, Copper Sun is an unflinching and unforgettable look at the African slave trade and slavery in America.

Discussion Guide:

1. Descirbe Amari’s reaction to the news that pale-faced strangers are going to visit the village of Ziavi to that of her mother. What does it reveal about their community? How do they treat the strangers and how are they rewarded for their hospitality?
2. After the attack on the village, what happens to Amari and the people of her village? How are Amari’s people betrayed by the Ashanti?
3. Describe the Cape Coast Castle. What is its use? How are people treated there? What do you think would be the most difficult part of Amari’s journey so far? How are some people able to survive such cruelty?
4. Who is Alfi? How does she help Amari to survive the journey? Have you ever had someone who was not family treat you as if you were?
5.  Alfi tells Amari, “…certain people are chosen to survive. I don’t know why, but you are one of those who must remember the past and tell those yet unborn. You must live.” Would you want to live through the degradations and brutality that Amari has faced so far or not? What does she mean by live to tell?
6. Explain the conditions of the slave ship on which Amari, Alfi and hundreds of other souls must try to survive. Whose conditions and treatment are worse, the men or the women? Defend your answer. Is it difficult to read how brutal this account is and know that America was part of the this cruelty?
7. How do unexpected acts of kindness and friendship throughout the novel help Amari to survive her ordeal? What qualities of Amari herself help her to not just live but learn and develop relationships?
8. Why do you think Draper begins to alternate the points of view between Amari and Polly Pritchard? Who is this girl? What is her story? What assignment is Polly given at Derbyshire Farms?
9. Who is Teenie? What does she know of Africa? How does she pass this on to her own son, Tidbit?
10. Describe life on the plantation? Who is kind, who cruel? Which jobs are the most and least desirable? When Amari serves at the mansion, what happens? Why do you think some people, like Massa Derby and Clay, can develop a taste for cruelty?
11.  “We done fell out of a trouble tree and hit every branch on the way down.” (p. 171) What event is Teenie referring to? How does it unwind a length of unimaginable trouble? Describe what happens to all the characters involved.
12.  Why are Amari, Tidbit and Polly sent for auction? Where are their destinations intended to be? Who aids them in their escape? Would you be brave enough to face their journey?
13. What happens along their path to freedom? What direction have they decided to run? Why? Who hinders and helps them?
14. Amari struggles with her feelings towards white people when she has been both subject to vast cruelty and unexpected kindness. How does she deal with these conflicting emotions? Do you think she is wise to trust her friendship with Polly? Why or why not?
15. Where do the runaways land? How is this place not what they were promised but something worthy anyway? Do you agree, “It be better to die for freedom than live as a slave” (p. 297

Extension Projects:

Language Arts:

Write a scene told through the eyes of Amari or Polly five years after the close of the novel.

History:

Create a map of the journey that Amari took from her village in Africa to her final destination.

Art:

Create a piece of sculpture inspired by Amari’s story. Be sure to explain your choice of media, color, form, and shapes in a brief artist’s statement which you enclose with the piece.

Additional Resources:

Visit www.sharondraper.com to learn more about the author of this novel.

www.freedomcenter.org for lesson plans and other information about slaves and their escapes.

www.loc.gov

for vast resources including primary sources about the slave trade in America

This guide was prepared by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a literacy specialist and author of The Floating Circus, visit her website to find hundreds of guides to children’s and young adult literature.

Two Girls of Gettysburg

TEACHER’S GUIDE 

Two Girls of Gettysburg 

by Lisa Klein 

ABOUT THE BOOK 

Lizzie and Rosanna are cousins and best friends, but when the Civil War 

explodes around them their loyalties and friendship are tested by the 

extraordinary times. Fascinating details about life as a civilian are woven 

into this epic story of friendship, war, and hope. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Lisa Klein is a former English professor who lives in Columbus, Ohio, with 

her family. Her first novel, which Publishers Weekly called “powerful and 

impressive,” was Ophelia, a retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW 

Your first novel was a retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Can you

compare your process between the two? 

Well, I discovered it isn’t any easier or quicker to write a second novel than 

a first one. For both books, the writing process was similar. Opheliahad

a pretext in Hamlet, and the Civil War, especially the battle of Gettysburg, 

was the pretext for this book. I set my story of Lizzie and Rosanna around 

existing historical events—or rather, their story sprang from the events,

just as Ophelia sprang from Hamlet. However, I rewrote both books again 

and again to be sure the characters and their dreams  dilemmas, and

relationships stood out from any background story and became the real 

focus. 

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After reading your author’s note it is obvious that you spent a great deal 

of time on research to so convincingly bring this story to life. How did 

you deal with so many details? How long did it take you to research? 

I love doing research for any topic that grabs my interest.  Writing stories 

has become a good excuse for me to study all sorts of things that fascinate 

me, in this case, the Civil War. Then to write a convincing story, I have to 

feel like I am there next to my characters.  That meant studying the battle 

of Gettysburg hour by hour, and making timelines that matched the histor- 

ical events to incidents in my characters’ lives.  It meant going to Gettysburg 

and walking the battlefield and the streets in order to imagine the suffering 

and terror that unfolded there, I do research before I start writing

and continue even as I write—if I need to know more about Civil War 

medicine, for example—so the two processes are not separate. It probably 

took me about two years to research and write the first complete draft.

Why did you decide to tell the story through two viewpoints? Did you 

struggle with one side more than another? 

At first it was primarily Lizzie’s story, but Rosanna started to demand

more face time. Her voice grew more distinctive and, being the more

adventuresome character, her story became more interesting.  In the end I 

had to go back and work on Lizzie to make her steadiness appealing and 

to show how the events of the war change her in a more subtle way than 

they do Rosanna.  I hoped that using two viewpoints would give readers 

two very different characters to react to and identify with.

Are you more like Lizzie (plain spoken and practical) or Rosanna

(complicated and romantic)?

That’s easy. I am more like Lizzie.  But I’ve had friends like Rosanna

(my locker partner, freshman year of high school) and they leave me

shaking my head! 

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Many young people are seeking publication these days. Do you 

have any advice for them? What was the best piece of writing 

advice you ever received? 

I think you should write whatever you want when you are young. 

Write poetry, journals, articles for the school newspaper. Try to 

write like your favorite writers.  It’s a good exercise. Don’t feel like 

you have to be a prodigy and publish by a certain age. I didn’t start 

writing fiction until I was in my forties!  Maybe I should have

started earlier, but I was too busy, and I don’t think I had sorted 

through my life experiences yet.  The writing advice I live by was 

given to me in a poetry class, but it is just as true for fiction: Make 

every word count. 

What can your fans look forward to next? 

My fans! Oh, that’s funny. My teenage sons can’t believe that girls 

think their mom is cool. I’m working on another Shakespeare- 

themed novel, tentatively called Lady Macbeth’s Daughter. Set in the 

eleventh century, it has provided me an excellent excuse to visit 

ancient ruins in Scotland! 

PRE-READING 

Brainstorm everything you know about the Civil War. Then sort the 

information into the following categories: people, events, life during 

the war, causes and effects. Circle the things you think will be most 

important to the story. Discuss how reading historical fiction can 

give readers a well-rounded understanding of important events. 

DISCUSSION GUIDE 

Compare and contrast Lizzie and Rosanna. How are they similar? 

How are they different? What do they both want and need?  Who 

would you most like to be friends with? Why? How would you 

describe how they both changed from the beginning of the novel to 

the end? Who do you think changed more fundamentally?

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Papa and Luke both volunteer to serve the Union cause. What were their 

motivations? What are the effects of their decision? Is it a sacrifice for those 

left at home too? How? Would you have been willing to serve? 

How has Margaret had a difficult life? How does she try to make her way 

in the world? What influence does she try to have over her sister’s life? Why? 

What further tragedy does she face in the novel? Do you think she will be 

able to keep her positive outlook or not? How does her sister’s story

mirror her own? 

Rosanna says, “This war is only a gentlemen’s disagreement. The rallies, 

bands, and armies—they’re all for show. Each side is trying to get the other 

to back down from the duel”. Was this a common opinion of the time? 

What did most people expect about the duration and casualties of the war? 

How did that contrast with the reality of the Civil War? 

The Allbauer butcher shop suffers some financial setbacks when Papa goes 

off to war. Why are things so difficult for the family? How does Lizzie help 

turn it around? How is racism  a part of the problem? Do you think racism 

can still affect profits of small businesses today? How does the Allbauer 

family decide to deal with other people’s opinions? Would you be able to 

suffer the strong opinions of others? 

Rosanna’s loyalties seem to be divided. She makes a Union flag but feels for 

the rebel cause. She claimed to love John Wilcox but twitters over Henry 

Phelps. Can someone be taught loyalty or is it a natural trait? Does Rosanna 

learn to be loyal? How?

Describe the histories of both Amos and Grace. How do they represent the 

cruelties of the institution of slavery? What do you think is the most tragic 

part of both of their stories?  Imagine the contradictions of living in a free 

country where slavery is a part of the legal system.  How can we overcome 

this dark past in our history? 

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Why do you think the author decided to include the journal of Rosanna 

as she travels through the Confederacy and becomes a wife and nurse? Did 

you have any sympathy for the Southern cause by seeing the world through 

her eyes? Would you be willing to be a combat nurse or soldier? 

Compare the romance between John Wilcox and Rosanna to that of Lizzie 

and Martin Weigel. Which one would you prefer? Why? What was the 

secret Rosanna kept about John? Would you trust anyone, even your best 

friend, with the information that Rosanna trusted Lizzie with? Would you 

be able to resist the urge to read personal letters left in your care or not? 

Did John Wilcox become an honorable gentleman? Rosanna thought, 

“marriage would make our love firm and enduring, like baking sets a cake”. 

Do you think this is a realistic view? Would you take a vow to obey?

How do both romances end? 

Explain what happened in the town of Gettysburg on those fateful days. 

How did Lizzie contribute to the outcome of the battle? Why was this a 

strategic location for both armies? In your opinion, who showed the most 

bravery—Rosanna or Lizzie? How did they both serve their families and 

their country? How was the battle witnessed by so many characters but 

from different vantage points? 

How did the war affect everyone’s relationships with friends and family? 

How did Mama, for instance, change under the pressures of the war?

Did the war steal the rest of Luke’s and Lizzie’s childhood? Do you think 

the Allbauers and the McGreevey families became closer because of the 

events or not?

In the end, what dreams and hopes do both Lizzie and Rosanna have for 

their future? Why do you think Rosanna decides to leave Gettysburg? 

Predict what you think their lives will be like five years after the close of the 

novel.

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PROJECTS 

History 

As you read, make a list of facts you learned about the Civil War and life 

during this tumultuous time period in American history.

Research one of the topics from the time period and create a poster, 

Powerpoint or Web page about what you learned: 

• Battle of Gettysburg and other pivotal battles of the war 

• Emancipation Proclamation

• Abraham Lincoln 

• Prisoners of war in the Civil War 

• General of the Union Army 

• Generals of the Confederate Army 

• Dorothea Dix and women nurses 

• Medical treatments and battlefield triage of the time period 

• Clothing of the period 

• Food and entertainment of the period 

Memorize or read aloud the Gettysburg address. Discuss the speech after 

reading the novel. How has Lizzie and Rosanna’s story enlightened the 

meaning of the speech for you?

Language Arts 

Create a newspaper with articles that represent major events from the novel. 

Be sure to interview eyewitnesses and create sketches to go with your

articles. 

Math 

Lizzie learns the mathematical and analytical skills to be a terrific

shopkeeper. Design, plan, and explore opening a store of your own.

Create a business plan that figures out your product and expenses (rent, 

capitol necessary to start, staff, etc.). Estimate how long and how much 

product you would have to sell to become profitable. 

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Science and Technology 

Investigate Civil War weapons and how they worked: cannons, mortars, 

rifles. What advances in technology occurred in this area?   How were

hot air balloons used? What kind of ammunition was used and how was it 

produced? How much raw material was used by the North and South to 

produce weapons and ammunition between 1861 and 1865? 

This guide was created by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a reading specialist and author of 

Reaching for Sun(a Schneider Family Book Award winner) and The Floating 

Circus.Visit her Web site to find hundreds of guides to children’s literature. 

NOTE: This teacher’s guide will not be included in the final book but will 

be available at www.bloomsburyusa.com. 

Bloomsbury Children’s Books

175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010 

Distributed by Macmillan 

To order please call 888-330-8477 or fax 800-672-2054 

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Something Remains

Something Remains

by Inge Barth-Grözinger

About the book:

Erich Levi doesn’t quite understand why his father is so gloomy when the Nazis are elected to power. He’s too concerned with keeping his grades up, hanging out by the river with his friends, and studying for his bar mitzvah to worry much about politics.

But slowly, gradually, things begin to change for Erich. Some of the teachers begin to grade him harshly and unfairly- because he’s Jewish. They humiliate him and exclude him from sports events and celebrations. Erich puts up with bullying from the Hitler Youth boys in his class, boys made important and powerful by the uniforms they wear. Most painfully, his family friend Kurt shuns him entirely. At home, things are no better. Money becomes more scarce as his father’s cattle business suffers because no one wants to do business with Jews.

Not everyone is so cruel, though, and many of the Levis’ friends and neighbors remain fiercely loyal at great risk to themselves. With good people still around, Erich can’t believe the situation will last, and stubbornly holds on to his dreams- even as the home he’s always knows becomes a dangerous and alien place.

Inge Barth-Grözinger has brilliantly recreated the life of a Jewish family in a small German town during the Nazi era. Something Remains provides, with terrible, everyday detail, an answer to the impossible question: How could the Holocaust have happened?

About the guide:

This guide includes discussion questions and projects intended to extend the use of the novel into classrooms, book clubs, and literature circles. It should promote discussion on the themes of the novel include friendship, loyalty, betrayal, hope, and violence.

About the author:

Inge Barth-Grözinger is a gymnasium (high school) teacher in Ellwangen, German. Something Remains grew out of an eighteen-month research project she conducted with her students, tracing the Jewish community of their town and school. It was the story of one student in particular, Erich Levi, that inspired Ms. Grözinger to write this novel.

Author Interview:  (I’m not sure if this is possible Angus, but I thought I’d include it)

1. What documents or facts about Erich inspired you to write his story in particular?
2. Was the community accepting of your research and writing of this story? Wasn’t it difficult for the community to revisit this sad history?
3. What was the most difficult part of your research and writing? What has been a surprise?
4. Are you working on any other books for children? Can you tell us about your project?
5. What do you hope readers take away from your novel?

Pre-reading:

How much do you know about WWII and The Holocaust? Have you ever studied the time leading up to “the final solution?” What do you think you could learn by studying one boy’s story?

Discussion Guide:

1. At first, Erich is unafraid of being Jewish under Nazi rule. How does that change over the course of the novel? Which events do you think most change him as a person? Why?
2. Many cruel events take place at school yet Erich and Max rarely share them with their parents. Why do they make this choice? Would you be able to keep these events from your family and friends?
3. The changes in Erich’s treatment at school deteriorate over time. Create a timeline of events and rulings against Erich and his cousin. Which events would be the most difficult for you? What choices would you make like Erich? How would you react differently?
4. How do Erich’s friends react to his growing mistreatment and alienation? Would you be willing to risk your own standing in your school and community to keep a friend? What if, like Kurt, your family was also pressuring you?
5. Dr. Fetzer stands up for Erich at school with is speech on violence. He says, “violence in general and beating people up in particular were no way to solve problems… On the contrary, they create even worse problems. And most important, much that is very valuable is destroyed by violence, lost beyond recall.” What does he mean by this? Is violence ever an answer to a conflict? How is violence used to intimidate citizens throughout the novel? Do people use violence in a similar manner today?
6. While studying The Holocaust in hindsight it is easy to wonder why many Jewish families did not just leave. How does this novel help your understanding of that misconception? Why did so many Jews keep hope that things would improve? What finally convinced Herr Levi to uproot his family? Can you imagine leaving America under similar circumstances?
7. How do the Nazi’s finally convince Kurt of their value? Why isn’t Helmut ever persuaded by their propaganda? How do Helmut and Erich maintain their friendship even when it is too difficult to meet publicly? Would you go to this much trouble to keep a friend?
8. Describe the tactics of the Hitler Youth Movement. How do they appeal to their young members? Who do you think is most susceptible to their persuasive methods? Why? Do you think the youth movement is as cruel as the adults in the story or not?
9. Who is Gertraud Seidel? How does Erich feel about her? To whom is she related? What are they risking by meeting and writing letters? Would you have defied Gremm under these circumstances? In the end, what does he decide to do? Why?
10. How do the events in the story change Erich’s feelings about his own father, mother, brother and even his faith? How would Erich’s life have unfolded if the Nazi’s had never taken power? What would he have studied? Who might he have married?

11. Who are the Mench’s (a Jewish word for good person) in the story? Who surprises them with their loyalty and willingness to stand up for what is right? How do these small acts give the Levi’s faith?

12.  What type of propaganda did the Nazi party use to gain membership and power? Why do you think it is so successful? Do you still think this could happen again today? Why or why not?

13. Discuss Erich’s mother’s remarks, “If we break with our religion and our customs, all those who despise and persecute us will triumph.” Did they triumph over Erich Levi? How does one stand against oppression?
14. In the end, what finally makes the Levi’s flee their home and country? How do the rest of their family fare? What becomes of Erich and his descendents? Why didn’t his grandson accept the Sabbath plate?
15. Do you think the world has changed enough that this could never happen again? Do you see scapegoats still created by others? Are whole groups of people still persecuted for their beliefs, skin color, or religion? How can the world not turn a blind eye?

Projects:

Language Arts:

Read another true account of a young person who lived during WWII in Europe. Compare their stories in a detailed Venn diagram. How were their lives similar? What were quite different?

Music:

Visit this website and learn about how the Nazi regime used music as a form of propaganda:

http://fcit.usf.edu/HOLOCAUST/arts/musReich.htm

Write a brief journal about what you learned.

Art:

Create a piece of art that represents Erich’s experiences in the novel. It can be a sculpture, sketch, painting or any other media you prefer, but you must discuss your artistic choices of media, color and form in a journal that is also included with the art piece.

Social Studies:

Small groups of no more than four should be assigned a topic from the Holocaust to study. Groups must produce a fifteen minute presentation about the information they learned. Each person must give part of the lesson. It can be produced as a powerpoint presentation or other format but must have at least five references as resources:

The rise of the Nazi regime.

Adolf Hitler

Hitler Youth

Anti-semitism

The ghettos

The concentration camps

The resistance movement

Liberation

On Rough Seas

On Rough Seas

by Nancy L. Hull

About the book:

At fourteen, Alec Curtis knows what he wants to be: a seaman. So when Captain Cairns, skipper of the Britannia, offers him a job as a galley boy, Alec jumps at the chance to escape the future his stern father has planned for him. At sea, Alec is free of his family—and the shadow of the tragedy that has changed all their lives.

            With warm looming on the horizon, Alec’s hometown of Dover on the English Channel is a very dangerous place to be. Mysterious things are happening, and Alec is determined to find out why. Who are the special soldiers being billeted at his family’s inn instead of at the encampment? Why are shadowy figures disappearing into the tunnels that run under the old stone castle? And why has his German friend, Eva, been sent away from her parents to live with strangers? The mystery grows as Germany’s forces close in on Britain.

            Then comes devastating news: 300,000 British soldiers are stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk, France. All ships, large and small, must sail across the Channel to rescue them. Nancy L. Hull’s debt novel is a gripping story of courage and growth in the midst of terrible strife.

About the author:
Nancy L. Hull teaches writing and literature at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she has also run the campus roads while training for marathons. For this book, she took research trips in the United States and in England with her family: Bruce, TJ, and Brent.

            The idea for On Rough Seas began in 2000 with an article in the Grand Rapids Press. Dunkirk veterans were planning to cross the English Channel in small boats to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the evacuation. Captivated by their desire to keep the story alive, Hull read extensively from personal accounts about the evacuation and later visited Dover Castle, the Imperial War Museum, and other sites in Britain. As part of her research, she crossed the Channel on a dreary day and imagined the rescuers encountering similar seas in May 1940.

Pre-reading:

What do you hope to be when you get out of school? How would you feel if your parents already had another plan for you? What would you do?

Discussion guide:

1. Why do you think the author decided to open the novel with the scene where Georgie is lost?  What does it reveal about Alec’s motivations and personality? Can you imagine living with his guilt?
2. What adults play an important role in Alec’s life? Have you ever had an older person as a friend? Who else has Alec lost in his life? Which adult does he seem closest to? Why? How would you describe his relationship with his parents?
3. What offer does Captain Cairns make to Alec? What offer would you be unwilling to refuse if it came along? Should parents ever discourage their children from following their dreams? Why or why not?
4. Describe Alec’s first day at sea on the Brittania. Would you want to return to sea under those circumstances?  Knowing that working on a small vessel is one of the most dangerous jobs should his parents allow it? What happens to Badger?
5. Who is Thomas? Why is it important for him to set things straight with Alec? Why are men seemingly so attracted by the possibility of war? Do you think there will always be wars?
6. Alec learns many things by his snooping, spying and eavesdropping. What are the most important and compelling facts he learns with this method? Do you think all people snoop?  Does he ever go too far with his spying? Is what he learns worth the risk? Are you, like Alec, a risk-taker?
7. “War has all kinds of casualties. Those who lose their lives, and those who sometimes lose their hope.” (p. 107) Do you agree? How does the war get closer and closer to Dover? What are the fears of the people of Dover?
8. How does Alec make a new friend in Eva? How does she change his perspective on the war? Predict what you think will happen between them in the future. Can you imagine being sent away like Eva?
9.  Describe the scene at the beach in Dunkirk, France. How does Alec come to witness it? Do you think he was brave or foolish to have gone? What does he do while there? Does this make up for what happened at the beginning of the novel?
10.  What happened to Thomas during the trip back over the English Channel? Do you think Douglas knew the sacrifice he was making? Who made the greatest sacrifice in the novel?
11. Alec keeps a journal throughout the novel. Why do you think he uses this format to express himself? What ways do you work out your own thinking?
12. How does Alec change over the course of the novel? Who do you think has the most influence on his transformation? Which character changed his perspective the most?

Projects:

Language Arts:

Keep a journal like Alec did for at least two weeks. Document not just what happens to you but what you hear, see, and wonder about. At the end of the two weeks read over your entries and write a brief journal about what the experience taught you.

Reading:

Good readers make connections as they read a story. They think about how things from the story relate to their own life, to the world around them, or to stories they’ve already read. As you read ON ROUGH SEAS use the following chart to jot down connections that you make in these three areas. Be sure to list the page numbers of where you made the connection.

Text to Text Connections (something that reminded you of another book you’ve read)	Text to Self Connections (something that you had a personal experience with in your own life. Ex: a row with your dad)	Text to World Connections (something that reminds you of the world around you. Ex: WWII compared to present day conflict)

History:

Research one of the following topics from the novel and create a pamphlet, powerpoint or website about what you learned:

Dover, England

Children escaping Nazi Germany

Hitler’s plan for Europe

The European Theater of WWII

The Luftwaffe

The rescue at Dunkirk, France

bomb shelters

Removal of English children to the north