Historical Fiction: Refugee – Grades 7 – 10 – Fall 2021 – 10 Weeks

Three different kids.

One mission in common:  ESCAPE.

JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . .

ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . .

MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe . . .

All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers — from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end.

This action-packed novel tackles topic both timely and timeless: courage, survival, and the quest for home.

In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students’ responses to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author’s craft, or personal experiences related to the story. Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response. This specific course is geared toward higher level thinking.  Each literature circle role is directly connected to the 11 elements of critical thinking: big ideas, rules, trends, patterns, language of the discipline, ethics, relationships over time, details, unanswered questions, across disciplines and multiple perspectives.

The class will be a combination of reading comprehension, discussion, lecture and projects.

BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE TOPIC, STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO READ AHEAD OF THE CLASS.

Students should expect approximately two hours of homework weekly.

Have your child join us in this powerful class.

NOTE:

Registration deadline is September 15, 2021.

There must be a minimum of 5 students to run this class.

Amazing class!

Rated 5 out of 5

December 16, 2021

Review of Historical Fiction: Refugee – Grades 7 – 10 – Fall 2021 – 10 Weeks

I am so glad that my mother encouraged me to take this class. Not only did we read and analyze the literature, but we learned the history behind the SS St. Louis, Fidel Castro/Cuba and the Syria conflict as well as what refugees faced. During class, the discussions were lively! My two favorite assignment were (1) the final project where we chose one of the main characters and analyzed their personal growth during their journey as a refugee and the (2) backpack activity, where we had to think on our toes of what we would grab if we had 10 minutes to leave our house. Thank you so much, Eva for teaching an amazing class.

Student