Sample Lesson Plans: THE BOY ON THE WOODEN BOX – DAILY LESSONS – LESSON PLANS DL 1 - Objective - Prologue One objective of this lesson is for students to become acquainted with Leon Leyson, the author of this memoir, through the prologue. Another objective is for students to learn background knowledge about the Holocaust and about Oskar Schindler to provide them with context for the memoir. Lesson 1. Writing - In the prologue, students were introduced to Leon Leyson, the narrator of this nonfiction memoir. Have students to write 3-5 predictions about what they think might happen to him in this book, which tells of his actual experiences during the Holocaust. 2. Class Discussion/Teacher Presentation - Ask students what they know about the Holocaust, writing notes on the board as they provide accurate, factual information. Give all students who have prior knowledge of the Holocaust a chance to contribute. Then present students with a brief overview of the Holocaust. Consider using resources such as a multimedia presentation or detailed handouts. As the book progresses, you will want to provide or have students research to find out more information about the Holocaust and World War II. 3. Group Discussion - Have students get into groups of 2-4. After reading the prologue, have them write down what they have learned so far about the author and what questions they have about his story before they begin chapter 1. Then have each group share their thoughts and questions. Note that the questions do not need to be answered at this point. This is an anticipatory activity to engage students more fully in this memoir. Homework: Students should research Oskar Schindler. Who was he? What did he do during the Holocaust to help Jewish people? They should be ready to share this information during the next class. Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7 1. DL 2 - Objective – Chapter 1 In Chapter 1, readers see that Leon Leyson had a fairly normal childhood, which is in contrast to his experiences in the rest of his memoir. The objective of this lesson is to examine the normal, happy, carefree aspects of Leon's childhood as he explained it. Lesson 1. In-class writing: Go through Chapter 1 to review Leon's relationships with his family, friends, and other members of the community. What do you think Leon gained from each relationship? Why? Give textual support. 2. Group activity: In groups of 2-4, have students review Chapter 1 and discuss which parts reflect Leon's happy childhood. How do these events make them feel toward Leon? 3. Class discussion: Which aspects of Chapter 1 reflect Leon's normal childhood and family life? Homework: Have students write about the following topic: Find specific passages that relate to happy events in Leon's childhood in Chapter 1. What specific words or phrases show that the events or experiences were happy for Leon? Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3 2. DL 3 - Objective Throughout Chapter 1, we see that religion is very important to Leon. The objective of this lesson is to examine the importance of the Jewish religion in Leon's life, and in the lives of his family and Jewish members of his community, citing specific evidence from the text. Lesson 1. Group activity: In groups of 2-4, have students discuss the following: In what ways is religion, membership in other types of groups, or being part of different causes important to people? How can this help people? 2. In-class writing: How do you know that Leon's Jewish religion is a significant aspect of his life? Find examples from Chapter 1. 3. Class discussion: Cite examples from Chapter 1 demonstrating that religion is significant in Leon's life. In what ways does he seem to benefit from this? How does his religion seem to affect him? How does their Jewish faith seem to affect his family and his community? Homework: Pick a religious practice that Leon mentions in Chapter 1. Research it further, and write about it briefly. Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1 3. DL 4 - Objective Within Chapter 1, there are many different examples of religious discrimination or hints of possible future discrimination. The objective of this lesson is to find examples of religious discrimination and hints and/or foreshadowing about possible future religious discrimination in Chapter 1, drawing evidence from specific details in the text. Lesson 1. In-class writing: After specifying what discrimination is and what it means, have students write about this: Have you ever seen or experienced discrimination of some sort? How? What happened? How did it affect you? If you haven't experienced discrimination, write about another person's experience that you know about or have read or heard about. 2. Group activity: In groups of 3-4, have students discuss the following: What examples of discrimination have you heard of? What are some of the effects of discrimination? What might be some of the causes of discrimination against particular types or groups of people? 3. Class discussion: In Chapter 1, in what ways are Leon and other Jewish members of the community in Narewka discriminated against? How does it seem to affect them? What are some hints from Chapter 1 that the discrimination against them because of their Jewish religion might continue as Leon's story progresses? Homework: Research Poland and other countries in the early and late 1930s. What examples of discrimination against Jewish people before the Holocaust can you find? Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9 1. DL 5 - Objective – Chapter 2 The narrator of this memoir is Leon Leyson, and all of his experiences are told from his perspective. The objective of this lesson is to choose an event in Chapter 2 as Leon and his family are living in Krakow and to view the event from another perspective. This should be an event that involves Leon directly. Lesson 1. Class discussion: Discuss point of view and narration in nonfiction. Have students pick out interesting events involving Leon in Chapter 2. Then have them think about how the event might have been written about by another person involved. Brainstorm as a class to come up with an example or two. 2. In-class writing: Have students write about: Choose an event in Chapter 2 of The Boy on the Wooden Box that involves Leon. Write the event, instead, from the perspective of another person who was involved or who observed the event. Make sure to specify which event you are writing about and from whose perspective you are writing. 3. Student presentation: Have students present their writing to the class. Give students a chance to ask questions and to share their thoughts. Homework: Have students write about the following topic: Take the event that you focused on in class and write about it from an objective, third person point of view. Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3a 2. DL 6 - Objective As students progress through this memoir, there will be many instances where people are forced to deal with uncertainty. The objective of this lesson is to examine areas in Chapter 2 of The Boy in the Wooden Box where people deal with uncertainty. Lesson 1. In-class writing: Have students write about: Provide 1 or 2 examples from Chapter 2 where people deal with uncertainty. What are they uncertain about? How do they cope or try to deal with uncertainty? 2. Group activity: In groups of 2-4, have students discuss the areas from the text they found where people were dealing with uncertainty. 3. Class discussion: As a whole class, discuss areas in the chapter where people deal with uncertainty. Discuss why they might react as they do to increasing uncertainty. What are some examples students can think of where people must deal with uncertainty? This could be something they experienced or something they heard about. Homework: Have students write about some of the ways Leon and other people in the book dealt with uncertainty. If the way they dealt with it was not explicitly stated in the text, how might they have dealt with it, rationally and emotionally? Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 3. DL 7 - Objective As this book progresses, it is very apparent that what is happening in the world, and especially with Germany and Poland and their governments, greatly affect Leon and his family. The objective of this lesson is to have students learn more about the historical context behind the events in Chapter 2 utilizing research techniques. Lesson 1. In-class writing: Have students write briefly about: What historical events that were mentioned in Chapter 2 do you feel that you need more information about regarding conflicts within Poland, outside of Poland, and between Poland and other countries as well as about discrimination against Jewish people? List 2-3 examples. 2. Group activity: After coming up as a class with areas that students need more historical information about, have students work in groups of 2-4 to research these areas to add to their understanding of the context and setting of the memoir. They should also figure out how their research adds to their understanding of the memoir. 3. Student presentations: Have each group present the historical information they came up with. Homework: Have students briefly research and write about the following: What was the most important thing that you learned through your research of the historical events that will help you to better understand the book? Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7 DL 8 - Objective – Chapter 3 In Chapter 3, Leon describes posters that utilize propaganda about Jewish people.