Examining the Holocaust

Next week in Language Arts the students will be beginning to read The Diary of Anne Frank.  In connections class we are doing some work to give them some background knowledge on the Holocaust so they are better prepared for reading about Anne Frank.  This is a sensitive topic and I approach it that way.  We've only just begun and the students are very interested and have been asking some really great questions.  Here are a few things that we will be working on during this unit:

- Watching a United Streaming video on the Holocaust.
- Reading and analyzing survivor stories.
- Learning about how the Holocaust affected children.
- Reviewing maps of concentration camps and charting numbers of those lost.
- Reading and responding to articles about modern day genocide, righteous gentiles, and overcoming hatred.

This is a unit that you children may want to talk about with you and it's a great opportunity to discuss many of the above items. 

In Leah's Wake - adult book review

In Leah's Wake

By Terri Giuliano Long

This was another inexpensive Kindle buy and it was interesting for me to read for a few reasons.  It's about a teenage girl who is successful in school and in soccer but at some point she stops caring about everything, falls in with the wrong crowd, and finds her life in a downward spiral.  I thought this was interesting because it shows that kids who get involved with drugs or end up down a dangerous path don't always come from a dysfunctional family.  For the last 9 1/2 years I've taught teenagers and it was interesting to read a book about a "good kid gone bad" because once or twice I've seen it happen and wondered how it could.  As a Mom to little kids it really makes me think about the trying times that are inevitably waiting for us.  This was a decent book and I did find it interesting. 

 

Chasing Rainbows - adult book review

Chasing Rainbows

By Kathleen Long

This book was less than $5.00 for my Kindle and it was a pretty good read.  I'd call it a beach book!  It examines the life of a woman who is dealing with divorce, loss of her job, and grieving for both her father and her baby daughter that she lost soon after she was born.  It's a story of how people deal with grief and how they find a way to move on.  It was a quick read and I liked it!