The happy life of teacher librarians: are you sure the brother died, sweetie?

Helping a kid with a speech on Hana's suitcase.

OK, you can focus your speech on an incident in the book that really had an impact on you. (teacher has told me kid x has read the book).

Kid: Well, I guess the bit where she found out her brother was dead

O-kay...but are you sure the brother died?

Kid: Oh yes, George died.

There's a picture of George as a man here in the book...

Kid: He died, miss.

And here's a paragraph about it (reads paragraph, which describes GEORGE finding out how HANA died in Auschwitz - George having survived the war).

Kid: that's right, Hana died.

Now about your speech, what else do you remember about the novel?

Kid: Dunno

But you read it in class, all together

Kid: Yeah, but I didn't listen much.

So why did Hana have to pack a suitcase?

Kid: it was the war

Which one?

Kid: the one with the Nazis

And that was - ?

Kid: World War.

World War 1 or World War 2?

Kid.  One.  Two.  One.  No, it was Two, wasn't it?

Right...

by the end of the lesson, we had the beginnings of a speech....he went away with a printout of what we had composed so far, and we'll work on it a bit more when the class returns.  There are a couple of others especially needing one on one help, and whose removal from the class makes it all work just a bit better...

The happy life of teacher librarians: one step at a time, and make sure you know WHO died (!)

Cheers

Ruth