When I began reading Ch.1, I was thinking of the time period the Holocaust was occurring; in the early to mid 1940's. I think that students should be given background knowledge on World War II and the Holocaust before reading this book. I think that 6th grade would be an appropriate grade to present this information. This book would be a good way for students to gain a more specific perspective into the perils of World War II and the Holocaust. Along with that perspective, many other themes may be touched on while reading this book, such as stereotypes, discrimination, the importance of human lives, differences, respecting differences in values, beliefs, cultures, religions, and languages, geography, world history, Jewish culture, and how to treat others.
I think that students could feel a connection to the story because of the age of the children, 9 and 11. The students could relate to being that age, and how awful it must have been for these children to go through such a horrific experience at that young age.
I think the author did a very good job at depicting the setting and emotion of living in a concentration camp. It reminded me of a jail, except worse because the people did nothing to be there.
I picked out a few words that I thought the students would need help with:
succumbed, epidemic, crude, receptacles, inmate, meted, hasty, and the german words liebling (darling), and appell (roll call)
If I were reading this book with students I would assess their reading by making sure they understood why Marion was looking for 4 perfect pebbles and why she made this her purpose.
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