Themes• Anti-Semitism• Survival• Hope• Fear• Courage• Identity
Grades3up HC:978-0-8234-2251-7•$18.95 PB:978-0-8234-2595-2•$8.99
Holiday House
AbouttheBookIrena Sendler was a diminutive Polish social worker who helped spirit nearly four hundred children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.IrenaSendlerwasayoungCatholicsocialworkerinWarsawwhentheGermansinvadedPolandin1939.RealizingthatthefateoftheJewsintheWarsawGhettowasdeath,SendlerjoinedanundergroundorganizationcalledtheCouncilforAidtoJews.Operatingunderthecodenameof“SisterJolanta,”Irenaarrangedfornearlyfourhundredchildrentobesmuggledoutoftheghetto.Olderchildrenleftthroughthesewersorwith“workbrigades,”andyoungeronesweretakenoutinambulancesandtoolboxes.Theywereallplacedinsafehousesororphanages.Theirnameswerechangedtoprotectthem;butIrenakeptalistoftheirrealidentities,whichshesafelyburiedintwobottlesbeneathanappletree.Thisisherstory.
Educator’s Guide
and the Children of the Warsaw GhettoIrenaSendler
bySusanGoldmanRubinillustratedbyBillFarnsworth
H “A moving tribute to a courageous woman.” —Booklist (starredreview) “Arresting oil paintings pair with vivid prose [in this] haunting and unflinching portrait of human valiance.” —Publishers Weekly (starredreview)
H
Common Core
Connections Inside
Anti-Semitism—Askstudentstodiscusshowthe“ghettobenches”attheUniversityofWarsawwereanactofanti-Semitism.Asastudent,IrenasatwithJewsonaghettobenchtodemonstrate“solidarity.”HowdidthisveryactforeshadowherworktosaveJewishchildrenduringtheHolocaust?Notetheillustrationonpages4–5.WhatdistinguishestheJewishstudents?Howarethesesymbolsanactofanti-Semitism?
Survival—IrenaSendlerjoinedtheCouncilforAidtoJewsandwasgivencommandoftheDepartmentofHelpforJewishChildren.Explainhowthisundergroundorganizationcarriedoutitswork.ManyofthechildrenthatSendlerrescuedgrewupnotknowingthattheywereJewish.Whywasthisimportantfortheirsurvival?IrenawasarrestedandherlifewasthreatenedaftertheGestapowasinformedofherundergroundactivities.Discusshowherworkwasmoreimportanttoherthanherownsurvival.
Hope—Irenaisstandingoutsidealighteddoorwayintheillustrationonpage8.Whatisontheothersideofthatdoor?Studyeachillustrationinthebook.Notehowoftenasinglelightisusedinanotherwisedarkandsombersetting.DiscusshowthelightrepresentshopefortheJewishchildren.WhatisthesignificanceofthelightthatshinesonIrena’slistofnamesonpage24?Discusstheillustrationonpages30–31.Notethegreengrassandthehintofspring.Howdoesthissymbolizehope?
Fear—ManyofthepeopleintheJewishghettoinWarsawdiedatTreblinka,aNazideathcamp.HowdidthefearofthedeathcampsgivefamiliesthecouragetohandtheirchildrenovertoZegota,thecodenamefortheCouncilforAidtoJews.Discusshowthecoverartcommunicatesfear.Studytheillustrationsthroughoutthebookanddiscusstheartist’suseofdarkcolors.
Courage—Irenashowedcouragethroughoutherlife.ExplaintheriskandthecourageittookforhertogivefalsedocumentstothechildrenanddefytheordersoftheNazis.DiscussthecourageoftheChristianPoleswhooperatedsafehousesforhiddenJews.IrenaSendlersaidthatshehelpedrescueJewishchildrenbecause“myhearttoldmeto”(p.35).Debatewhethercourageisamatteroftheheart.
Identity—Discussthemeaningoftheillustrationonpages22–23.ExplainthepurposeofSendler’slistofnames,whichshehidintwobottlesandburiedunderanappletree.Asktheclasstodiscusswhyitwasimportantforthechildrentoreconnectwiththeirheritage,eventhoughitwasunlikelythattheycouldeverbereunitedwiththeirfamilies.WhatistheironythatintheendIrenaSendlerhadtochangeherownidentityandliveinsafehousesforawhile?
ThematicConnectionsClassroom Discussion 2 5.RI.2, 5.RL.7
Askstudentstoreadaboutanti-Semitismatthefollowingwebsite:www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005175.
Thenhavethemwriteashortsummarycalled“Whatisanti-Semitism?”LeadaclassdiscussionaboutwhyitissoimportanttoreadbooksabouttheHolocaust
andtoknowaboutpeoplewhoriskedtheirlivestohelptheJews.
Pre-ReadingActivity 1 4.L.4, 4.RI.2
Thevocabularyinthebookisn’tdifficult,butstudentsshouldbeencouragedtojotdownunfamiliarwordsandtrytodefinethembytakingcluesfromthecontext.Suchwordsmayinclude:refugees(p.3),resistance (p.4),brigade (p.10),couriers (p.18),blackmailers (p.21),retaliated(p.25),havens (p.25), livid (p.26),andemigrate(p.35).
CurriculumConnectionsLanguage Arts 3 5.RI.7, 5.W.2
OneofthemanyawardsandhonorsthatIrenaSendlerreceivedbeforeherdeathwastheOrderoftheSmile.Findoutwhatthisawardrepresents.Thenwritethetributethatmighthavebeendeliveredtoheronthedaythatshereceivedthisaward.
4 5.RI.8, 5.W.1
IrenaSendlerdidn’tseeherselfahero.Shesaid,“Aheroissomeonedoingextraordinarythings.WhatIdidwasnotextraordinary.Itwasanormalthingtodo”(p.37).ShefeltthattheJewishchildrenandtheirmothersweretherealheroes.WritealetterthatPiotrZettingerorElzbietaFicowskamightwritehailingSendlerahero.
Social Studies 5 6.W.2, 6.W.7 Askstudentstolookintheindexofthebookandpickatopicforfurtherresearch.Suchtopicsmayinclude:WarsawGhetto,WarsawUprising,PolishSocialistParty,resistancemovement,Zegota,andsafehouses.Havethemprepareafive-minutepresentationtobedeliveredtosomeonewhoknowsnothingaboutthetopic.Suggestthattheyuseblack-and-whitephotosfromtheInternettoaugmenttheirpresentation.
6 6.RL.7, 5.RI.6
Askstudentstodefineoral history.WhyisoralhistorysoimportanttounderstandingeventssuchastheHolocaust?InstructstudentstovisittheoralhistorysectionoftheUnitedStatesHolocaustMemorialMuseumatthefollowingwebsite:www.ushmm.org/research/collections/oralhistory/.ThenhavethemwriteareactiontothepersonalstoriesoftheHolocaustsurvivors.Howweretheexperiencesofthesurvivorsdifferent?Howweretheysimilar?HowdidlisteningtothemmakethehorroroftheHolocaustseemmorereal?
Science/Health 7 5.RI.9, 5.W.1
ThepoorlivingconditionsintheJewishghettocausedatyphusepidemic.Findoutthesigns,symptoms,andtreatmentoftyphus.WhatotherdiseasesplaguedtheJewishghetto?WhatdidtheGermansthinktheWarsawDiseaseControlDepartmentcoulddoaboutatyphusepidemicwhenthelivingconditionsweresopoor?Discussthetermbiological warfare.MighttheGermanshavebeenguiltyofbiologicalwarfaresincetheycausedthepoorlivingconditions?
Art 8 5.W.2
Irena’sstorydidn’tbecomeknownuntil1989whentheCommunistregimecollapsedandPolandbecameademocraticrepublic.Designafull-pagetributetoIrenaSendlerthatElzbietaFicowska,PiotrZettinger,TeresaTucholska,andotherchildrensherescuedmighthaveplacedinaWarsawnewspaperonhernamedayin1989.Inplanningthedesign,considersymbolsforpeace,caring,hope,courage,love,sacrifice,andhonor.
Drama 9 6.RL.2, 6.RL.9
IrenaSendlerdiedattheageof98onMay12,2008.Sheoncesaidthattheworldcouldonlybecomeabetterplaceifwelearnedandpracticed“love,toleranceandhumility.”Askstudentstofindapoemoranexcerptfromaworkoffictionthatrepresentslove,tolerance,orhumilityandreaditaloudinclassasatributetoIrenaSendler.
Vocabulary/UseofLanguage 10 4-5.RI.4
1 4.L.4Determineorclarifythemeaningofunknownandmultiple-meaningwordsandphrasesbasedongrade4readingandcontent,choosingflexiblyfromanarrayofstrategies.4.RI.2:Determinethemainideaofatextandexplainhowitissupportedbykeydetails;summarizethetext.
2 5.RI.2Determinetwoormoremainideasofatextandexplainhowtheyaresupportedbykeydetails;summarizethetext.5.RL.7Analyzehowvisualandmultimediaelementscontributetothemeaning,tone,orbeautyofatext(e.g.,graphicnovel,multimediapresentationoffiction,folktale,myth,poem).
3 5.RI.7Drawoninformationfrommultipleprintordigitalsources,demonstratingtheabilitytolocateananswertoaquestionquicklyortosolveaproblemefficiently.5.W.2Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideasandinformationclearly.
4 5.RI.8Explainhowanauthorusesreasonsandevidencetosupportparticularpointsinatext,identifyingwhichreasonsandevidencesupportwhichpoint(s).5.W.1:Writeopinionpiecesontopicsortexts,supportingapointofviewwithreasonsandinformation.
5 6.W.2Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideas,concepts,andinformationthroughtheselection,organization,andanalysisofrelevantcontent.6.W.7Conductshortresearchprojectstoansweraquestion,drawingonseveralsourcesandrefocusingtheinquirywhenappropriate.
TheCommonCoreStateStandardsAdaptibility Note The activities suggested within this Educator’s Guide can easily be adapted to conform to the listed Common Core Standards in the entire 3 and up grade range.
6 6.RL.7Compareandcontrasttheexperienceofreadingastory,drama,orpoemtolisteningtoorviewinganaudio,video,orliveversionofthetext,includingcontrastingwhatthey“see”and“hear”whenreadingthetexttowhattheyperceivewhentheylistenorwatch.5.RI.6Analyzemultipleaccountsofthesameeventortopic,notingimportantsimilaritiesanddifferencesinthepointofviewtheyrepresent.
7 5.RI.9Integrateinformationfromseveraltextsonthesametopicinordertowriteorspeakaboutthesubjectknowledgeably.5.W.1Writeopinionpiecesontopicsortexts,supportingapointofviewwithreasonsandinformation.
8 5.W.2Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideasandinformationclearly.
9 6.RL.2Determineathemeorcentralideaofatextandhowitisconveyedthroughparticulardetails;provideasummaryofthetextdistinctfrompersonalopinionsorjudgments.6.RL9Compareandcontrasttextsindifferentformsorgenres(e.g.,storiesandpoems;historicalnovelsandfantasystories)intermsoftheirapproachestosimilarthemesandtopics.
10 4-5.RI.4Determinethemeaningofgeneralacademicanddomain-specificwordsandphrasesinatextrelevanttoagrade(4-5)topicorsubjectarea.
AbouttheAuthorandIllustratorSusan Goldman RubinistheauthorofFireflies in the Dark: The Story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeisand theChildren of Terezin,aSydneyTaylorAwardHonorBook,aNationalJewishBookAwardfinalist,andaBooklist TopTenArtBookforYouth.HerotherbooksincludeThe Anne Frank Case: Simon Wiesenthal’s Search for the TruthandThe Flag with Fifty-six Stars: A Gift from the Survivors of Mauthausen,bothillustratedbyBillFarnsworth,aswellasacollaborationwithElaWeissberger,The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezin.ShelivesinMalibu,California.FormoreaboutSusan,visitheronlineatwww.susangoldmanrubin.com.
Bill Farnsworth hasillustratednumerousbooksforchildren,includingseveralbySusanGoldmanRubinaswellasA Hero and the Holocaust: The Story of Janusz Korczak and His Children and A Hero for Civil Rights,bothbyDavidA.Adler.Inadditiontohisworkwithchildren’sbooks,Billisafineartistwhohascreatedmanypaintingsformagazines,advertisements,andcommissionedportraitsandlandscapes.HelivesinFlorida.Formoreabouthim,visitwww.billfarnsworth.com.
GuidepreparedbyPatScales,retiredschoollibrarianandindependentconsultant,Greenville,SouthCarolina.
Holiday House425MadisonAvenueNewYork,NY10017
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Web LinksThe Irena Sendler Projectwww.irenasendler.org/default.aspTheStoryoftheLifeinaJarproject
The U.S. Holocaust Museumwww.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?Moduleid=10005188AnarticleabouttheWarsawGhettoUprising
Jewish Virtual Librarywww.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Zegota.htmlAbriefarticleaboutZegota
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