Book Club: World War II's European Front

Literary Learning Goals:
1. Learners will be able to understand the theme(s) present within a novel based on textual evidence and inference.
2. Learners will be able to diagram the major plot points of a novel with details from the text to support their claim(s).
3. Learners will be able to analyze characters and describe how characters change, what leads to this change, and how these changes impact the story.
4. Learners will be able to identify and describe the impact that dialogue, imagery, structure, etc have on a piece of literature.

Social Studies Learning Goals:
1. Learners will understand the intense discrimination that Jewish people experienced during the Nazi era and World War II.
2. Learners will compare methods of survival across the intense challenges faced by groups targeted during WWII.
3. Learners will gain a deep understanding of resistance and what motivates resistance during times of intense struggle.

In addition the sources noted above, Mrs. Bombard has participated in numerous Holocaust Education learning experiences including those sponsored by:
The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Facing History
Teaching Tolerance
Florida Holocaust Museum

She has been teaching Holocaust and World War II-related content for over a decade for ages 9-16 with a focus on building an understanding of atrocities through literature.

1. Learners will be expected to read the selected novels outside of class. 
2. Between week 5 and 6, learners will be expected to self-select a novel focusing on WWII's European Front, read that novel, and create a short (5-10 minute) presentation about that novel for their peers.

Informal assessment is a natural part of this class, however, families may request a more formal report or grade. If something more formal is needed, please provide notice of that prior to the start date of the class.

55 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 2 - 4 hours per week outside of class.

𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵 & 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 are first-account stories written by the individuals who experienced them. 

𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘉-3087 is a historical fiction retelling of the true story of Ruth and Jack Gruener.

𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 is a historical fiction novel that draws on the real events and individuals, but is predominantly fiction.

Additional source material for this class has shaped the historical context and information. These include:
Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leaders, by Gerhard L. Weinberg
Salvaged Pages: Young Writers' Diaries of the Holocaust, by Alexandra Zapruder
World War II: A New History, by Evan Mawdsley
The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, by Michael Berenbaum