This class is a discussion based atmosphere, learners will have an assignment each week to read certain chapters, as listed in the class assignment section below,  for when we join together for a weekly meeting for a highly thoughtful and moving discussion of everything involved in the chapters from powerful themes to skills such as conflicts and cliffhangers, voice, emotion, character development, figurative language, resolutions, foreshadowing, and so much more. Equal amounts of time will be spent on the historical perspective of the novel, which is very totally based on truth of real people from the Holocaust time with a mission to get the story out so that the world would know what occurred during this horrific time.  We will be diving into themes that the learners will be coming up with while they’re reading and the class always has the option of a graphic organizer to follow up this class with a five paragraph essay evidence based research writing exercise. That’s an option not a requirement.

 This book pulls the reader in because it is completely based on truth and the high-level of writing is clearly showing the immense amount of research the author did to create the story. The book will absolutely inspire the reader to grow as a decision-maker, a person who hopefully stands up for what is right, no matter, whether the choice is popular or not, and somebody who is able to reflect on their own situation and see the repercussions of their choices .

My classes are always highly respectful and present themselves in a very safe environment where every class members expected to treat everyone else with total respect so that all feel welcome to share their thoughts and opinions and to be a part of the class.

As the themes  and reading skills build a on each other throughout the three weeks, skills include vocabulary in context, sequencing, settings, cliffhangers, backstory, rising action, foreshadowing, prediction, voice, emotion, summarizing, causing and effect just to mention a few.

The themes and thesis statements presented play an equally important role in the story and the learners will find at least 20 different themes through their investigation of the book. This was a book I could not put down.