12.4.13 The Book Thief: Part Two through Four Reading Questions

Mrs. A left you questions to go along with your reading. You may read however you like: in pairs, alone, read as you go and answer questions, read the whole thing and go back and answer questions....whatever works for you.

These are the questions, broken down with guidelines of what you should be doing each day. If you have not finished the summary of Part 1 that is your number one priority. All of this will be done BEFORE Mrs. A gets back!

Day One Work: 

Part Two - The Shoulder Shrug

A Girl Made of Darkness

The Joy of Cigarettes

The Town Walker

Dead Letters

1. What does Liesel give herself as a birthday present?

2. What is the source of the “second Watschen” that Liesel receives?

3. Explain the colors in this chapter/scene. For example, what color does Lisel

know the real scene was and what color did she see? What do you think this

might mean?

Hitler’s Birthday, 1940

1. What is the “minor calamity” and why is it a problem?

2. What is the issue between Hans and Hans Jr.?

Day Two Work:
100 Percent Pure German Sweat

1. On page 108 the author includes the sentence “It was a small moment, but it

was also a preview of troubles to come.” What literary device is at work in this sentence?

2. “It reminded her of an unpopular child, forlorn and bewildered, powerless to

alter its fate” (109). What is the “it” in this sentence? How does this metaphor work to make the reader feel a particular way about this scene?

3. What do the Germans burn and why?

4. “He was just an animal, hurt among the melee of its own kind, soon to be trampled by it” (112). What do you think the author is trying to tell the reader with this comparison to animals?

The Gates of Thievery

1. Why does Papa slap Liesel?

Book of Fire

Day Three Work: 

Part Three - Mein Kampf

The Way Home

1. What does Liesel promise Papa in exchange for the book?

2. What book does Papa buy with cigarettes this time?

The Mayor’s Library

1. Summarize this chapter in a few sentences.

2. “The mayor’s wife bruised herself again” (137). What does this sentence literally mean

and how do you know?

Enter The Struggler

Day Four Work: 

The Attributes of Summer

1. Who is Johann Hermann and how did he die?

2. How does Liesel learn to swim?

3. What convinces Arthur Berg to let Rudy and Liesel into his crew?

4. Why does Liesel throw up? What does this show us?

The Aryan Shopkeeper

Day Five Work: 

The Struggler, Continued

1. What is the English translation of “Mein Kampf?” How is this title ironic?

2. Who is “the Struggler?”

Tricksters

1. What do the neighborhood kids steal and why?

2. Where do the chestnuts come from and what do Rudy and Liesel do with them?

The Struggler, Concluded

11.18.13 UDHR/Hitler/Inertia

Weirdest blog post title ever, right?

With me today, students learned about the history of human rights and where they began. We watched a cool video on the history of human rights and you can find it below.

Students used this document as their guide to the history behind human rights. They also used LucidChart and began a document to show the progression from one document to the next, ultimately showing how we arrived at the modern day Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I walked through the first document with them and modeled how I wanted the chart set up. It's like a timeline, but it also includes the details of each document and what happened as a result of this document's creation. This is the example....

With Coach West, students watched a video on Hitler and his rise to power. They are learning about Hitler in conjunction with their study of The Book Thief. In Mrs. Soblo's class, students took a video quiz on Inertia, and began planning for an egg drop project. Mrs. Soblo told students if you bring in a canned good, she will award you a 100 on her video quiz from today! (woop woop)