Historical Content
Bud, not Buddy
Historical Content
Bud, Not Buddy tells
the story of Bud, a ten-year-old orphan, who has lived in orphanages since his
mother died four years earlier. He goes on the hunt for the man he thinks is
his father, Herman E. Calloway. This story is set during The Great Depression
and tells a great story with historical details. This was a book that, when I
read it in school, I loved and still distinctly remember now.
Lesson Ideas:
Discuss The Great Depression, talk about the music that the Dusky Devastators
of the Depression played and talk about other musical instruments, and do a
characterization of the each character.
Author Information: http://www.nobodybutcurtis.com/
Number the Stars
Historical Content
Number the Stars, was
hands down the most impactful book I read when I was a student. This book tells
the story of Ellen Rosen whose Jewish family has to escape because of the
Nazis. Ellen goes to live with her friend, Annamarie Johansen under the
pretense that she is her sister, Lise, who died previously. This is such a
moving story and describes the hardships that Jewish people faced during this
time.
Lesson Ideas:
Discuss the Holocaust, have students write about what they would do if they
were in this situation, and talk about the different religions of this time.
Author Information: http://www.loislowry.com/ @LoisLowryWriter
Out of the Dust
Historical Content
Out of the Dust, tells the story of a young girl, Billie Jo, living in the Midwest during
the Dust Bowl. Her father, a wheat farmer, leaves a bucket of kerosene by the
stove one day and her mother mistakes it for water and pours it in the kitchen.
The house catches on fire, Billie Jo’s mother catches on fire and Billie Jo’s
hands are severally burnt. Her mother passes away as does the baby her mother
was expecting. Billie Jo and her father are unable to have a relationship and
Billie Jo runs away. While gone she realizes she belongs with her father and
returns to him. This story left such an impression on me when I read it. I
believe it will helps students understand the harshness of the Dust Bowl while
reading an enjoyable story.
Lesson Ideas: Discuss the book as a verse poem to open up the topic of poetry. Then discuss
poetry naming and providing examples of elements of poetry. Ask the students to
pick any time period or historical event and write poetry on it. This book also
allows for a variety of discussing the Dust Bowl. We can take a look at when
and where these Dust Bowls took place and think about the impacts. Have
students write a poem about themselves as if they lived in the Dust Bowl.
Author Information: https://karenhesseblog.wordpress.com/
The Other Side
Historical Content
The Other Side, tells the story of Clove, a young
African-American girl and the fence in her backyard. Clove’s mother tells her
that she must never cross the fence. Then one day, she notices a young white
girl who appears lonely playing on the other side. Even though neither are not
allowed to cross over the fence the pair decides to sit on the fence together.
The fence, which symbolizes segregation, kept the pair away from each other but
they overcame it and decided that they did not think the fence should be
there. The illustrations and story are
wonderful as they tell the story of two girls who want to play together.
Lesson Ideas:
Teach students about symbolism and ask what they believe the fence is a symbol
for. Then group students up and make a “fence” or line in the class where they
cannot talk to each other to demonstrate what this must have been like for
Clove and for all the others who were segregated.
Read Aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM97WDMbXV0
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