I am human and
nothing human is
alien to me.
My own group aside,
everything human is
alien to me.
The Universal
Human
Experience
Specific
Cultural
Experiences
By Markus Zusak
 After reading the excerpt from The Book
Thief, consider the following question. We’ll
walk through it together.
 How would you describe the
narrator in the excerpt from The
Book Thief?
 Support your answer with evidence from the
selection.
 Think about the way the narrator (Death) feels in the
passage from The Book Thief. These key quotes may
help– pay attention to specific word choice
(DICTION).
 “Please believe me when I tell you that I picked up each
soul that day as if it were newly born. I even kissed a
few weary, poisoned cheeks.”
 “I watched their love visions and freed them from
their fear.”
 “I took them all away, and if ever there was a time I
needed distraction, this was it. In complete
desolation, I looked at the world above.”
 Why do you think Death “kissed a few weary, poisoned
cheeks” of the victims?
 What does a kiss indicate about how he feels?
 What does the word “weary” suggest about the victims?
 What does Death’s use of the word “weary” indicate about
how Death perceives the victims?
Emotions Associated With Emotions Associated with
KISS
WEARY
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
 After examining the text, let’s answer the question
using the evidence we found.
 How would you describe the narrator in the
excerpt from The Book Thief?
 Support your answer with evidence from the selection.
 Refer to the table below as an example:
ASSERT
(Answer the
question.)
PROVE
(How do you know?)
He “kissed a few
In The Book Thief
weary, poisoned
by Markus Zusak,
cheeks” and “freed
the narrator, Death, them from their
is…
fear.”
EXPLAIN
(What does that
mean?)
Zusak chose for
Death to use the
words “kissed” and
“freed” because they
convey…
 Now put the A(ssertion), P(roof), and E(xplanation)
all together!
 Use TEN LINES in your writer’s notebook to do so.
 TRADE with a PARTNER! Make sure he or she
ANSWERED the question, PROVED their answer with
text, and EXPLAINED the significance of their quote.
 What does the image on
the book cover convey
about Death, the narrator
of The Book Thief?
 Does it accurately reflect
the way you characterized
Death in your short
answer? Why or why not?
 Does this depiction
influence the way you
think about the Holocaust?
Why or why not?
By Michael Kimmelman of The NY Times
 The NY Times article implies that your generation, Generation Z
(New Millennials), ought to be taught differently than the ones that
came before because they need to be guided to feel “responsibility to
the present.” Is that true?
 Choose where you will sit based on your position:
Our generation is
fundamentally
different than
other generations
Our generation is
not that different
from other
generations
 The Book Thief tells the story of the Holocaust in a
very different way than the Auschwitz-Birkenau State
Museum, but both seek to engage and educate young
people.
 How do you think the story of the
Holocaust should be told to people your
age?
 How should it not be told? Why?
 FIND EVIDENCE FROM THE SELECTIONS TO
SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER. Be prepared to share.
 Consider whether your piece reflects what New Millennials
or Generation Z (or a different people group, depending on your chosen audience) value.
 Create a chart like the one below to brainstorm what
matters to your generation; then try REVISING your draft
to insert some of those ideas.
Technology
Fill in the
blank!
Social
media
?
?
?