Chris Petrie
Milkweed Unit
Reading Level 5.2
Themes: Self-Identity, Family, Intolerance, Discrimination, Love, Labels, Symbols, Diversity
Goals/Objectives
1. Students will understand how intimate relationships and family, or family like bonds, help
humans in difficult times.
2. Students will learn how people of diverse backgrounds have more in common than they do
differences.
3. Students will understand how our life experiences help to shape our identities.
4. Students will understand the dangers of labeling and categorizing others.
5. Students will learn about the Nazi treatment of Jews and other “undesirable” peoples during
World War II.
6. Students will learn the importance developing their own unique identity not given to them by
others.
Content Knowledge:
Students studying the novel milkweed would need an in-depth understanding of World War II history,
primarily focusing on Nazi occupied Poland and Nazi ideology. On September 1st, 1939 the Nazis
invaded Poland using its blitzkrieg strategy. The Polish military as well as the rest of the European
military establishment was caught off guard the decisive and quick actions of the German military in the
fall of 1939. World War II began officially on September 3rd, 1939 when Great Britain and France declare
war of Germany. By the end of September 1939 the city of Warsaw surrendered to the Germans and
the Soviet Union and Germany divide Poland between themselves.
Nazi ideology was engulfed in the idea that the German people were the remnants of a master race
called the Aryans. The Nazis were quick to establish classifications of peoples according to their
biological, ancestral, and cultural characteristics. In the eyes of the Nazis Jews and all people that did
not fit the idea “German Man” were deadweight on German and world society. The Nazis believed that
the Jewish people constituted their own race and posed the greatest threat to Nazis Germany. The
Nazis used historical anti-sematic feelings throughout Europe to portray the Jews as the “other”. The
Nazis obsession with dealing the Jewish “problem” started with the concentration of Jews in ghettos in
occupied territory. In the end, the Nazis did not find the ghettos to be a true solution to what they
viewed as the primary threat to Nazi Germany, the Jews, and they developed the “final solution” which
resulted in the mass murder of the millions of Jewish people from across Europe.
This story primarily takes place in wartime Warsaw and its ghettos. It is important students understand
soon after the Germans occupied Warsaw they began to congregate identify the Jewish population
through the use of Synagogue records and required all Jews to wear armbands and mark business as
Jewish owned. The Nazis then removed the Jews of Warsaw into a confined ghetto area and confiscated
the property and wealth of Jewish citizens. Eventually, the ghettos were completely cut off from the
rest of Warsaw by the construction of a wall. The ghettos quickly became overcrowded. Starvation,
disease, and death became an everyday part of life. Thousands died in the ghettos, but German officials
did not find the rate of death to be satisfactory. They began to clear the ghettos in the waning years of
the war sending Jews to the death camps located in Poland and Eastern Germany for mass execution.
Vocabulary List/Strategies
Jackboot, Heinrick Himmler, Nazi, Gypsy, Warsaw, ghetto, smuggler, orphanage, Hanukkah,
menorah, Jew, Lutheran, deportations, armband, identity, intolerance, symbol
Word Expert Cards:
This strategy allows students to create vocabulary cards. On the front side of the card students write
the vocabulary world. On the back side of the card students write a definition of the word, use the word
in their own sentence, and draw a picture representing their word. Students will then use their card set
to teach each other about their words and practice their understanding of the words.
Pictorial Web:
This book really centers on the development of Misha’s identity. Misha has no recollection of his family
or his origins at the start of this story. He lives through a time period where labels are used, such as
gypsy, to try and establish his identity. At the end of the book, Misha is finally at peace with an identity
of his own as grandfather and family man. In order for students to gain a better understanding of what
an identity is they will create a pictorial web of their own identity. Students write their definition of
identity in the center of the web and expand the web by including symbols of what they believe
represent their own identities.
Crossword:
I created a crossword puzzle for a vocabulary reinforcement activity. Students use the clues given to
complete the crossword. This activity would be used after the words have been introduced and
discussed.
Comprehension Strategies
List-Group Label:
List-group-label is one of my favorite strategies. The constructivist approach of this strategy makes it
the perfect fit for my classroom. Students start with a historical topic like the Cold War or the Holocaust
and they use their prior knowledge to share details about the topic. From their prior knowledge I can
gain an understanding of what the students’ need to learn yet and what interests them. I like the idea
of creating a class definition from the prior knowledge phase of the strategy and return to the definition
at the end of the unit or lesson to redefine the concept to help students see how much they learned.
I plan to use this strategy with Milkweed as intro comprehension strategy. The strategy revolves around
brainstorming and prior knowledge engagement. Students are organized into small groups. Each group
designates a scribe and brainstorm rules monitor. The scribes are asked to write the word Holocaust in
the center of a blank sheet of paper. Students are then given 5 minutes to brainstorm anything they
associate with this word. At the end of the time the teacher calls on each group to provide words and
puts them on the board. The scribe writes additional words on their sheet as well. Then students work
to categorize the words. Finally, the class categorizes the words on the board. As you categorize words
you add historical information and background about the book and the Holocaust. After everything is
categorized the class comes up with a working definition of the Holocaust. Scribes keep their
brainstorming sheets and groups meet periodically throughout the book to discuss additions to the
sheet and modify the definition. At the end of the book students work on the class definition of what
the Holocaust was, hopefully integrating many of the themes and ideas of the book in their definition.
Double Entry Journal:
In my classroom students will be asked to develop a healthy dose of skepticism when they read. I will
ask students to write questions about the material they read in my class in double entry journals. I will
also demonstrate this questioning practice in any of my read aloud activities. Questioning readings
encourages students to draw connections between past and current material and forces them to think
about the material beyond its literal meaning.
Students can easily create double entry journals by taking a blank sheet of paper and creating a t-chart.
One side of the chart is labeled passage from reading, students write down a passage from the reading.
The other side of the chart is labeled my questions or thoughts, students write their thoughts and
questions about the passage. I would use this strategy with chapters 39 and 40 because these two
chapters are some of the most in complex and emotional chapters contained in the book. These
chapters contain Janina’s permanent separation from Misha as she deported to the death camps.
Double entry journals would offer organic discussion points for students after reading and also allow me
as a teacher to clear up misconceptions or misunderstandings that occurred during the reading. The
strategy really helps the students to create a dialog between the book and themselves. Teaching
students to actively engage with books and questions increases students’ comprehension.
Anticipation Guides:
Anticipation guides help students think about the text before they read and create predictions, or form
opinions, about what they are about to read. This strategy really gives students a purpose for reading.
This purpose helps to develop motivation. Students who are motivated to read will retain and
understand more of what they read.
I would use this strategy when reading chapter 23. Chapter 22 ends with the suspenseful ending that
proclaims Himmler is coming to ghetto. Students who will know a bit about Himmler from our listgroup-label discussion and our earlier discussions about the book will complete the following
anticipation guide to help develop a purpose for reading and create motivation for students.
Anticipation Guide
1.
2.
3.
4.
Agree
Himmler is the second most powerful man next to Hitler.
_______
Buffo ends up killing Misha for getting to close to Himmler.
_______
Misha never gets to see Himmler because he really isn’t at the ghetto.
_______
Himmler was a large man that looked as strong and powerful as he was important. _______
Disagree
______
______
______
______
20 Questions
Knowledge
1. Tell how Uri and Misha first met.
2. What did Misha tell the rest of the boys his name was?
Comprehension
3. Describe Uri’s and the other street boys home.
4. Identify what Buffo’s job was in the ghetto.
5. Describe the conditions of the Jewish ghettos in Warsaw.
Application
6.
7.
8.
9.
How does Misha’s identity change over the course of the book?
Analyze what the various symbols in this book represent.
Explain what affect these symbols have on the characters of the book.
Compare how Mr. Milgrom feels about his Jewish background to how Uncle Shepsel feels about
his Jewish background.
10. Explain how the Milgrom’s tight family structure helped them to survive in the ghetto.
Analysis
11. Classify the following characters as leaders, followers, or neither: Uncle Shepsel, Misha, Uri,
Buffo, Himmler, Janina, and Mr. Milgrom.
12. Explain your classification of each character from the previous question.
Synthesis
13. How would Misha’s identity at the end of the book changed if he never experienced World War
II and the ghettos never occurred?
14. What actions of Uncle Shepsel are similar to actions taken by the Nazis?
Evaluation
15. Why do you think Uncle Shepsel turns against his own people and rejects his own religion?
16. Explain why you think Misha admires and feels positively about the Jackboots when he first sees
them in Warsaw.
Graphic Organizers
Descriptive Frame:
I really want students to focus on the conditions of the Warsaw ghettos while reading this book. It is
important students understand the indescribable horrors the residents of the ghettos faced. I would use
a descriptive frame to help students to focus on the conditions of ghettos in the book from pages 118 to
151. The book does not have specific chapter that addresses the ghettos conditions in a condensed
way. For this reason, it is important for students to use the descriptive frame to gain a more holistic
view of the ghetto as they read through this section of the book.
Sequence/Time Order Frame:
A sequence frame is designed to help students keep track of events chronologically and understand the
relationship between them. At the end of the story, pages 199 to 209, Misha goes through a series of
quick important changes in his life. The war ends, he finds his calling as huckster, he moves to the
United States, sells goods on the Atlantic Boardwalk, marries, finds out he has a long lost child and
grandchild, and develops a final identity all within the last 10 pages of the book. A sequence frame
would help student to keep events straight and analyze their significance and their relationship to the
underlying themes of the book.
Related Book Recommendations (Reading Levels)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank 6.5
I Have Lived A Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust by Livia Bitton Jackson, 8.5
Behind the Bedroom Wall by Laura E. Williams 4.8
Five Chimneys by Olga Lengyel 8.0
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry 5.1
No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War by Anita Lobel 4.8
The Number on my Grandfather’s Arm by David Adler K-3
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne 8.3
The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse 3.5
Star of Fear, Star of Hope by Jo Hoestlandt 4.
Martin Niemöller’s Poem
They came for the Communists, and I
didn't object - For I wasn't
a Communist;
They came for the Socialists, and I
didn't object - For I wasn't a Socialist;
They came for the labor leaders, and I
didn't object - For I wasn't a labor leader;
They came for the Jews, and I didn't
object - For I wasn't a Jew;
Then they came for me And there was no one left to object.
Martin Niemoller, German Protestant Pastor,
A poem by Pastor Martin Niemoller, Berlin, 1939
Untitled
by Marisa Bluestone 1994
Alone
But not really
A selected few
Surrounded
Cold eyes
Harsh hatred
Rejected
Yellow stars
Unspoken voices
Horror
Unsettling future
Another pile
Destruction
Without a chance
Devastation
Families
Torn apart
By a belief
Friends
Cast away
By neighbors
Justice
Not served
Denied
Masses
Taking charge
Innocent faces
Hope
The chance
To make it
Don't let
Them bury
You
What I Don't Know
by Ruth Dykstra 1999
What you don't know can't hurt, they say.
I disagree.
Did they know?
How awful, how hateful?
The ghettos, the camps, the chambers, the stars?
That made you feel, so different, so sad.
As if, you weren't human, anymore.
The lives taken, those spared,
Will be changed forever.
Those that saw and then, saw no more,
Those that saw again and again.
Those forced to leave,
Those forced to stay,
Those forced to be somewhere in the middle.
There was no way out, no escape.
Only to live,
Only to die.
Differentiation
Within the unit I have designed a variety of different assessments and learning activities to meet the
needs of all learning modalities including visual, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Students with
reading levels below or above this book can also participate in this unit by using other Holocaust books
that deal with the same themes and meet the same objectives. Students would add to the discussion
and broaden our discussion of what was happening historically by bringing alternative viewpoints to the
class discussion.
Reading and Writing Activities
Predictive Paragraphs:
This writing activity asks students to make predictions about what will happen next in the novel.
I believe this would work well at the end of sections of suspense where readers are left on the
verge of a major discovery in the book. Having students predict what will happen next has a
twofold effect. First, students will be more motivated to read the next section of the book to
find out if there predictions are valid. Second, in order for students to make predictions they
must interact and process the text they have already read. This process helps students to draw
inferences and recognize literary elements such as foreshadowing.
Free Verse Poems:
Students in this activity are asked to create a poem that illustrates the conditions of the Warsaw
ghettos. The poem activity really helps students to put a personal touch on their work and
create an emotional connection with the tragedy that was the Warsaw ghettos.
Sentence Synthesis:
Students in this writing activity are given 5 key words from a reading section. Students are given
short time to use those words in a few sentences to describe what happened in the chapter.
This strategy helps students to focus on essential themes and concepts within the reading, or
relationships between characters. I would use this in the chapter where Misha is in awe of the
Nazi parade in Warsaw. My chosen words for the students would be Nazi, parade, identity,
Jackboots, powerful, commanding.
Classroom Questions:
This strategy asks students to write down their questions about a reading at the end of the
lesson. I think this is a great way to end a lesson and begin a new one the next day. I would ask
students to read a few of their questions aloud at the beginning of each class. This offers the
class a time for discussion, review, and a time for sorting out misconceptions about the previous
reading before moving on to the next reading. All students would be asked share a question at
some point throughout the novel. By doing this, students are always developing the habit of
self-reflection after each reading passage.
Evaluation
Diary Writing:
This assessment will ask students to write diary entries from the perspective of one the
characters in the book that experienced the Warsaw Ghetto. Students will focus on the
physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto. Students will also focus on
the role of familial relations and community in survival. This assessment would take place from
chapter 34 to 36 once students have read thoroughly about Misha’s experience in the ghetto.
This assessment is designed to address objectives one and five.
Paper Identity Collage:
This assessment would begin at the very beginning of the book when Misha has yet to acquire
an identity. Students discuss the idea of identity and use magazine clippings and drawings to
represent their own identities. Students will leave one side blank and label it Misha. Students
will share their “paper” identities with the class. On the blank side they will draw or paste
clippings as Misha’s identity develops and evolves throughout the book. This assessment is
designed to address objective three and six.
TV Interviews-Cumulative:
This assessment is to be completed at the end of the unit. Students in small groups develop
scripts for a talk show featuring the characters of Milkweed. Students record their shows.
Shows are edited and burned to a DVD for class viewing. Students will address all standards
through this final assessment.
Personal Narratives:
Students write about negative situations they have witnessed or experienced in which they or
somebody else was labeled. Students in this assessment build off our discussions about how the
Nazis classified people in society and its negative effects. Students conclude narratives
pondering how as an individual they could help move themselves and peers past labels.
Assessment addresses objective four.
Play Dough Model Assessment:
Students are asked at three points during the class to make play dough models about selected
scenes that demonstrate people of diverse backgrounds working for the common good.
Students set up their models and explain what is happening in the model to the class. Each
student in the classroom will complete this assessment once during the course of the novel.
Assessment addresses objective two.
Unit Objectives (Restated for Reference)
1. Students will understand how intimate relationships and family, or family like, bonds help
humans in difficult times.
2. Students will learn how people of diverse backgrounds have more in common than they do
differences.
3. Students will understand how our life experiences help to shape our identities.
4. Students will understand the dangers of labeling and categorizing others.
5. Students will learn about the Nazi treatment of Jews and other “undesirable” peoples during
World War II.
6. Students will learn the importance developing their own unique identity not given to them by
others.