The Freedom Writers by Nicholas Boone Fresh out of college, Erin Gruwell stood before her first class as a teacher. Room 203 of Woodrow Wilson High School was filled with at­risk teenagers. They came from many backgrounds, but most had grown up in rough, gang­filled neighborhoods. Many of the students didn’t care about school because they were too busy just trying to survive. Relate your own background to the background of these students. How does your background affect your academic performance? A Door Opens
Ms. Gruwell had her work cut out for her. She struggled to reach her students. Time and time again, she failed to connect. Then one day, she intercepted a piece of paper that was being passed around the classroom. The paper featured a racist drawing of a class member. Gruwell became angry. The drawing reminded her of Nazi cartoons of Jews during the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, the Nazis killed six million European Jews. The Nazis were led by Adolf Hitler, who ruled Germany during World War II. Gruwell shared her thoughts with the class. The students looked puzzled. They did not know about the Holocaust. But they did know about violence. Ms. Gruwell asked how many of them had been shot at. Almost everyone raised his or her hand. Record what you know about the Nazis. Why is it important to study and understand events in history such as this? Now Gruwell had her students’ attention. She told them that she would teach them about the toughest gang in history, the Nazis. She had them read books by writers who suffered under such violence. One of the books was The Diary of Anne Frank. The students soon began writing their own diaries. Slowly, the students began to rethink their views. They became more accepting of others, including their enemies in rival gangs. Walls between students came down. What figure of speech is used here? How does it help with understanding the author's message? (idiom, onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor, personification) The class members became like family to each other. What figure of speech is used here? How does it help with understanding the author's message?(idiom, onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor, personification) Together, they learned to rethink their daily decisions and to re­chart their futures. Paraphrase this sentence i.e. put it in your own words. Agents for Change The students in Room 203 also became agents for change. What does this noun phrase mean? State it in your own words. They called themselves “The Freedom Writers.” This name was based on the Freedom Riders, a group of activists in the civil rights movement. The students raised money to bring speakers to their school. They chose speakers who had experienced the events described in the books they read, such as Miep Gies, a Dutch citizen who hid Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis. Gies discovered and preserved Anne’s diary. When Gies visited Woodrow Wilson High School, she challenged students to keep Anne’s memory alive. It was then that students decided to begin writing in journals about the adversities that they faced in their everyday lives. Vocabulary: What does the word in blue mean? Which sentence or phrase in the text helps you to understand the meaning of this phrase? Ms. Gruwell helped the students gather their own diary entries into a book. Shortly thereafter, The Freedom Writers Diary was published. It was later made into a movie starring Hilary Swank. The Freedom Writers made positive changes in their school and community. Paraphrase this sentence i.e. put it in your own words. Their work has been recognized beyond their town of Long Beach, California. They were invited to appear on Primetime Live and The View. Articles about them appeared in People magazine and major newspapers. They were even invited to meet with the U.S. Secretary of Education. Many of the Freedom Writers went on to college. With Ms. Gruwell, they started an organization to train other teachers to use the Freedom Writers method. Their story shows how hard work, courage, and determination can change lives. Thinking back to what we learned about Main Idea, how is this sentence the Main Idea of this text? What other attribute could the author have put into this sentence that could have helped changed the lives of Ms. Gruwell's students? The other attributes are hard work, courage, and determination.