Lesson Plan Day 3: Introduction to The Devil’s Arithmetic and Setting Details
Rationale: As we continue our unit, students will explore the actual setting of The Devil’s
Arithmetic while reading Chapters 1-3. These introductory chapters reveal the main character,
12-year old Hannah, and her Jewish family, particularly her grandparents. They also highlight
the Jewish tradition of the Seder Meal, which we will reenact with another school in Lansing,
Michigan.
Warm-Up/10 minutes: We will begin class by reviewing the individual KWL charts from the
previous day’s class.
Setting Share/20-25 minutes: Students will have 20 minutes to circulate around the room and
read/view their classmates’ proposed setting for our class novel The Devil’s Arithmetic.
Students may choose to take brief notes on each other’s sketches/descriptions, because the
class will cast votes after the share on which setting is most likely to be the actual setting of our
novel.
Setting Reveal & Read Aloud/25-30 minutes: As we begin reading Chapters 1-3 (21 pages) of
The Devil’s Arithmetic, the class will list all of the elements of the novel’s actual setting in order
to compare it to their descriptions/sketches on our Moodle blog. We will list these details on a
poster board to be hung during the reading and discussing of this novel.
Diary Entry-Hannah/10-15 minutes: (this may require a review of “formal letter-writing”).
Students will create a short diary entry from the perspective of Hannah, the main character, or
another character with which they feel they can identify. Not only will this be seen as a primary
document, but it will serve to help with another “crosstown project” that we will conduct with
my previous students and colleagues at a Catholic school in Lansing, Michigan.
Assessment/Homework: Students will be required to respond to our Moodle blog, detailing the
comparisons between their proposed setting for our novel and the actual setting description
that we documented on a poster board as a class.
Question of the Day: How closely did your prediction of the setting beforehand resemble the
actual setting? Did your prior knowledge help or hinder your ability to visualize this setting?
Target Grade Level: 8th grade
Michigan Common Core ELA Standards:

W.8.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event
sequences.

RI.8.2. Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an
objective summary of the text.

RI.8.3. Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between
individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).

W.8.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization,
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Goals/Objectives:
SWBAT share their ideas about likely settings for a Holocaust novel and discuss differing
perspectives from peers
SWBAT use comparative skills to assess the effectiveness of prior knowledge in envisioning a
Holocaust novel setting
SWBAT list and describe introductory characters in a Holocaust novel and use textual
information to identify with their situation and feelings
Resources needed:
Yolen, Jane. The Devil's Arithmetic. New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Puffin Books, 1990, c1988. Print.
“Letter Writing Guide”. 11 July 2011. http://www.letterwritingguide.com. 2004.
Materials needed:
Smart Board (optional, if need be)
Thick markers
Computer lab (optional)
Journals
Moodle accounts (previously assigned)
Poster board
Time Allowance:
90 minute block of time