The Infused Classroom Blog
Reading About Refugees
Share Post
There are about to be a lot of Afghan refugees in America - and many other countries as well. Imagine helping students understand this important part of history by reading The Refugee by Alan Gratz.
Students need to process what is happening in our world right now and there is no better way than through reading. Whether you use it as a read aloud in homeroom or switch your normal novel unit for this one - this is the perfect time. Time to develop empathy and understanding for the world around us!
Here is the PERFECT reading set for 2021!
The Book
The Book: The Refugee - The book revolves around three main characters from three different eras: Nazi Germany, 1990s Cuba, and modern day Syria. It follows Josef Landau, a German Jew in the 1930's, who tries to escape Germany to Cuba, Isabel Fernandez, a Cuban girl in 1994, who tries to escape Cuba's hunger crisis following the dissolution of the Soviet Union to the US, and Mahmoud Bishara, a Syrian youth in 2015 whose house gets destroyed by a missile and whose family decides to emigrate to Germany. It has received positive reviews that praised style and historical accuracy. It also made it to the NYTimes Best Seller list. (Taken from Wikipedia).
The Technology Integration
The Explore Board - What is an Explore Board (also known as a multimedia text set)- It is document with links to a set of different forms of media surrounding a common topic, theme or issue.
The How
Use Donor's Choose to get the books.
If your school district does not have this book on the approved list - choose important segments and read as excerpts rather than as a complete novel.
Read one of the stories and compare it with a short story - looking for figurative language and story plot elements.
However you do it - don't miss this incredible opportunity to help students understand how Afghan refugees feel, what they need and how we can offer compassion!
