Lessons 1 - 4:
Introduction to The Book Thief:
At its most basic level, it is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl who is placed in foster care during the early years of World War II by a mother too ill to care for her any longer.
Background Information:
Students are to find the definitions of words listed on ‘The Prologue’ vocabulary worksheet.
Introduction to The Book Thief:
At its most basic level, it is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl who is placed in foster care during the early years of World War II by a mother too ill to care for her any longer.
Background Information:
- Access student’s prior knowledge of WWII: How and why did it start? What happened? How did it end?
- Read through ‘The seeds of WWII’, ‘Hitler and the Jews’ and ‘Jesse Owens’ handout.
- Watch short film: ‘The Path to Nazi Genocide’
- Research Task: Students are to visit the ‘The Holocaust Memorial Museum’ Website, go to ‘Learn about the Holocaust’ and take notes in their exercise books about Hitler’s rise to power and the atrocities that unfolded. In particular, students should work through the following: Timeline of Events, Nazi Rule, Jews in Pre-war Germany, The‘Final Solution’, Nazi Camp System and Rescue and Resistance.
- In wartime, conventional notions of morality and legality are continually tested. Throughout The Book Thief, the main characters must make decisions about how to behave, decisions that usually prove fateful. How do you think you would act if the law dictated that you treat others unfairly? Do you think you would follow the law or obey the call of your own conscience?
- In this novel, characters are sometimes pushed to the limits of their courage, endurance, and resourcefulness. In The Book Thief, wartime conditions lead characters to lie, steal, hide and pretend loyalties that they do not actually feel. Discuss possible situations that might test a person’s survival skills, such as cunning, speed, powers of observation, and the ability to adapt to stressful circumstances. Make a list of these situations. Which ones seem most challenging?
- Books play a large role in The Book Thief. How important are books to you? Do you think they are powerful? Explain your response.
Students are to find the definitions of words listed on ‘The Prologue’ vocabulary worksheet.
Lessons 5 & 6 (English):
(The Prologue and Part I): 1. From what point of view is the novel told? Who is the narrator of the story? How do you know? 2. What does the narrator find painful about his duties? 3. What mistake did Death make at the train line? Why was it a mistake? 4. Why were Liesel and her brother Werner supposed to be placed in foster care in January 1939? 5. What was Rudy’s father trying to teach his son on the night of the Jesse Owens incident? 6. Why did the narrator’s workload increase in the beginning of September 1939? 7. Do you think German citizens, such as Alex Steiner or Hans Hubermann, were justified in showing passive acceptance to the Nazi regime? What else might they have done? 8. Why does Death not comfort the child in ‘The Flag’? What does this imply about Death’s ultimate power? Extended Response: How does the use of personification shape the readers reactions to Death? What is surprising or unexpected about the authors personification of this universal condition? What type of character does Death have? Extending Our Vocabulary: Students are to find the definitions of words listed on ‘Part One: The Grave Digger’s Handbook’ vocabulary worksheet. |
Lessons 5 & 6 (Essential English):
(The Prologue and Part I): “Death and Chocolate”: 1. From what point of view is the novel told? Who is the narrator of the story? How do you know? 2. What does the narrator find painful about his duties? 3. What purpose do colours serve for the narrator? Why does the narrator need distractions? 4. Who might you infer is the book thief? Why do you think this? “The Eclipse”: 1. What does an eclipse symbolise for Death? “The Flag”: 1. What opinion do you form about Death following this section? 2. Why does Death not comfort the child? What does this imply about Death’s ultimate power? 3. The narrator associates three colours with the book thief. What are they? What clue to the novel’s historical context does the reader first get from ‘The Colours”? “The Jesse Owens Incident”: 1. What was Rudy’s father trying to teach his son on the night of the Jesse Owens incident? 2. Why did the narrator’s workload increase in the beginning of September 1939? “The Other Side of Sandpaper”: 1. Do you think German citizens, such as Alex Steiner or Hans Hubermann, were justified in showing passive acceptance to the Nazi regime? What else might they have done? Extending Our Vocabulary: Students are to find the definitions of words listed on ‘Part One: The Grave Digger’s Handbook’ vocabulary worksheet. |
Lessons 7 - 9 (English):
(Part 2 and 3): 1. How did Hans Hubermann’s Christmas gift to Liesel reveal the depth of his feelings for her? 2. How did the Hubermann’s financial situation reflect the general state of Germany’s economy in the 1930’s? 3. Why did Mama Hubermann decide to risk sending Liesel on the important business of laundry pickup and delivery? 4. In what important respect did Hans Junior differ from his father? 5. Why did Hans Junior accuse his father of cowardice? What was the ‘mistake’ Papa Hubermann had committed? 6. Why did Papa Hubermann buy a copy of ‘Mein Kampf’? 7. Why did Max Vandenburg read a copy of Mein Kampf on the train? 8. Do you think the thievery practiced by Rudy, Liesel, and the other children was justified? 9. How is each of Liesel’s book titles an ironic comment on the times? What is ironic about the title of Max Vandenburg’s book? 10. What does the book ‘The Gravedigger’s handbook’ symbolize? 11. What instances of flashback and flash forward can you find in this section of ‘The Book Thief’? What do you learn from these interruptions to the normal sequence of the plot? Extended Response: Liesel's obsession with stealing books is one irony among several in the novel The Book Thief. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Extending Our Vocabulary: Students are to find the definitions of words listed on the 'Part Two:' vocabulary worksheet. The Book Thief (Part 4):
1. How did Erik Vandenburg save Hans Hubermann’s life in the first World War? 2. Why did Hans’s business go into decline after 1933? 3. What factors helped to create the bond between Max and Liesel? 4. What qualities do you think Rosa Hubermann demonstrated after Max’s arrival? 5. How do you suppose Max’s years of street fighting helped him during the year before and during World War II? 6. Do you think Hans was more motivated to help Max for political reasons or his need to keep a promise? 7. Why do you think Max created The Standover Man for Liesel? What was significant about the materials he used to make the book? 8. What do you think the accordion symbolized? 9. What implied comparison is being made in the following comment about war? ‘The conversation of bullets’. 10. Consider the following sentence: “Sometimes there was humour in Max Vandenburg’s voice, though its physicality was like friction – like a stone being gently rubbed across a large rock.” - What is being compared? - Why is this an apt comparison? Activity 1: Create a detailed table in your book of the symbolism you have discovered in ‘The Book Thief’ so far. Provide a comprehensive explanation for each symbol as to what it represents. Activity 2: Provide two examples of metaphor, simile and personification for parts 1 – 4. Vocabulary sheet 3
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‘Lessons 7 - 9 (Essential English):
(Part 2 and 3): The Town Walker’: 1. Why did Mama Hubermann decide to risk sending Liesel on the important business of laundry pickup and delivery? ‘The Joy of Cigarettes’: 1. Despite her hardships, several things have brought Liesel happiness. What are they? ‘Hitler’s Birthday’: 1. What do the Hubermann’s search frantically to find and display? Why couldn’t they find it? What might that symbolise? 2. In what important respect did Hans Junior differ from his father? 3. Why did Hans Junior accuse his father of cowardice? What was the ‘mistake’ Papa Hubermann had committed? General: 1. What instances of flashback and flash forward can you find in this section of ‘The Book Thief’? What do you learn from these interruptions to the normal sequence of the plot? 2. Do you think the thievery practiced by Rudy, Liesel, and the other children was justified? Writing Activity: Imagine that you are Hans or Rosa Hubermann and write a journal entry describing your feelings about Liesel and life in Nazi Germany. Extending Our Vocabulary: Students are to find the definitions of words listed on the ‘Part Two’ vocabulary worksheet. Week 3 (Part 4):
“The Accordionist (The Secret Life of Hans Hubermann” 1. Which two questions does Max ask Hans Hubermann? Why do you believe Max asks these two questions? 2. Death remembers Hans from WWI and states that they never had a scheduled meeting. How did Hans avoid meeting Death in WWI? 3. What ‘small but noteworthy note’ does Death offer the reader in this chapter? Do you feel that this might embody a theme for the novel? Why or why not? ‘A Short History of the Jewish Fist Fighter’ 1. Who was Max’s favourite fist-fighting opponent? Where did Max train as a child? 2. How does Max personify Death? What is Death’s reaction? ‘The Swapping of Nightmares’ 1. What does Liesel learn about Rosa after Max’s arrival, according to Death? 2. What comparison does Death make to Liesel in the mayor’s library and Max living in the basement? 3. How does Hans and Liesel’s reading save Max’s life? 4. What gift does Liesel bring to Max daily? Why is it special/important to Max? ‘Pages from the Basement’ 1. Comment on the book that Max gives to Liesel. What do you feel is the importance of this book? Vocabulary sheet 3
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''The Gamblers (A Seven-Sided Die)' 1. Why do you think the symbol of a seven-sided die is selected by the author? 2. List the seven sides of the die. 3. What bonded Eric and Hans? What bonds Liesel and Max? What is the significance here? ‘The Whistler and the Shoes’ 1. What indication does the reader have that Liesel has become as attached to Rosa as she has to Hans? ‘Three Acts of Stupidity by Rudy Steiner’ 1. List the three acts of stupidity that Death provides. 2. Why is Rudy’s behaviour so dangerous? Why does he act so dangerously? What is the result of Rudy’s behaviour? General: 1. What is being personified as Liesel thinks about Max while she is visiting the mayor’s wife? As the book quivered in her (Liesel’s) lap, the secret sat in her mouth. It made itself comfortable, it crossed its legs. Why is this better than saying, “Liesel kept her secret about Max to herself’? |
Monday's Double (11/8/2014):
Essay Practise: You will have the double lesson to write an 800-1000 word essay on one of the below topics. All essay will be checked and commented on in terms of structure and analysis.
‘I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sandcastles, houses of cards, that’s where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate.’ (p 118) The novel describes Rudy Steiner: ‘In years to come he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer – proof again of the contradictory human being. So much good, so much evil. Just add water.’ (p 178) Is the capacity for violence a nasty streak in all of us?
Surviving life is a mixture of the prosaic and the sublime. The spirit sustains us, but the body must be given due credit as well. For example, even when discussing the unthinkable – the death of Max whom they’ve each come to love – the Hubermanns must also worry about the reality of that death – the smell of a corpse and the difficulty of hiding it, and when they eat, they realize guiltily that his illness has given them more sustenance. (p 352) Zusak’s picture of survival is visceral and real, rather than being romanticized, as it often is in ‘Hollywood’ interpretations. Discuss the manner in which the reality of war and its ‘mundanity’ is presented in The Book Thief.
The central question asked within The Book Thief (which has been asked in countless other great works of literature) is how human beings have been capable of such brutality and also have transcended suffering with acts of extraordinary love and courage. Some would credit God (or other religious figures) with this dual power, but this novel places responsibility firmly with men and women, and marvels at their goodness, their frailty, and their potential for evil. Death writes that ‘I am haunted by humans’. (p 584) We are all haunted by this duality, and our imaginations and emotional connections with each other are our only saviour. Discuss.
Essay Practise: You will have the double lesson to write an 800-1000 word essay on one of the below topics. All essay will be checked and commented on in terms of structure and analysis.
‘I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sandcastles, houses of cards, that’s where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate.’ (p 118) The novel describes Rudy Steiner: ‘In years to come he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer – proof again of the contradictory human being. So much good, so much evil. Just add water.’ (p 178) Is the capacity for violence a nasty streak in all of us?
Surviving life is a mixture of the prosaic and the sublime. The spirit sustains us, but the body must be given due credit as well. For example, even when discussing the unthinkable – the death of Max whom they’ve each come to love – the Hubermanns must also worry about the reality of that death – the smell of a corpse and the difficulty of hiding it, and when they eat, they realize guiltily that his illness has given them more sustenance. (p 352) Zusak’s picture of survival is visceral and real, rather than being romanticized, as it often is in ‘Hollywood’ interpretations. Discuss the manner in which the reality of war and its ‘mundanity’ is presented in The Book Thief.
The central question asked within The Book Thief (which has been asked in countless other great works of literature) is how human beings have been capable of such brutality and also have transcended suffering with acts of extraordinary love and courage. Some would credit God (or other religious figures) with this dual power, but this novel places responsibility firmly with men and women, and marvels at their goodness, their frailty, and their potential for evil. Death writes that ‘I am haunted by humans’. (p 584) We are all haunted by this duality, and our imaginations and emotional connections with each other are our only saviour. Discuss.
Tuesday (12/8/2014):
Think of a memorable experience and write about it using a similar style to Zusak.
Think of a memorable experience and write about it using a similar style to Zusak.
The Book Thief (Part 6&7):
Part 6: 1. How did Death characterise the year 1942? 2. Why did Max wait so long to reveal his illness to the family? 3. Why did Death say that the sky was ‘the colour of Jews’? How did Death respond to the mass destruction of human lives? 4. Why do you think Rosa Hubermann always wanted to appear tough and unemotional? 5. Why do you think that Liesel was able to enter the mayor’s house with ease and rob books each time? 6. How did Liesel’s dream about her brother and Max Vandenburg mirror the conflicts in her own life? 7. What is being compared in the following image? “...she (Liesel) stood on Munich Street and watched a single giant cloud come over the hills like a white monster...The sun was eclipsed, and in its place, a white beast with a gray heart watched the town.” 8. Imaging that you are the mayor’s wife. Write a letter to Liesel explaining the reasons for your actions. In your letter, try to capture the personality and voice of the writer Part 7: 1. What caused the brief period of contentment for Liesel and Papa Hubermann during the summer of 1942? 2. Why did Rudy want to excel at athletic competition? 3. Why did Liesel conclude that she was a criminal even though Ilse Hermann gave her permission to steal books? 4. Why didn’t Death feel sympathy for the Germans who hid in their basements during the air raids? 5. Why did Max have to leave 33 Himmel Street? 6. Why do you think the author placed the parade of Jews on their way to Dachau in the unfolding story of ‘The Book Thief’? 7. Imagine that you are Max and are able to write a letter to the family that has sheltered you before you decided to flee. Express your gratitude to the Hubermanns, your special fondness for Liesel, and your criticism of Nazi Germany as it appeared in Molching. Extension: Discuss Cause and Effect in relation to 'The Book Thief'. |
Part 6:
‘The Dream Carrier’ 1. Death shifts the focus of the story to himself in this chapter. a. What frustrates Death with regard to his appearance? b. Why is Death overwhelmed in 1942? c. Why does Death refer to the years 79 and 1346? d. What is Death’s opinion of war? ‘The Snowman’ 1. If there are no presents and little food, why does Liesel consider this the best Christmas ever? ‘Thirteen Presents’ 1. What happens when Death visits Max? Why is this significant? ‘Death’s Diary: Cologne’ 1. What do the children collect as Death collects souls? What might this symbolise? ‘Death’s Diary: The Parisians’ 1. Death claims that ‘the sky was the colour of Jews’. What colour do you suppose that is? Why might Death classify the sky as the colour of Jews? Part 7: 1. Imagine that you are Max and are able to write a letter to the family that has sheltered you before you decided to flee. Express your gratitude to the Hubermanns, your special fondness for Liesel, and your criticism of Nazi Germany as it appeared in Molching. |
Part 8:
1. Why was Rudy selected for examination by the Nazi medical authorities? What was ironic about his selection? 2. What do you suppose transformed Rudy Steiner from an apple thief into a bread giver? 3. Why do you think Hans Hubermann’s letters home were so brief? 4. Why do you think the author showed German soldiers, such as Hans Hubermann, performing civilian tasks instead of being shown on a battlefield? And why did he focus on ordinary German civilians during wartime? 5. What do you think Max’s book revealed about the power of words? How might words represent both beauty and evil? What message do you think the story imparted? 6. Max Vandenburg’s illustrated story for Liesel is allegorical because the events and actions are symbolic and not intended to be taken literally. For instance: Soon, the demand for the lovely ugly words and symbols increased to such a point that the forests grew. Many people were needed to maintain them. Some were employed to climb the trees and throw the words down to those below. They were then fed directly into the remained of the Fuhrer’s people, not to mention those who came back for more. How do the words and symbols that sprout from these trees relate to the political situation in Hitler’s Germany? Part 9: 1. Do you think Ilse Hermann was a Nazi sympathizer? 2.Why do you suppose Liesel didn’t discuss the mayor’s wife with Rudi? 3. Why do you think the author evoked sympathy for wounded German soldiers? 4. Why do you think Michael Holtzapfel killed himself? 5. Why do you think Rudi’s attitude toward thievery changed? 6. Do you think that Rudi and Liesel tried to aid the downed ‘enemy’ pilot? 7. How would you characterise Death as he appears in this novel? Select five adjectives that epitomize this character and give an example of his commentary that illustrates each character trait. |
Part 8 (Essential English):
‘Dominoes and Darkness’ 1. Why might the author have chosen to intersperse the conversation in the kitchen with the conversation about dominoes that Rudy and his siblings hold outside of the kitchen? ‘Punishment’ 1. Why might Hans Humbermann be grateful for punishment by the Nazi party? ‘The Collector’ 1. Where are Hans Hubermann and Alex Steiner stationed? What duties are they assigned? ‘The Bread Eaters’ 1. Why does Liesel attend the parades of the Jews? What conflicting feelings does Liesel have as she watches the Jews in the parades? ‘The Hidden Sketchbook’ 1. What is your impression of ‘The Word Shaker’? Why do you believe Max chooses to keep the story of ‘The Word Shaker’ in the book? 2. What secret does the story impart to Liesel? Does the story reveal the same information to you? Part 9: ‘The Cardplayer’ 1. Describe Reinhold Zuker. ‘One Toolbox, One Bleeder, One Bear’ 1. What commentary does Rudy offer regarding Liesel’s thieving? 2. How does Liesel’s role change from thief to provider in the shelter? ‘Homecoming’ 1. How many years have passed between Liesel’s arrival to the Hubermann’s home and Hans’ return? 2. What is Death’s implication in the last two lines of the chapter? How do Death’s words affect the tone of the chapter? |
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