It is important for students to stay informed about the world around them and to understand the unfamiliar experiences of others. With the book Refugee, students will explore the experiences of three refugee children in varying countries and time periods. The first character is fleeing 1930's Nazi Germany, the second is fleeing Fidel Castro's rule in Cuba in 1994, and the third is fleeing violence in Syria in 2015. The novel connects the stories of these three seemingly unrelated characters to show the common refugee experience.
By understanding the experiences of these refugee characters, students will have a better understanding of the refugee crisis plaguing our world today.
My vision for teaching this novel is that students will learn to feel empathy and compassion for people who have very different backgrounds than them. While discussing these topics can be very serious, heartbreaking, and confusing for students, it will allow them to become more open-minded, understanding, and accepting of others. It is so important for students to read about characters as diverse as they are so that they feel their own experiences are valued. By making connections between the novel and what they learn in Social Studies class or hear on the news, students will learn that history should not repeat itself. Along with reading and discussing this novel, I plan to create projects that connect students with refugee and immigrant support services in our community. It is my hope that educating the next generation to be compassionate, empathetic, and solution-seeking will build a brighter future for all of us.
About my class
It is important for students to stay informed about the world around them and to understand the unfamiliar experiences of others. With the book Refugee, students will explore the experiences of three refugee children in varying countries and time periods. The first character is fleeing 1930's Nazi Germany, the second is fleeing Fidel Castro's rule in Cuba in 1994, and the third is fleeing violence in Syria in 2015. The novel connects the stories of these three seemingly unrelated characters to show the common refugee experience.
By understanding the experiences of these refugee characters, students will have a better understanding of the refugee crisis plaguing our world today.
My vision for teaching this novel is that students will learn to feel empathy and compassion for people who have very different backgrounds than them. While discussing these topics can be very serious, heartbreaking, and confusing for students, it will allow them to become more open-minded, understanding, and accepting of others. It is so important for students to read about characters as diverse as they are so that they feel their own experiences are valued. By making connections between the novel and what they learn in Social Studies class or hear on the news, students will learn that history should not repeat itself. Along with reading and discussing this novel, I plan to create projects that connect students with refugee and immigrant support services in our community. It is my hope that educating the next generation to be compassionate, empathetic, and solution-seeking will build a brighter future for all of us.
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