Lit Circles on Perspective with Markus Zusak’s "The Book Thief"

Book synopsis: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a young adult novel that takes place in Germany during World War II.  The novel is narrated by Death as he tells the story of a young girl, Liesel Meminger.  Liesel writes a journal about her experiences as a child during the war, which Death finds in the rubble of her bombed home as he collects souls.  Death reads the journal and retells Leisel’s story as The Book Thief.  The novel therefore offers an extremely interesting perspective, as Death is able to be an omniscient narrator, yet sometimes a participant himself.  The novel is broken up into ten parts, each with its own short chapters, and is also split by Death’s interjections throughout the chapters.

Standards and Objectives
A.    RL 9-10 3: Analyze how complex characters…
B.    RL 9-10 6: Analyze a particular point of view…
C.    W 9-10 4: Produce clear and coherent writing…

Procedure
     This lesson is a unit to cover the length of the book using a modified literature circle plan.  The students will take on an assigned character role throughout the reading of the novel, and ultimately produce a journal (much like that of Leisel’s in The Book Thief) to be bound and put on a display shelf in the library for others to see.

1. Students will be put into groups of five and within each group each student will be assigned to one of five characters:
     Liesel
     Max
     Hans
     Rudy
     Rosa
This lends itself to differentiated instruction, as taking on a character like Liesel would be easier to do than a character like Rosa, who doesn’t get as much focus in the book.  Possibly sort students based on reading/writing levels in this way.

2. Procedure:
Opening (5-10 min)
    Students will either be given time to silently read, or we will have a class-wide discussion of the book, or I will present the background of the novel in the history of WWII, or a combination of the three, depending on where in the unit we are.
Character group discussions (15 min):
    Students will meet with their fellow characters (i.e. all the Liesels, all the Rosas, etc.) in a group and talk with each other, guided by discussion question worksheets based on where in the novel they are and what is going on with their character.
Character interactions (15 min):
    Students will meet in their original groups (1 student per character) and talk with each other under the persona of their assigned character, guided by discussion question worksheets based on where they are in the novel and how the characters are interacting with each other.
Journaling (time remaining):
    Students will work on writing their journals from their assigned character’s perspective.  This time can include independent writing, workshopping with other students (or myself) or talking about writing.

3. The journal assignment:
     Journals must consist of 10 journal entries, each corresponding to the 10 parts of the book (excluding the prologue and epilogue).  Journal entries should be about 1 page in length and should be reflections of the book from the perspective of their assigned character.  At the end of the unit, we will bind the pages (hand-written!) of each journal to create the final memento from the unit and display them in the library for others to read, like Leisel’s journal in The Book Thief.

Assessment and Evaluation
Referring to the standards listed above:
A.    Students will be assessed on this standard based on their participation and completion of class discussions within the various character groups, as well as the quality of their journal.  Students must participate in every discussion within their same-character and character interaction groups.  Assessment and evaluation will be based on my observation of each group.  I will collect the discussion question worksheets that students will use to guide their discussion, to be answered and turned in at the end of each discussion and graded for thoughtful completion.  Their final journal projects will also be assessed for depth of insight into their characters’ development.
B.    This standard will be assessed much like the previous one.  If students exhibit understanding and engagement in the discussions, and show depth of insight in their journals, they will have adequately analyzed a point of view and experience different from their own.
C.    I will assess and evaluate student journals for the execution of this standard.  Journals should be in the form appropriate for the assignment and audience.  They should mimic a journal form such as they see fit for their character and can use creative license within the confines of the journal form and their character’s point of view.  Journals should exhibit thoughtful writing in the development of their character throughout the novel.  They should be hand-written and bound and appropriate for display in the library to show the purpose and product of the unit.
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Sample worksheets

Hans

Part 1: The Grave Diggers Handbook

 Character Discussion

Meet up with the other Hans' in the class, and discuss the following questions:

1.  As a reader, what were your initial feelings on being introduced to Hans in Part 1?  Do you like him? dislike him?  Unsure yet?  Why?
2. What are some actions or words Hans says/does in Part 1 that are important?   (Look at smaller details/habits of Hans')  What do there words or actions say about Hans' character?  Think of at least 3.
3. How does Hans behave toward the other characters in the story (especially Liesel and Rosa)?  Why do you think he treats them the way her does?  How does he really feel about them?  Do his words and actions reflect his true feelings?

Character Interactions
Now it's time to meet with the other characters!  Get into your lit circles and discuss these topics:
****Remember to stay  in character!  Use these topics to guide your discussion about what is happening in the book.  How do your characters feel about each other?  About certain events or issues?  It's ok to argue 9in fact, you most likely will!) but be respectful!

• Family life: How does your character feel about how they are treated by their family, or why do they treat their family the way they do?
• The children:  How do the schoolchildren interact with each other, adults, and other characters?  How do they feel about what's going on in town?  What's going on in the country?  How do you feel about them?
• Other topics you might discuss, how does your character feel about the following:
•  Liesel's arrival
• The War
• Reading lessons
• Soccer games
• The Jesse Owens incident
• The fight

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Hans

Part 1: The Grave Diggers Handbook

Journal Guide

 

Now it’s time to start your journal!  For Part 1, set up your character in the plot of the story.  Use your discussion question sheet and your experience in your group discussions to help you think about who your character is and how they see the events taking place in the book.

Make sure you are writing from the perspective of your character, using a journal-like writing style.  You can write about any of the events in Part 1.  Try to narrow it down to 1 or 2 events to focus on more closely, rather than summarizing everything that happened in Part 1.  Journal entries should be a minimum of 1 page.

Suggested journaling elements:

• What happened?
• How do you (Hans) feel about what happened?
• How do you feel about other characters?  How do you think they feel?
• Make a prediction of what you (Hans) think will happen next