In chapters 13 and 14, we witness the end of Laura and Sara's journey. At Laura's Bat Mitzvah we are touched as she comes to terms with who she is and where she came from. Her speech gives light to what she has learned and promotes the idea that everyone has a responsibility to speak up for what they believe in. We see evidence of this in both David and Nix’s characters. How would you use Laura's speech in your classroom?
One of my favorite parts of the whole novel was discovering that Mrs. Mandecorn was actually Sara Gittler. It was interesting to see two sides of her character, and I found that I was overcome with emotion to know that she was a survivor. How did you react to Sara becoming Mrs. Mandelcorn?
I also found the Author's Note, Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Real Life Twinning sections to be very helpful. For me, it was nice to get further historical information and an introduction to some of the individuals that were actually in Warsaw at that time. What is the significance of these sections to you? Do you think they added or took away from the novel? If you were teaching this novel, would you include these sections?
Also just curious, if you were to teach The Diary of Laura’s Twin in a unit, what other resources would to use to accompany it?
I had a feeling that Mrs. Mandelcorn was Sara a couple chapters before it was revealed. I thought it was a great twist and really brought to life the experiences that Sara suffered through. In my own classroom I would use this for a lesson on being thankful and recognizing the freedoms we have now in Canada vs. what kind of freedoms were available in the early 1940s.
ReplyDeleteAs a unit, I would bring in the Diary of Anne Frank and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas for further context and connection to what the time period was like. I would focus a lot on freedom and morality in my unit and have my students work individually to create a sort of personal credo on their own beliefs and how they came to be.
I really enjoyed this novel and given the opportunity, I will use it in my own classroom someday.
Laura's speech could be used in the classroom to further the novels themes and focus on the importance of remembering history. I think that the discovery that Mrs.Mandelcorn was Sara could show students how important and meaningful the "twinning" excercize can be. I think Mrs. Mandelcorn's reaction would help students see how important and moving that could be for a Holocaust survivor or even the deceased. When I realized it was her I was excited to keep on reading and I know students would feel more satisfied knowing what happened to Sara in the end.
ReplyDeleteThe historical references at the back added to the emotion of the story because it solidified the history behind the fiction part of the novel. I think that students would find the characters more relevant because the events of the novel are based on fact. I think that having contact with the author would be a great experience in the classroom. If Abbey were to show the email that Kathy Kacer sent her students would be so excited and the experience would be something new to them. I think that this would encourage them to read more works from the author and those could be incorporated into the unit as well. I agree that this would be a great book for the classroom and I loved how relevant it is for junior high students.
Laura’s speech showed just how much she had changed and grown over the duration of the novel. It shows her ability to see things from a different perspective and connect to someone who lived years ago through a text. I think there are many opportunities here for classroom use. I think that there could be some great discussion and personal reflection around this speech about several things, like the theme of bravery that emerges, or the idea of character development for example.
ReplyDeleteI am not going to lie, I definitely teared up a little bit when reading the end of the story. I had begun to suspect that she might be Sara, but it was pretty sad and also inspiring when I found out. I think there are a lot of resources out there that would be great to pair with this story, but since it is a novel I might try and incorporate shorter texts, like a short story, a film clip, or a picture. I also think that this book could spark a great diary or journal related writing assignment.
While reading the final chapters of the novel, I was really moved by Laura's speech. I think that this would be a great sample of exemplary reflection. As a class, we could analyze Laura's speech as a reflection not only on her twinning project, but also a way of Kacer summarizing the key themes that were developed throughout the course of the novel.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the novel, I found myself so absorbed in the narrative! I caught myself with my mouth hanging open after reading that Sarah was Mrs. Mandelcorn. Although hints of this plot element were expressed earlier in the novel, I was still very moved by this twist while reading. Students could go back after finishing the novel and engage in a close reading of the text by determining the clues that hinted at the Sarah/Mrs. Mandelcorn connection.
One of my favorite parts of the novel was the author's note as well as the historical information. I think that these sections help to really emphasize the importance of historical fiction and the purpose of making personal but also real-life and historical connections. The real-life twinning stories could be used as a jumping off point for student research to create their own twinning project with a historical figure. I agree with Dani that contacting the author could also be a great way to engage students and encourage them to further research the novel or probe them to read other works by Kathy Kacer. I can't wait for an opportunity to use this novel in my classroom!