Book Club Blog

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1. Social Studies Resource -
Life of a Soldier After the Civil War: What’s in a name? – exploring the challenges faced by Irish and African American war veterans using case studies created from pension records.

2. Social Studies Resource -
Brain Pop – video describing basic facts of the Civil War

1. Art Resource-
A House Divided: Photography in the Civil War – analyzing photography lesson plan

2. Art Resource -
Civil War Reader’s Theater – students will take part in reading a play about the Civil War aloud, practicing fluency and gaining content knowledge about the Civil War.

Important Characters -
Katie O'Farrell - Katie O'Farrell was hired to be a live-in made for a wealthy family in New York City in 1863. Since Katie's mother died of an illness, Katie had to help support her father and siblings with money for food and rent. Katie becomes friends with Jimmy as they both rescue and take care of a stray dog. Katie was very protective of her family and does whatever she can to protect them, even if it means sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. This includes protecting her Brain, her brother from going to the war.

Jimmy - Jimmy was an African American man living in New York City. His mother was a slave but escaped and brought Jimmy and herself up from Virginia using the Underground Railway. She was hired by Mr. Lowell, a man who taught at Columbia College and who had helped them during their escape. Mr. Lowell even taught Jimmy how to read. Jimmy, worked as a groonsman for the Grenville's stables. Jimmy was hurt awhile back when a horse kicked him in his leg, but that did not stop him from working with horses.

Mrs. Alberts - Mrs. Alberts was a big and powerful woman. She was the cook for the Lacey household. She strongly dislikes Katie because the Lacey's hired Katie as the maid instead of her neice. Mrs. Alberts constantly yelled at Katie for doing something wrong. She always bossed Katie around all day long as well. Mrs. Alberts tried to find ways of getting Katie fired or trying to get her to quit.

Summary of Historical Context -
Katie O' Farrell, 14 works as a live-in maid for the Lacey family in 1863. Since immigrating to New York City from Ireland, Katie must work hard to keep her job in order to help support her family. Katie has a hard time following order from Mrs. Alberts. After Katie saves a strag dog, she must find a way to keep it a secret with the help of Jimmy. Jimmy works as a groom for a neighbor's stable. During this time, Katie is treated harshly for being Irish, Catholic, and poor as New York City drafts young men into the Civil War.

Element of Social Justice -
Respect for Others
Throughout the text, one social justice element that stood out was respect for others. Katie was constantly ridiculed for being Irish, Catholic, and poor by the family she worked for and other staff members. Katie's feelings were often hurt because of who she is and and where she comes from, but that did not stop her from being a hard worker and devoted family member. Katie demonstrates a better understanding about respect when it comes to Jimmy. In the beginning Katie feared him because of the color of his skin, but overtime she became friends with him as they both care for the stray dog. Katie even protects him from angry mobs who try to kill him by hiding him in the Lacey's basement. Katie was given an opportunity to see how wrong it is to treat people because of their race and culture.

NJCCS -
Art
1.3.2.C.1 Potray characters when given specifics about circumstances, plot, and thematic intent, demonstrating logical story sequence and informed character choices.
Social Studies
6.1.4.A.15 Explain how and why it is important that people from diverse cultures collaborate to find solution to community, state, national, and global challenges.
6.1.4.D.13 Describe how culture is expressed through and influenced by the behavior of people.
Activity
The teacher will engage students in a discussion about kindness and how they feel when someone compliments them or how they feel when they do something thoughtful for someone else or if someone does a thoughtful deed for them. The teacher will ask students to role play different exchanges of compliments or good deeds such as saying that they like another person’s smile, holding the door open for others, or getting something off a shelf that a person can’t reach. As a written assignment, students can write a short essay about the best thing that ever happened to them or ways of doing good deeds or complimenting another person. The teacher will ask students to brainstorm ‘feeling’ words and have students describe how they felt about what happened or how they or the other person would feel.

Letter to a character - Click here to view a letter to Katie!

Critique -
Isabelle Holland’s portrayal of the Civil War is different from what many history textbooks and children’s novels present. The cultural wars between the Irish, the blacks, and the English add another layer of conflict to this vast war between the North and the South. Holland’s writing from a young Irish girl’s perspective highlights this under-represented culture’s experience during the war. This novel helps young people learn gain a more well-rounded understanding of the many groups of people that had roles in the Civil War and how it was fought. Specifically, in Behind the Linesstudents learn from a “case study” about one particular Irish family and how they experience discrimination and the New York City Draft Riots during the Civil War. Following this family’s specific experiences helps young people understand how people from different ages from young children to older grandmothers lived during this time in history and gives students a chance to put themselves in the characters’ shoes.

Title:  Dogtag Summer
Author:  Elizabeth Partridge
Illustrator:  N/A
Year:  2011
Recommended for:  Young adults, grades 6 - 8

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Social Studies Resource 1

Social Studies Resource 2

Arts Resource 1

Arts Resource 2




Summary of Historical Content

History. (1996-2012). http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war

Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (April, 4). Vietnam war. http://www.42explore2.com/vietnam.htm

NJCCS – Social Studies Curriculum Content Standards http://www.nj.gov/education/cccs/standards/6/

NJCCS http://www.nj.gov/education/cccs/standards/1/

Picower 6 elem soc justice.pdf

Rosenburg, J. (2012). Vietnam war. http://history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm
  













  

POSTED BY: Brittany Alicastro, Ariel Kaplan, Jacqueline Nodarse

RECOMMENDED FOR: Ages 12 and up

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SOCIAL STUDIES RESOURCE #1: This is a link to a website on PBSkids. It tells the story of the LIttle Rock Nine and how they made history at Central High School in LIttle Rock in 1957. The article gives a summary of who they are and what they did as it incorporates historical movements, people, and dates in a way that students can understand. The Little Rock Nine are an important part of the story Fire from the Rock as Sylvia is offered a chance (fictionally in the story -- Sylvia is a made up character) to go to Central High School with them. After much consideration and thinking, Sylvia ultimately declines the invitation in the book and watches her classmates endure harsh treatments.

SOCIAL STUDIES RESOURCE #2: This website, another PBSkids website, offers videos, pictures, information, etc. on the Civil Rights Movement, Little Rock Nine, and desegregation. The site offers a short video, narrated by one of the Little Rock Nine students, that can be incorporated in a lesson plan. 

ART RESOURCE #1: This source is a book that can be purchased called The Little Rock Nine Stand up for Their Rights. This book includes a reader's theater that can be incorporated into a lesson in the classroom.
ART RESOURCE #2: Another source would be to incorporate music into the lesson. You could use songs that where mentioned in the book or that relate to that time and then have the students draw what they feel based on the song. Attached is a website of top to Civil Rights Protests songs that you could chose from to use with a class. 

IMPORTANT CHARACTERS: 
Sylvia Patterson, a fifteen year old African American girl, acts as a protagonist for the story. She is surrounded racism and violence that only escalates when she is asked to be one of the few who attend an all white high school. Doing this would require Sylvia to leave behind her friends, school, boyfriend, safety, and comfort level to enter a hostile, violent, dangerous situation. Sylvia attending Central would create controversy and potentially put her and her family in danger. The story follows Sylvia as she struggles to make a decision and live her everyday life while taking "advice" from everyone she talks to. Ultimately, Sylvia decides not the attend Central High School and instead supports her schoolmates, the Little Rock Nine, as they brave the harsh conditions. 

Gary is Sylvia's older brother and "trouble-maker". He strives to create change but often times gets himself hurt or put in danger in the process. His beliefs and motives come across strong and harsh at times and although he wishes to attend Central High School is is known that he would do more harm than good there. 

Rachel Zucker is Sylvia's Jewish white friend. She attends Central High School and although she is white she receives discrimination and violence against her. The violence and attacks on Rachel and her family make it known that African Americans were not the only ones being discriminated against at that time. 

SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL CONTENT: Fire From the Rock takes place in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. This was a time where the world was seen in black and white. Black students from Little Rock were being selected to be the first to integrate into the all white Central High School. These 9 students that attended faced possible danger, exclusion and ridicule just to make a difference. The book focuses on the actual historical events, people, and situations during that time. We hear about these situations first-hand from Sylvia's point of view. Some examples that we hear about are Martin Luther King, Civil Rights Movement, Brown vs. Board of Education, and Emmett Till. These are all events and people that as students we read about in our history books but through the story they are told from the point of view of someone living through them

ELEMENT OF SOCIAL JUSTICE: Element 4- Social Movements and Social Change. Fire From the Rock focuses on integration and how difficult it was during this time to be black. During this time, Arkansas educators are trying out this whole new way of life and schooling. By allowing blacks to be part of their school considers Little Rock, Arkansas to be changing. This book represents the struggles that people had living during this time from the inside out and how much they really needed things to change. 


NJ CORE CURRICULUM STANDARDS:  
Social Studies 
6.1.P.B.1: Develop an awareness of the physical  features of the neighborhood community. 
6.1.4.C.5: Describe the role and relationship among households , businesses , laborers and governments within the economic system. 

Art  
1.3.P.D.2 : Create two and three dimensional works of art while exploring color, line shape .form, texture, and space. 
 1.3.P.B.4 : Listen to , imitate and improvise sounds , patterns , or songs.

LETTER TO: 




CRITIQUE OR ENDORSEMENT OF HISTORICAL CONTEN: Fire from the Rock is a well written novel that portrays accurate events and people through the eyes of a fictional character. The novel tells the story of desegregation involving the Little Rock Nine while incorporating a storyline and plot for the main character, Sylvia. I like how the author created a fictional character to tell the story of how a child during that time might be feeling. She recalls real-life people and events, like the Little Rock Nine and Emmet Till, yet tells the stories through the eyes of a made up character. I think it is an interesting way to tell a fiction story with non-fiction information. Her way of incorporating real-life people and events in a way that make it flow so smoothly with the story makes me believe this would be a excellent book to read with a class. I think students would be able to connect to Sylvia and relate to her while being educated on the events that happened in Arkansas in 1957.