I used to love this book. I remember being hooked the first time I read it. It was so interesting and thought provoking. Therefore, I decided to build my next course syllabus based on this book. This course is meant for a person who has about a B2 – C1 level You could possible have someone who is B1 read this, but I would then extend this to a 12-month syllabus because you will need more time to go over the student's comprehension.
Why did I choose this book?
1. History
This book is about a pivotal point in history that is relevant today. Since the book takes place before and during the events of World War 2, you can use materials that are outside of the book to teach the student about the historical significance of this time.
For example,
You can introduce leaders of the relevant people during this time, how the war began, what caused these people to be part of the war and what we can learn from history.
Discussing timelines of the war is an option.
Opposing viewpoints.
How it affected people after the war was over.
Turning points.
etc.
2. The Point of View
*Spoiler Alert*
The book is told from death’s point of view. This is such an interesting thought because during this time especially, there was a tremendous amount of death and destruction in the world.
I think the fact that it is not told from a “human” point of view, makes the story more interesting. It is also an interesting concept that you can teach to your students. The idea that there may be more out there than just us humans and being sensitive to other's beliefs. 😊
3. Morals
We can learn through history. I always have believed in creating a world that is open and safe for all people of all religions, ages, genders, races, etc. This book, and this time in history, is a clear example of dehumanization of people.
Teaching teens and adults about acceptance and how to understand the feelings of these people who were forced into concentration camps, is a good way to spread this acceptance of others. This introduces concepts of treating others with kindness and sticking up for people who are being pushed down.
It doesn’t feel good to have to hide who you are. We should all have the freedom to live. Imagine your child or your best friend being put into these situations, just because they believe something. Scary right?
4. I love it
I read this book when I was a teenager, and I enjoyed the story. If you don’t know, this book is based on a young girl who is inspired to read through a tragic event that happens in the beginning of the story. After she is given to her adopted parents, she learns how to read and starts stealing books because of her life in poverty and the time of war.
Overall, this is a great book, and I recommend reading it, even if it is for your own pleasure. 😊
New Syllabus: Beginning the Break Down
I have finished my first month of ideas for the syllabus. I want to explain the process of beginning to develop a syllabus idea and lesson plan for this book. If you have not read through my other syllabus creation article, I am linking this here:
These are for very different age groups and are centered around different subjects. The syllabus in the other article is for a less advanced, and younger student, while “The Book Thief”, by Markus Zusak is for an older, more advance ESL student.
Now, let’s get into my ideas for this syllabus and how I will break this down for my student.
I decided to break this down into a six-month syllabus because it is a longer book. The book is broken down into to subsections, and then further broken down into smaller chapters.
For the first month, I decided to only include the Prologue and Part 1 of the book series.
Here is a snip from my first planned week.
As you can see, I have included reading, writing, speaking, vocabulary, and listening. I also decided to add in a history section because this book is set in World War 2. I want to discuss what happened during that time, and have the student reflect on the situations that unfolded.
In the first month, I plan on introducing leaders that were influential. I will teach the student about 2 new leaders each week, because trying to discuss every leader in one lesson would not work for the time that we have.
There will also be homework every week that includes reading, writing, listening, speaking, and vocabulary development. I want the student to practice outside the classroom, and homework is a great way to incorporate this.
I am including a snip of this as well:
One difference between “The Book Thief”, by Markus Zusak and “The Giver”, by Lois Lowry is that I included listening into the homework. I plan on finding little clips about what happened in World War 2 from different sources and then having the student answer questions based on the listening.
I also included a debate for this first month's speaking project. The student will prepare information about the topic specified and take a stance on their thoughts. Since this is a private lesson, the student and I will debate together and I will oppose his ideas. It is important for students to be able to get across their thoughts and have a successful discussion about various topics, while being respectful and absorbing the other person's argument. You can have the student do research, answer questions, discuss their findings, and teach them how to prepare for a debate.
This syllabus is designed to be more challenging. I want to push the student’s skills and really focus on developing different areas in the time given.
I am also including more summary writing because I would like to help this student with sentence building and grammar. I want to check for their understanding after reading and listening to a text.
Feel free to look at the snips from the syllabus I am building. I will keep you updated on my plan for this book and student as I continue to solidify my thoughts and ideas. Also, when I create the lesson themselves. I am super excited about creating the presentations for the classes because it is my favorite part.
I like to center my lessons around books for several reasons:
1. It is a common interest or at least gives you the ability to have something in common.
I have had students where I had nothing in common with and then rushed into lessons without proper planning nor any way to connect with my students. They had said they wanted “conversational English” and only to speak with me, but I had nothing in common with them, so finding conversation starters sometimes was difficult.
I never really had students my own age either. They were either older or way younger. So, reading a book and assigning a book for them to read in fields or subjects that interest them, can really help give you at least a starting conversational point.
2. Vocabulary Building
Books have expanded even my own vocabulary. In every book I read, I often find words I have never seen, or words that I have forgotten existed! A book also gives example sentences with the word being used.
You can also use a corpus of the book you are reading and then search for this vocabulary and see if it is used again and how it is used. Using a corpus for your classes is a research project that I am looking into for my master’s thesis, but it is still in the developing phases. If you are interest, keep a look out for lessons designed based on Corpus linguistics.
(Corpus linguistics is the study of language based on collections of language)
3. Grammar Structures
Reading exposes people to correct grammatical structures and how to use the new vocabulary in sentences correctly. This can also be done through movies and short video clips. This is why I included homework that is based on listening and reading.
That is all for now, enjoy your week and the article! Please subscribe and share with anyone you think could benefit from this article. 😊 Bye!