Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II

ALA Notable Book + Teacher's Choice Book

“ First Anni, then Sabina, and finally me, 

we all came to this country.  

We didn’t have much to bring with us:

 my yellow star, 

Anni’s blue numbers tattooed on her arm 

by the guards at Auschwitz, 

Sabina’s scar from the bullet. 

  It didn’t matter.  

We were a family again.”  

Always Remember Me is: Inspirational, Heartrending, Empowering, Thoughtful, and Astute

Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II

Written by Marisabina Russo

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Reading Level:

Lexile: 720L

Grade Level(s): 1-5

Suggested Delivery: Read aloud

Summary:

Every Sunday at Rachel’s family dinner, her Oma shows her two albums: one of her old life and one of her new life.  Oma always skips over the “sad part” until finally, at this meal she is ready to share her story with her granddaughter.  Oma and her three daughters had lived in Germany when Hitler came into power.  Oma shares with Rachel her experiences as a Jew in a country where she and her children were not welcome.  This is wonderful, sensitively written book to introduce children to the Holocaust and the Jewish experience.  Readers will see that even though this family endured very difficult times they survived because of their determination and love for each other.

Electronic Resources for Educators:

Please take time to preview the following websites and videos prior to showing this to your students.  Find pieces of the videos that are appropriate for your classroom.

Use the following websites before you read the book to your students.  Students will comprehend the text better if they have an understanding of what the Holocaust was and how it affected the Jews in Eastern Europe.

http://www.ushmm.org/learn/students
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website is a great resource to share with your students.  It has a timeline of events, introduction to the Holocaust, many online activities, as well as tons other great learning tools for you to take advantage of.  Please look through it before you assign students to use the site.  There could be some graphic photographs or information that is not appropriate for elementary students.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/history.html
This is a website for the teacher to read a summary of the events of the Holocaust and to refresh your memory.  It is important for you to be able to answer your students questions about this serious topic.

http://www.yadvashem.org/
Yadvashem is the Holocaust museum in Israel. It is a valuable resource for research and to get a better understanding of the Jewish experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sArJ-CLHPXI

Listen to Marion Blumenthal Lazan, a Holocaust Survivor's experience in the Holocaust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeixVrnS7r8

Etta Katz's incredible story of survival.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FONfCP4NyQ4

Elie Weisel and Oprah Winfrey tour Auschwitz.

Teaching Suggestions:

Key Vocabulary:

Discrimination-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discrimination

Rabbi-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rabbi

Haberdashery-http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/haberdashery

Jew-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jew

Judaism-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/judaism

Concentration camp-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concentration%20camp

Anti-Semitism-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti-semitism

Comprehension Activities for the Classroom Teacher:

Before Reading Activity: I would explain what the Holocaust was in kid friendly terms.  I would also use this time to introduce the key vocabulary that you choose to touch on during the reading.  You could use pictures from google or a video from one of the Holocaust sites to provide a visual for your students.  If possible it would be incredible for your students to get to meet and listen to  a Holocaust survivor's story. Unfortunately, many survivors have passed away due to old age, so you could also invite their children or grandchildren to speak to your class. Another way to personalize this experience for your students would also be to watch a video/interviews on the Holocaust. I have included a few interviews in the electronic resources for educators section.

During Reading Activity:Fishbowl Discussion-
Divide the class into two groups. One will make a large outer circle and the other group will sit on the inside of the outer circle in a smaller circle. The outer circle will at first be observers while the inner circle discusses what they have read thus far in the book. The teacher needs to model how to discuss this literature as well as share his/her expectations for the activity. The teacher should ask questions to get students thinking.  After the inner circle discusses the book, let the outer circle have a turn. I would make sure that both groups talks about the Jewish experience and that they think about how scary and difficult Oma and her daughters lives were while they were in Germany. What were the differences between Rachel's aunts experiences? Why might Oma have not shared her old album with Rachel before this particular meal?

Post Reading Activity:·      -ReQuest Activity- 

In this activity students and teachers use reciprocal questioning by asking each other questions after reading, this assists with reading comprehension. The goal is to form a conversation through questioning. The students and teacher should ask questions that make one reflect on the events and meaning of the book.

Writing Activity: If you were Rachel and your Oma told you this story at a family dinner, how might your opinion of your Oma change and why?