ELA8, CSS, Sferrazza

To better understand the perspectives and experiences of the characters found in the stories you read, you will need to read closely and critically.  In the following lesson, you are going to read diary accounts of two girls with very different experiences in World War II.  These diaries are called primary resources.  

Primary sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection to it.  They are also called original sources.  

This story is about two girls (Leah and Suzy) who meet after WW2. One girl is a refugee from the Holocaust who has survived horrific conditions while the other is an American girl who really doesn't understand what the Jewish girl has been through. This assignment asks you to find evidence of how Leah's experience in the war has affected her.

To become a critical reader, you need to become an evidence hunter.  

Using Evidence from Text

To use evidence from text,  1.  Examine the task and consider, in this case,  a)  What was Leah's experience in the war? b)  How did it affect her? 2.  Form a conclusion or make an inference about how that experience affected Leah. 3.  Locate evidence in the diary that supports your conclusion. 4.  Explain in your own words how that evidence supports the conclusion you made. a)  How do you know that? b)  What led you to this conclusion?

Go to Assignment 1.4 in the learning guide to see an example.

Click here to read the story and complete 1.4:  Suzy and Leah in your learning guide.