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the same way as the genocide in Cambodia. The result of his findings was hisEight Stages of Genocide, which he presented to the US State Department in1996. He established that these stages are the steps that each genocide goesthrough. In examining the Darfurian genocide, one may surmise that it followsthe same course. Using the “Eight Stages of Genocide” worksheet found under“Important Worksheets and Handouts”, walk through the steps and welcome anyexamples the students may be aware of. Identify that while they read BetweenShades of Gray they should be able to identify these steps.Activity: Students will be a “Reporter on Assignment.” They will have the rest ofthe class period to write a short article describing a particular genocide. Beginthe article with a strong title that will captivate the audience. Include anyappropriate background to better understand the event. Give details to explainthe event and answer who, what, when, where, why.Closing: Ask students to start thinking about what they would do if they heard agenocide was occurring in another country today.Homework: Students must finish the book up to chapter 16 and finish firstreading group worksheet.12

Lesson 3: Reading Group 1CCSS: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, ingroups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, andissues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly (Speaking &Listening 8.1).Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over thecourse of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot;provide an objective summary of the text (Reading: Literature 8.2).SWBAT: Communicate more proficiently and demonstrate their ability to workwith a group.Opening Activity: Pushing the desks aside to make a large space in the middle,the instructor will use tape to identify the standing/sitting room of the cattle carsLina and the others are forced to ride in. The rectangle should be about 26’2” by8’10” (may require further investigation). This activity works best with a largeclass. As students come into class, instruct them to come into the taped area.Encourage those who come in first to sit. Once everyone is in the “cattle car”turn off the lights (it would be cool to also find sound effects for the time theyspend in the car). Instruct the students that this is a serious moment. Ask themto contemplate what they are feeling as they sit/stand in the car. Invite them tocontemplate how they would feel if they were in Lina’s situation. After about 5 orso minutes (don’t let them get restless), allow the students to spread out on thefloor. Sit with them and discuss the experience. (Remind them that on page 35Lina says that she “counted the people—forty-six packed in a cage on wheels,maybe a rolling coffin.”)Reading Group: Release the class to reorganize the desks into their readinggroups. For the next half hour they will discuss the first few chapters of the bookusing their Literature Circle Role sheets. The instructor will go around to thegroups offering help, adding to the discussion, or simply listening.Class discussion: Move the desks into one large circle. Take the time to discusswhat they have concluded in their groups. Do they still have questions? What dothey want to discuss? Allow them to lead the discussion on their own as much aspossible. (If discussion questions are needed to promote interaction, manychoices can be found under “Ideas and Questions for Discussion”)Homework: Day 3-4: Chapters 17-31 (Pages 62-119—57 pages)13

Lesson 4: Making a ConnectionCCSS: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of whatthe text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (Reading:Literature 8.1)By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories,dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6-8 text complexity bandindependently and proficiently. (Reading: Literature 8.10)SWBAT: Analyze and interpret poetry. Create their own poetry and another formof art to express a personal message.Opening Activity: In their journals, have students write a short poem as if theywere experiencing genocide in their own country. They can take on theperspective of someone being taken from their home, someone taking peoplefrom their homes, or someone watching people take their neighbors from theirhomes. It can take any form but must be descriptive and portray certainemotions. Don’t just tell—show. Invite those who want to, to perform their poemin front of the class.Discussion: From what they have learned and read about so far, what are theyfeeling? Give them the opportunity to express any concerns or questions theymay have.Poetry: Move on from the discussion by giving students two poems: First TheyCame For The Jews by Martin Niemöller and Something by Michael R. Burch(found under “Important Worksheets and Handouts”). Identify the authors andimportant information (Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) was a prominentProtestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler andspent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. Michael R. Burchis an American poet and a leading online editor and publisher of Holocaust,Hiroshima, Trail of Tears, Darfur, Haiti and Nakba (the Arabic term for theevents of 1948, when many Palestinians were displaced from their homeland bythe creation of the new state of Israel) poetry.). Read the two poems out loud andthen dismiss the students to work individually to analyze and annotate thepoems. After ten or so minutes, allow them to work with a partner.Class Discussion: Discuss what they discovered about the poems. What did theylearn? What did they feel? Could they picture themselves in Niemöller’s poem?Did the poems upset them? Allow the students to lead the discussion.Instruction: Identify the power poetry has to tell a story. Connect it to Lina’sartwork and her ability to use it to portray her emotions. Identify other forms ofexpressing one’s self.14

Activity: Give students the rest of the class period to portray an importantmessage they have (it can be about anything appropriate) in some form of art.They can work individually or with a group. It can be poetry, art, dance, music,etc. If there is time, several students can present their work to the class.Homework: Students must finish the book up to chapter 31 and finish secondreading group worksheet.15

Lesson 5: Reading Group 2CCSS: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, ingroups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, andissues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly (Speaking &Listening 8.1).Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over thecourse of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot;provide an objective summary of the text (Reading: Literature 8.2).SWBAT: Present what they have learned so far from the book and explain itsimportance to their classmates.Journal: Students will answer the question “If you were any character in thereading is there something you would do differently? What would it be and why?”Final Project Instruction: Students will be given the directions to the final projectfor the unit (Directions are listed under “Final Project”. The different options willbe explained to them and they will be notified that on the final day of the unitthey must give an oral presentation of their project.Reading Group: Release the class to reorganize the desks into their readinggroups. For the next half hour they will discuss the first few chapters of the bookusing their Reading Group worksheets. The instructor will go around to thegroups offering help, adding to the discussion, or simply listening.Class discussion: Move the desks into a one large circle. Take the time to discusswhat they have concluded in their groups. Do they still have questions? What dothey want to discuss? Allow them to lead the discussion on their own as much aspossible. (If discussion questions are needed to promote interaction, manychoices can be found under “Ideas and Questions for Discussion”)Closing: Ask the students to think about risk. What is it? What is worth taking arisk?Homework: Day 5-6: Chapters 32-46 (Pages 120-185—65 pages)16

Lesson 6: RiskCCSS: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or dramapropel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision (Reading:Literature 8.3).SWBAT: Demonstrate their ability to think critically and present their ideasskillfully.Journal: Students will answer the question “What are three things you would risktaking with you if you were being forced from your home? Is it a risk worthtaking? Why?”Class discussion: What is risk? What is worth taking a risk? What kind of persontakes risks? What are possible outcomes of risk--both positive and negative?Using what they wrote in their journals earlier, what are some things that theywould risk taking with them and why? Is it worth the risk?Journal Continued: Put the following quotations on the board and ask studentswhat they’re feeling and their opinion about risk. Do they agree with the quotes?Do they disagree? Why? They will write their response in their journals forabout ten minutes.a. “All glory comes from daring to begin.” (anonymous)b. “To achieve great things, we must live as though we were never going todie.” (Vauvenargues)c. “If one is forever cautious, can one remain a human being?” (AlexandrSolzhenitsyn)d. “Survival is triumph enough.” (Harry Crews)e. “Great men are not always wise.” (Job 32:9)f. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt)Group discussion: In groups of three or four the students will look through thechapters they have read so far and identify times when any character has takena risk. They must define whether it was worth it or not (explain why) andidentify any consequences. They will chart what they find on a piece of paper thatwill later be turned in.Class Discussion: The class will come back together as a giant circle and discusswhat they have found. What are their final thoughts? Do they disagree with anycharacters? Why or why not? What would they do in their situation? Does yourwillingness to take a risk change depending on if you are responsible for others—how is this idea shown in the book?Closing: Challenge them to continue to identify where risks are taken in the bookand to consider what they would do in the situation. Also, challenge them to17

recognize where they, or those close to them, take risks and to consider if therisk is worth the consequence.Homework: Students must finish the book up to chapter 46 and finish thirdreading group worksheet.18

Lesson 7: Reading Group 3CCSS: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, ingroups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, andissues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly (Speaking &Listening 8.1).Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over thecourse of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot;provide an objective summary of the text (Reading: Literature 8.2).SWBAT: Present what they have learned so far from the book and explain itsimportance to their classmates.Opening Activity: In Between Shades of Gray, readers learn of the diabolicalsystem devised by Stalin’s government to deal with dissenters or anyone itperceived as a threat to the regime. In part, the system was designed to useconfusion, brutality, and alienation to force confessions to whatever crimes thestate might trump up against them. The text indicates that things went easier onthose who confessed, but Elena and many of the others continued to refuse.Students will get into groups of four and will decide together the pros and cons ofsigning the NKVD’s confession papers. As a group, they must come to aunanimous agreement on whether or not their group signs the papers. As theydiscuss, they will consider the experiences of Lina and her family and friends aswell as those who signed, and use textual evidence to provide specific examplesto support their case. Remind them to consider what we have discussed aboutrisk. The class will then discuss the stance they have taken and each side willexplain their reasoning to the other.Reading Group: Release the class to reorganize the desks into their readinggroups. For the next half hour they will discuss the first few chapters of the bookusing their Reading Group worksheets. The instructor will go around to thegroups offering help, adding to the discussion, or simply listening.Class discussion: Move the desks into a one large circle. Take the time to discusswhat they have concluded in their groups. Do they still have questions? What dothey want to discuss? Allow them to lead the discussion on their own as much aspossible. (If discussion questions are needed to promote interaction, manychoices can be found under “Ideas and Questions for Discussion”)Homework: Day 7-8: Chapters 47-60 (Pages 186-241—55 pages)19

Lesson 8: GulagCCSS: Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material understudy; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic,text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion. (Speaking &Literature 8.1A)SWBAT: Develop their research skills as they search for information on a newtopic.Journal: Students will respond to the question, “The majority of the book is set inthe Soviet Gulag (prison camp) system, although Sepetys does not use thatspecific term. How does the book explain why the Soviet Union did what it did in1941, and how does it explain the actions of the NKVD?” (This step may requiresome setting up. Identify that the labor camps Lina and the others have been inare a part of the Soviet Gulag system.)Activity: The Soviet gulag system is one of the most notorious prison systems inhistory, and considerable historical evidence indicates that it claimed tens ofmillions of lives. Divide students into groups to investigate the elements of thegulag system:a. Siberia & the Geography of the Gulag: investigate Siberia’s historical roleas a region of exclusion for Russia. Examine maps of the gulag network,and develop a rationale for the placement, movement, and purpose of thecamps (which had a labor as well as an incarceration function). Comparethe locations of the camps to a population density map of the SovietUnion over time. !b. The Gulag in Literature: examine excerpts from texts such as One Day inthe Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Gulag Archipelago, Kolyma Tales,Everything I Possess I Carry With Me, and In The First Circle. Comparethe representations of the gulag and prison life in these works. !c. Gulag Prisoners: whether sent to prison by the tsars or the communistdictators, prisoners in the gulag like Lina and her family were often nottypical violators of the law. Investigate the groups targeted for imprisonment in Siberia over the course of Russian history, who were often jailedfor religious, ethnic, intellectual, or political affiliations. !Presentation: Groups will present their information to the class and answer anyquestions. 3-5 minutes each.Class Discussion: Once all groups have presented the class will have a groupdiscussion in a large circle. What were they surprised to learn? How did learningabout this make them feel? Knowing about Lina and her experience, how wouldthey handle being in her or her fellow prisoners’ shoes? Connecting the gulagsystem back to the eight stages of genocide, what purpose do gulags serve in20

genocide? What do they do to the people? These gulags were set up in manydifferent areas, why did no one living near them try to put a stop to it?Homework: Students must finish the book up to chapter 60 and finish fourthreading group worksheet.21

Lesson 9: Reading Group 4CCSS: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, ingroups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, andissues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly (Speaking &Listening 8.1).Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over thecourse of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot;provide an objective summary of the text (Reading: Literature 8.2).SWBAT: Present what they have learned so far from the book and explain itsimportance to their classmates.Journal: Students will respond to the question, “How does the author use theembedded flashbacks to help readers understand why Lina’s family has beenrounded up for punishment? Do you agree with the family’s choices? Why or whynot?”Reading Group: Release the class to reorganize the desks into their readinggroups. For the next half hour they will discuss the first few chapters of the bookusing their Reading Group worksheets. The instructor will go around to thegroups offering help, adding to the discussion, or simply listening.Class discussion: Move the desks into a one large circle. Take the time to discusswhat they have concluded in their groups. Do they still have questions? What dothey want to discuss? Allow them to lead the discussion on their own as much aspossible. (If discussion questions are needed to promote interaction, manychoices can be found under “Ideas and Questions for Discussion”)Closing: Consider the people who lived near

Introduction to Between Shades of Gray: Provide each student with his or her copy of the book (the 2011 hardcover was used as a reference for this guide). Invite a student to read the synopsis on the inside cover of the novel. Ask who has heard of Joseph Stalin an