Book Detail

Wall, The: Growing up behind the iron curtain

Publication Information
Author:  Sis, Peter Illustrator:  Sis, Peter
Title:  Wall, The: Growing up behind the iron curtain Date:  2007
Publisher:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux City:  New York
ISBN, paperback:  0-374-34701-8 ISBN, hardback:  

Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes ESOL:  
Family:   Yes Young Adult:   Yes
Picture:   Yes

General Information:
Book Type(s):    biography and autobiography, diaries and journals, nonfiction

HSE Descriptor(s):    social studies| language arts - reading| language arts - writing

Summary:
Author-illustrator Peter Sis documents his growing up in Czechoslovakia behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, using extraordinary drawings in black, white, and red that precede two-page spreads of journal entries. Because the running text at the bottom of the page is short and simple, readers with a wide range of reading abilities can enjoy this book.

Teaching Ideas:
Students might benefit from making a timeline of political events, researching when necessary to understand the relations between the East and West during the Cold War. Teachers will want to emphasize the relationship of text and illustrations in conveying meaning. How and why is the color red used? How does the rare use of color convey meaning? How does the text and type face on either side of the illustrations help readers understand what is happening? Teachers interested in visual literacy could use the composition of the illustrations to teach the importance of the components. (For an excellent tutorial see www.pomona.edu/academics/courserelated/classprojects/Visual-lit/intro/intro.html. ) Readers can choose a favorite illustration to explore with the class or in writing.

Teaching Strategies:
bullet Agree? Disagree? Why?
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/agree_disagree_why.pdf
bullet Bleich's Heuristic for Responding to Reading
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/bleichs_heuristic.pdf
bullet DR-TA: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/dr_ta.pdf
bullet Types of Journals
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/types_of_journals.pdf
bullet (Write and Share) 2
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/write_share2.pdf

Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
bullet Emotions-Personal Issues > personal issues > individual > freedom
bullet Family > children > childhood memories
bullet Geography > locations > continents/regions > Eastern Europe
bullet Geography > maps
bullet Government/Civics > propaganda
bullet Hardships > persecution
bullet Social Studies > sociology > social issues > change
bullet Government/Civics > government


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