Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story Teaching Unit
Grade Level
7th-8th Grade
Subject
Language Arts/Reading
Designed for remedial readers
Time Needed
Recommend 36 class periods for remedial readers
Quicker completion for faster readers
By: Laura Friedman Patton
Indian Woods Middle School
Overland Park, Kansas
Introduction
My name is Laura Patton. I am a secondary-certified language arts teacher and reading specialist. I've taught 7th and 8th graders in the Shawnee Mission School District for the past 20 years. I taught this unit as I was writing it during the 2004-2005 school year. It was impossible for me to write in formal, 3rd person language. Therefore, I have written the materials in my natural voice - informal and 1st person. I would not begin to think that this unit is the best way to teach either a Holocaust memoir or reading skills. It's just one way I tried to help my students become better readers during one particular school year. For me, teaching has always been an act of continuous improvement. I am always looking for new and better ways to help my students learn. I intended this unit to be used primarily by language arts teachers who had never taught the Holocaust before. I wanted it to be a way for teachers to dive in to this challenging subject matter and feel some degree of comfort. I encourage any teacher who uses these materials to adapt them as they see fit.
This teaching unit was designed by a member of the Isak Federman Holocaust Teaching Cadre through MCHE's Masters and Mentors Program.
The Masters and Mentors Program is funded by the H&R Block Foundation, Bertha S. and Ida E. Adelson Memorial Fund, the Legacy Fund, and the Flo Harris Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, the Jewish Heritage Foundation of Greater Kansas City, and the Oppenstein Brothers Foundation.
