Literature Circles – Milkweed



Literature Circles – Milkweed

• Answer the following open ended questions on a separate sheet of paper.

• Answer each question in at least 1- 2 paragraphs. Each paragraph must be 7 or more sentences.

• Create 1-2 open-ended questions you’d like to discuss with your group.

Creating Open ended questions:

Open ended questions do not have one right answer or wrong answer. Instead, these questions:

• Are not easily answered – they make you think.

• Are not answered with a yes/no.

• Are not fact/recall questions about the text. Instead, they are questions that ask for opinions.

• Have more than one possible answer.

• Lead to different opinions/viewpoints.

• Make people interpret why something happens or why a character does something.

• Pose comparisons. (between characters, important events, modern life and the book, etc.).

• Make you put yourself in the characters’ shoes.

• Connect the book with personal experiences.

• Focus on important parts of the story.

LITERATAURE CIRCLE #1

Read pgs. 1-68, and answer the below questions.

DUE: 4/15/16

1. Uri advises Misha and the other homeless boys that an important

survival skill is to remain invisible. Why is this an important skill?

How does Misha have a difficult time remaining invisible?

2. Discuss what Misha Pilsudski means when he says, “Thanks to

Uri, in a cellar beneath a barbershop somewhere in Warsaw, Poland, in

autumn of the year 1939, I was born, you might say.” (p. 31)

3. How does the made-up story of his life become so important to him? Compare Misha’s personality before and after he learned of this made-up story. What would it be like to not have a “story”, or knowledge of your past? How might you view the world?

4. Discuss the qualities of true friendship. Talk about the friendship that develops between Misha and Janina. Why is Misha such a good friend to the orphans? Why does Dr. Korczak, the head of the orphanage, call Misha a “foolish, good-hearted boy” (p. 64)?

LITERATAURE CIRCLE #2

Read pgs. 69-137, and answer the below questions.

DUE: 4/22/16

1. In the beginning of Chapter 15, Misha compares the "parade" of Jews walking to the ghetto with the Nazi "parades" that he has seen. Write ONE paragraph describing the parade of people that Misha saw in Chapter 15. (Use specifice images/quotes from the book.)

2. Why do you think the author chose to have Misha use the word "parade"? Specifically, discuss the connotation (feel) of this word in general, and then discuss how it feels for the reader to hear Misha say “parade” when talking about the Jews marching into the ghetto and the Nazis marching through the streets.

3. What do you think it was like living in the ghetto? Write two paragraphs from the point of view of one of the Milgroms describing their life in the ghetto. Based on their actions, dialogue, interactions with other characters, etc., infer how it must feel to live in the ghetto. Be sure to refer to specific examples from the book in your response.

4. How did Misha help the Milgrom family? How did the Milgrom family help him? Consider both the emotional and the physical help in your answer.

LITERATURE CIRCLE #3

Read pgs. 138-208, and answer the below questions.

DUE: 4/29/16

1. What are some of the things that Misha understands now that he didn't understand at the beginning of the story?

2. Did the story end in the way that you thought it would? Explain why or why not.

3. Near the end of the book, Misha said that the world had returned to normal but that he didn't know how to live in a normal world. What are some things that Misha did not learn in his early life that most young people learn? How did this leave him unprepared to live in a normal world?

4. Do you think Uri made a good choice when he went to work for the Nazis? Explain your answer.

5. Why do you think the book was titled Milkweed? (You will need to look up the definition of milkweed first, and then discuss how it relates to the plot and themes in the book).

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