Immigration-Ireland 1845

Nory Ryan's Song

By: Patricia Reilly Giff

Summary:

     12 year-old Nory Ryan and her family have always scraped by as Irish potato farmers.  With her sister leaving for America, her father away fishing for the season, and a younger brother to take care of, Nory has her hands full.  Life becomes even tougher when rotting odors start emanating from the potato crops.  With no food, Nory must turn to extreme measures to ensure the survival of her family. 

      In addition to starvation, Nory and other villagers must deal with a cruel English Lord who would rather have sheep on his land. 

      Author Patricia Reilly Giff delivers an emotional masterpiece that will have readers running to the library for the sequel, Maggie's Door. 

Teaching Tips:

 1) Before reading, show students where Ireland is located on a map.  Point out England's location in comparison to Ireland.  Mention that at this time, Ireland was controlled by the English Crown. 

 2) Before reading, discuss how potatoes were not only a cash crop, but a source of income for the Irish.  When the Irish potato famine struck, over one million men, women, and children of the eight million people in Ireland died. 

 3) As students are reading, have them discuss what this event must have been like from multiple points of view (i.e. Nory, Patch, Lord Cunningham, Father). 

Additional Resources:

Book 2

Book 3

Yellow Fever Ravages Philadelphia

Fever 1793

By: Laurie Halse Anderson

Summary:

Philadelphia, 1793.  Yellow Fever Strikes.  Mattie Cook's world is turned upside down.  People are dropping like flies in the city.  Chaos, looting, and crime skyrocket as the city tries to combat Yellow Fever in the sweltering summer sun.  Mattie's mom soon gets infected and sends Mattie out of the city to stay safe.  But danger follows Mattie as she fights for her survival. 

Teaching Tips:

The best thing about this book will also be the most challenging for some readers.  The dialogue, setting, and lifestyle are all historically accurate.  Laurie Halse Anderson does an amazing job of portraying what life was like in 1793!  

1) Frontload vocabulary for your students as they read each chapter.  Discuss what the terms are and how they related to life in 1793 before they read.  Decide what words you want to frontload, and what words you would like your students to grapple with and decipher using context clues. 

 2) Have students write questions they have on sticky notes as they are reading.  When you confer with your students go through their annotations and discuss together.  Fever 1793 is a great book for questioning and inferring. 

 3) Discuss the appendix with your students once they finish reading the book.  Knowing that these events really happened to men, women, and children makes this powerful book even more impactful. 

Additional Resources:

  Bookrags- Study Guide, about the author, character analysis and more.  Great place for teachers to find information for a novel study. 

Eyewitness to History- Great site containing additional information regarding Yellow Fever in 1793.

Bob Arnebeck-Bob Arnebeck is a historian who analyzes Anderson's book, discusses the accuracies of the text, and goes into great detail of what life was like for Philadelphians at the time of the outbreak. 

Medieval England

Crispin: The Cross of Lead

By: Avi

Summary:

Book Trailer of Crispin

Teaching Tips:

 1) Discuss the daily life of a serf in 14th century England.  (Working all day, little pay, the importance of religion, etc.)

 2) As Crispin grows and changes, discuss with your students the what they observe about his character.  How does he change emotionally?  How do his actions change?  

 3) Upon completion of the book make predictions about what is next for Crispin.  Also, preview Crispin: At the Edge of the World with your students.  

4) Book three in the series is Crispin: The End of Time

Additional Resources: 

1) Scholastic Discussion Guide

2) Author Interviews, Teaching Guides, Lesson Plans

3) Avi's Homepage!