skip to main |
skip to sidebar
My name is Samir. I’m a Palestinian and I live in the middle of a war-zone. I want to be like my brother Fadi…dying the death of a hero. Actually die…not fall off my stupid motorbike and land in the hospital like a coward cheating death. Never mind the fact that this is a Jewish hospital. How can it be that the only people who can save my leg are the same ones responsible for my brother’s death? How can anyone in this hospital understand me? Even if they are my age...Samir and Yonaton is about a friendship forged from the ashes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As each child’s story unfolds, they will discover a deep humanity that leads to the tearing down of racial walls and emotional barriers. Use this book with your students to get them personally involved in a centuries-old conflict that still effects the world today.
Pedro has to write a composition during class about what his family does from the time he gets home to the time he goes to sleep. What a strange topic. It's even stranger that his regular teacher has been replaced by Captain Romo, a government soldier. When Pedro gets home, his parents react very strangely.
Will they get in trouble with the government and disappear just like Don Daniel, Pedro's best friend's dad? Welcome to life in a dictatorship. What would your students do if they were in Pedro's place? How would their lives change if the government took over your school? Have your students write a composition like Pedro's, but don't tell them why until the end of class. Would they change what they wrote if they knew?
Teach your students about different types of governments by having them live through it. It's sure to be a lesson they won't forget!
Skarmata, A. & Ruano, A. (2000). The Composition. Berkeley, CA: Groundwood Books.
