8th Grade Holocaust Unit:
Hana's Suitcase is an elegant book combining the biography of the short life of
Hana Brady, a Holocaust victim, and the efforts of Fumiko Ishioka to piece together the
story of her life seventy years later. Fumiko is the creater of the children's Holocaust
education centre in Tokyo. The title of the book comes from Hana's suitcase, which was
loaned to the center for a display of children's articles, intended to help the museum's
visitors understand how the Holocaust affected children. The suitcase, bearing Hana's
name, generated so much interest that Fumiko felt compelled to track Hana's story
down.
We will follow these two remarkable stories in parallel as they come together in a beautiful and touching conclusion of life and joy rising out of suffering and death.
Hana's Suitcase Skill Sets:
Part One: (Pages 2-13) Non-Fiction Text Features
Part Two: (Pages 14-27) Character Traits
Part Three: (Pages 28-39) Word Study
p. 29 deported
p. 29 inmates
p. 31 Gestapo
p. 36 wicket
p. 38 dejected
Part Four: (Pages 40-48) Inferencing
Part Five: (Pages 49-58) Text to Self Connections
Part Six: (Pages 59-70) Compare and Contrast
Part Seven: (Pages 71-82) Analyzing Genre
Part Eight (Pages 83-88) Making Predictions
Part Nine (Pages 89-99) Inferencing
Part Ten (Pages 100-109) Writing to Explain
Part One: (Pages 2-13) Non-Fiction Text Features
Part Two: (Pages 14-27) Character Traits
Part Three: (Pages 28-39) Word Study
p. 29 deported
p. 29 inmates
p. 31 Gestapo
p. 36 wicket
p. 38 dejected
Part Four: (Pages 40-48) Inferencing
Part Five: (Pages 49-58) Text to Self Connections
Part Six: (Pages 59-70) Compare and Contrast
Part Seven: (Pages 71-82) Analyzing Genre
Part Eight (Pages 83-88) Making Predictions
Part Nine (Pages 89-99) Inferencing
Part Ten (Pages 100-109) Writing to Explain