Mary M. Cox, Children's Literature Specialist from Ottawa, Ontario Canada, reports:

The Mary Celeste: an Unsolved Mystery from History is a great book for teachers who are interested in teaching and modeling effective strategies that real readers use. I have worked with a grade 4 and a grade 4/5 split group using it. I typed the theories from the back of the book on tent cards and searched the web to find pictures to include on the cards. I asked the children if they had heard of the Mary Celeste, and they did not know anything about her which made this exercise -looking into author's craft- more rewarding. I gave them a little background and the teacher arranged the students into groups. We had six groups, one for each theory. The students read and discussed their cards and then the teacher read the book. I focused on Questioning and Inferring. Wow!!! We told them that we were going to have a debate at the end of the book about the theories on the cards. We set the purpose for reading the book and children were to listen for clues to prove the theory on the card was correct or incorrect. Students busily took notes and at the end of the story the talk was amazing. The students were honestly and fully engaged in this activity. One boy said he could hardly wait to go home and search the web for more information on The Mary Celeste. One student told me that this exercise was "awesome."

Landrum Middle School, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Eighth grade teacher Scott Benyacko reports:

With a study of Briar Rose in the 8th grade and The Devil's Arithmetic in the 7th grade, we will be engaging in a number of events to celebrate Holocaust Remembrance Month in April. Seventh and Eighth grade students at Landrum construct a peace quilt that depicts their interpretations of peace, as opposed to the horrors of war illustrated in the two novels. Students also receive a visit from a Holocaust survivor, and will be participating in a candlelight vigil this year to remember the victims of the Holocaust.

Dr. Steve Sunderland, Professor of Social Work at the University of Cincinnati, has sent me a series of emails about using The Devil's Arithmetic, which I found both provocative and moving.

Michelle S. Hayes, teacher of grades 6-8 at the Inman Middle School in Atlanta Georgia, reports: "I used The Devil's Arithmetic as the cornerstone of our Holocaust unit. The lesson plans and the students' work are online (http://www.geocities.com/mshayes611/The_Devils_Arithmetic.html). For my unit, I like to focus on the children of the Holocaust, their experiences. My goal is to have my students connect to the Holocaust on a personal level. The book helps us achieve that goal and more. The unit has been submitted to the Georgia Department of Education and I will probably submit it to the Core Knowledge Foundation because my school is adopting that reform program."

Shannen L. Webb, Grade 9 teacher at Brown Deer High School in Wisconsin, has found a way to motivate her students while relieving some of the tension engendered by the reading of Devil's Arithmetic. She reports: "After having my students read the novel and answer questions concerning each chapter, I created a treasure hunt.There were three groups of six or seven children, and each group was assigned a color. There was Team Yellow, Team Pink, and Team Purple. There were 13 steps to the hunt. I gave each team an envelope. Each envelope was marked "1" with the team color. The responsibility of each team was to answer the questions on the enclosed card (which was the team color as well) which was taken from the Devil's Arithmetic. The only way the students could answer the question was if they read the story as assigned. It helped them recall important points from the novel. Each answer was the "clue" to finding the next card. Once the students found all twelve cards, there was a final test. If they could answer the question on the final card, it led to the prize--a big bag of candy for the whole team and a homework pass, which the team could use to get out of turning in one assignment of their choice (not including quizzes or exams). It was a wonderful experience watching these 14 year olds running through the hallways of our little school searching out their next clue. It was also a joy to see them working together to recall parts of the book so as to get the correct answer. I just wanted to share this experience and I hope other teachers love watching kids have fun while they learn as I do and choose to use the idea for themselves."

Susie Secco, who teaches first grade at Wildwood Elementary School in Amherst, Massachusetts, contributes the following: In Amherst a study of Puerto Rico is a required part of the first grade Social Studies curriculum. For the past several years I have used Encounter not only as a book that I read around Columbus Day, but as the kick-off to our Puerto Rico study. Because one of the main areas that I concentrate on in this unit is what we know about Taino culture, this book provides a very nice entry into that world and starts my class off with a unique perspective. Because we learn through the book the tragedy of the extinction of that race of people, my students are even more motivated to dig into what has been preserved from the culture.The illustrations so finely complement the text and also add to our study, with the inclusion of images of cemis and guanin.

Dwight R. Martin, seventh grade teacher at Atonement Lutheran School in Florrisant, Missouri, is teaching Armageddon Summer and reports:

I chose Armageddon Summer when we had the Great American book fair in the spring of 2000 for the next school year. My original intent was to make my students more aware of cults as opposed to mainline Christian beliefs.

The presentation of survival of two young people who try to survive parental decisions that they have no control over caused me to present open ended questions about their plight in relation to my own students' lives. I do not make my students choose the "correct side", but coax them to make decisions as Marina and Jed do. I love Jed's irreverence and Marina's loyalty to the family! I emphasize this with a "character web."

We have just finished chapter 14 and the class has decided Julian is special person, so, though a minor character at this point she is important because she aggravates Marina. So, we have listed under her name those characteristic that make her who she is. The class thoroughly loves Jed, but are struggling with Marina because they are not as dutiful as she! I issue worksheets that ask questions about what we have just read aloud. When appropriate I ask opinionated questions that require my students to think about what they have just read. Examples: What are the authors' reasons for the excerpts, etc. included after certain chapters? Why must Jed be so skeptical and caustic? Compare and contrast Marina and Jed's home lives before the move to Mount Weeupcut.

My non-readers are becoming more interested in what makes a good reading. They are becoming more aware of plot and characterization. Many of my students have completed the book way ahead of our reading. I also have one parent who got so caught up in what her child was reading that she requested a copy and finished it in less than a week! The book has allowed me to express my feelings and emotions about cults, families, and authority. What a great read!

Phyllis Harrison of St. Christopher School, Baldwin, NY has students write poems about Devil's Arithmetic. See two of these poems.