Boys in the Boat* by Daniel James Brown (BL: 8.4, 27 points) and The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow (BL: 5.7, 13 points)

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1 Welcome to 8 th grade honors language arts! In preparation for the reading and writing we will complete in class next year, I encourage you to read and write as much as possible this summer. In addition to the books, newspapers, and magazines you choose on your own, please select one of the two pairs of books listed below. Each pair includes a fiction and a nonfiction book, which together explore one or more shared themes. You must read BOTH books in the pair that you select. Before reading the books, please review the corresponding questions. While reading, feel free to use Post-It notes to mark passages you find relevant to answering the questions. Your typed responses to the questions are due the first day of school. You will also take the AR test and a written essay test on your two books during the first week of school. Paired text selections for 8 th grade honors language arts (Choose one PAIR of books for a total of TWO books) Night by Elie Wiesel (BL: 4.8, 4 points) and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (BL: 5.1, 18 points) Boys in the Boat* by Daniel James Brown (BL: 8.4, 27 points) and The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow (BL: 5.7, 13 points) *Choose original adult version NOT middle-grade adaptation

2 Honors 8 th Grade Language Arts Night and The Book Thief Discussion Questions: TYPE answers in complete sentences. 1. Many readers see certain genres as more accurate, authentic, and/or emotionally powerful than others. For example, some readers question whether a piece of nonfiction can provide an emotionally gripping account, while others question whether a piece of fiction can provide an accurate version of events. Both Night, a work of nonfiction, and The Book Thief, a work of fiction, tell the story of the Holocaust and WWII. Describe and evaluate in detail the impact each of these books had on your understanding of this historical period. Include text evidence from both books in your answer as you consider the following: Did one book provide a more emotionally gripping account than the other? Did Wiesel s or Zusak s style engage you more strongly as a reader? How? Was one book more authentic than the other? Was the narrator of each story reliable? What memories from each book will stay with you? How did the ending of each affect you? Would you recommend one or both books to others? 2. Among other lessons, the memory of the Holocaust testifies to the importance of standing up for and acting on one s beliefs, even when those beliefs challenge seemingly legitimate and dangerously powerful authorities. As Night and The Book Thief both demonstrate, not all Germans accepted the Nazi belief system, and in fact, many Jews and non-jews alike actively resisted the advance of Nazi ideology. However, resistance was not universal, even among those who opposed the Nazis. Using evidence from both Night and The Book Thief, discuss the motivations of those who resisted and the motivations of those who remained complacent. What message does each author send through the stories of resistance and complacency he selected to include? 3. As we see in both Night and The Book Thief, the Holocaust forced individuals to confront complicated ethical decisions and think outside the bounds of simple, black-and-white morality. For example, in Night, Eliezer lied to Stein, his relative, about Stein s family, while in The Book Thief, Liesel regularly stole books from the mayor s wife s library. Discuss Eliezer s and Liesel s choices in these situations and in at least one other situation from each book. What moral message does the author send by having these good characters exhibit conventionally immoral behavior? Do you agree with this message and with Eliezer s and Liesel s choices? 4. Both Night and The Book Thief undeniably include a great deal of death. In fact, Death even narrates The Book Thief. Does the prevalence of death in these two books make them stories of death or stories of life? How is the presentation of death in each text similar and different? Support your answer with evidence from the texts.

3 5. How does each text present humanity? Are people basically good or evil? Are people primarily selfless or selfish? What responsibility, if any, do people have to others? Support your answer with evidence from the texts.

4 Honors 8 th Grade Language Arts The Boys in the Boat and The Berlin Boxing Club Discussion Questions: TYPE answers in complete sentences. 1. George Yeoman Pocock, an expert oarsman and boat builder, who was all but born with an oar in his hands, privately tutored Joe about the rowing shell to help transform him into the type of oarsman he would eventually become. Similarly, Max Schmelling, himself a world renowned boxing champion, mentored Karl, transforming him from a weak, skinny boy into a formidable fighter. Identify at least two of Pocock s beliefs that influenced Joe and two of Schmelling s beliefs that influenced Karl, and explain how these beliefs influenced each young man s transformation as an athlete and as a person. 2. To convey the physical challenge of rowing to those unfamiliar with the sport, Brown explains that rowing a two-thousand-meter-race the Olympic standard takes the same physiological toll as playing two basketball games back-to-back and that it exacts that toll in about six minutes. Although less scientific, Max explains the endurance test of boxing to Karl when he says, Every second in the ring feels like a minute, and every minute can feel like an hour. Identify at least two examples from the text that illustrate the truth of Max s and Brown s assertions. In other words, recount two specific experiences in which each athlete undergoes the endurance test of his sport. 3. Al Ulbrickson s goal was to create a team from these green and untested boys that put first and foremost the boys in the boat as one entity ahead of anything else: personal glory, ego, etc. This emphasis in Joe s training on teamwork and solidarity seems to contrast sharply with Karl s experiences among his fellow boxing club members who reveled in cutting me down and seemed to thrive on pointing out my weaknesses. Is it fair to say that rowing is a team sport while boxing is an individual sport? If so, does the individual matter in rowing? How? Does the sport of boxing include team elements? How? Support your answer with evidence from the texts. 4. Master craftsman George Yeoman Pocock s insights into the construction of a racing shell, including his understanding of the types of wood, the camber, and the intimacy of the wood, address not only the quality of the boat but also the quality of the athlete and the team. In these insights, Pocock describes the sport of rowing as a highly artistic and scientific endeavor. Similarly, Max instructs Karl to see the artistry and science of boxing and to think of his body and his opponent s body as a building in need of a strong foundation. Identify two specific instances in each text where Joe and Karl put this advice into action. How would each text, as a whole, respond to the scornful distinction Karl s father draws between brains and body when he says, We are people of the mind Our brains are not in our feet? 5. Both Joe and Karl experienced immense emotional and physical hardship at an early age. In spite or perhaps because of these personal challenges both young men went on to achieve some measure of greatness in their respective sports. How did each athlete s personal challenges affect his athletic pursuits,

5 and what role did each athlete s athletic pursuits play in his handling of his personal challenges? What does the author of each book reveal about Joe s and Karl s characters through these personal and athletic challenges? What does the author of each book reveal about the world through Joe and Karl s personal and athletic challenges? In your answer, be sure to explain Karl s and Max s assertion that, in some ways, the box ring was safer and less complicated than the world outside the ring. 6. Although both Joe and Karl experienced the 1936 Berlin Olympics, their experiences of this significant historical event were, on a personal level, very different. Using text evidence, analyze the significance of the 1936 Olympics to each young man and to the plot of each book. In what ways was this event a turning point in each book? 7. The author of The Berlin Boxing Club weaves the story of Nazi Germany directly into the story of Karl Stern, while the author of The Boys in the Boat writes of the rise of Hitler s regime and its burgeoning atrocities and discriminations in separate chapters that parallel Joe s story. Why might each author have structured his text as he did? How does the structure of each text affect your experience as a reader? How does the genre of each text affect your understanding of this historical period? 8. Although The Berlin Boxing Club and The Boys in the Boat are, undoubtedly, the stories of Karl Stern and Joe Rantz, they are also the stories of each boy s mentors. At first glance, these mentors included, for Joe, Al Ubrickson and George Yeoman Pocock and, for Karl, Max Schmelling. For at least part of each athlete s life, these men served as role models, heroes, and symbols of strength, integrity, and courage. As people grow and learn, however, their definitions of strength, integrity, and courage evolve, as do their heroes. By the end of each book, how have Joe s and Karl s perceptions of their heroes evolved? Are the role models listed above still the primary role models in these men s lives? If so, how and why? If not, who has replaced them, and why?