Life in a Soviet Labor Camp: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

translated by H.T. Willetts

Mater Amabilis™ ™Level 4 suggests a book of classic literature for each term. (Level 4 is eighth grade.) First Son read Goodbye Mr Chips, then To Kill a Mockingbird, both based on recommendations from MA. The third term book, though, was The Lord of the Rings, which he read (very slowly) the summer before eighth grade, so I wanted something different for him. There was a discussion on the facebook page with lots of alternative choices that might have sufficed, but I decided to choose something completely different, a book that complemented his third term history: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

Of course, I hadn't read it myself yet! Just to be safe, I decided to read the whole book before he started it so if it was completely inappropriate, I could change my mind.

First, this book is a translation from the Russian. I did a lot of review reading to try to decide which translation would be best but it was difficult to decide. In the end, I chose the translation by Willetts though I can't really remember why.
The book describes in minute detail every moment of a single day in a Soviet labor camp for Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. There are a few words like "zek" (criminal) that are defined in a footnote when they first appear, but I expect First Son to be able to read this book without stumbling over Russian words or names too badly.

Standing there to be counted through the gate of an evening, back in camp after a whole day of buffering wind, freezing cold, and an empty belly, the zek longs for his ladleful of scalding-hot watery evening soup as for rain in time of drought. He could knock it back in a single gulp. For the moment that ladleful means more to him than freedom, more than his whole past life, more than whatever life is left to him. 

Though Shukhov is not the narrator, his thoughts flow across the page. Without chapter breaks, the day streams by, almost in a rush. I even had trouble taking breaks as I read and finished it in a single day, almost in a single reading. Every now and then a question or thought will appear suddenly that breaks into the reader's consciousness as something to ponder rather than something that's happening.

Can a man who is warm understand one who's freezing?

In addition, there are some other revealing interactions to other prisoners, including an Alyoshka who has been imprisoned for his faith.

Looking through the wire gate, across the buildings and out through the wire fence on the far side, you could see the sun rising, big and red, as though in a fog. Alyoshka, standing next to Shukhov, gazed at the sun and a smile spread from his eyes to his lips. Alyoshka's cheeks were hollow, he lived on his bare ration and never made anything on the side--what had he got to be happy about? He and the other Baptists spent their Sundays whispering to each other. Life in the camp was like water off a duck's back to them. They'd been lumbered with twenty-five years apiece just for being Baptists. Fancy thinking that would cure them!

The details and descriptions of life in the camp seem reasonably accurate, as far as I can tell from reviews and critiques, and will be a useful complement to the other studies he is doing on Russia.

He no longer knew whether he wanted to be free or not. To begin with, he'd wanted it very much, and counted up every evening how many days he still had to serve. Then he'd got fed up with it. And still later it had gradually dawned on him that people like himself were not allowed to go home but were packed off into exile. And there was no knowing where the living was easier--here or there.

The one thing he might want to ask God for was to let him go home.

But they wouldn't let him go home.

Despite the harsh conditions and bleak prospects for Ivan Denisovich's future, the day itself is a good one. At the end, the reader feels the satisfaction of it, even while sensing with disquietude the injustice of the whole system.

There is some crude language, though it's rather tame when you consider the book is set in a forced labor camp. I trust First Son to read a bad word or two without starting to spout it. I didn't mark them all down, but it's probably less than you'd hear in a PG-13 movie you'd see in a theater today.

If your Level 4 student hasn't read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I highly recommend it. I think it also is a good complement to the history studies as many of Tolkein's experiences in World War I influence the books. If, however, your student has already read The Lord of the Rings, I believe One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich could be an enjoyable and worthy substitute.

I purchased this book used. The link at the beginning is an affiliate link to Amazon. I have received nothing for writing this post and it contains my own opinions.

Friend and Statesman: St. John Paul II

John Paul II: A Personal Portrait of the Pope and the Man

by Ray Flynn

Former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican

I found this book while searching about for something other than Stories of Karol to assign to First Son for his Mater Amabilis™ ™ Level 4 Catholic saints and heroes.

Ray Flynn was mayor of Boston and, later, U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. And a faithful Catholic Democrat. This book is not a biography or an analysis of the Pope's political activities. It is nothing more or less than Mr. Flynn's personal recollections of the times he encountered Pope St. John Paul II, including a few episodes before he became pope.

He attended World Youth Day in Denver in 1993. Mr. Flynn wandered around a bit, speaking with the young people. When asked why they were so excited to see the Pope, why they were willing to sleep on the floor on a classroom, they answered:

"Not just because he's the pope, but because he's the kind of pope he is. Because he doesn't just tell us what we want to hear. He tells the truth--even when it's hard for us to hear sometimes. That's how we know we can trust him. That's why we love him so much. That's why we came all this way to see him."

During his time as ambassador, Mr. Flynn visited Poland. While there, he visited many of the sites of Pope St. John Paul II's childhood, youth, and early priesthood. He includes stories of Karol as a young boy and young priest.

Quite a few chapters cover the Cairo Conference in 1994. In the months leading up to the conference, the Holy Father spoke repeatedly about the evil of abortion. Mr. Flynn worked tirelessly to get the Clinton administration to talk with the Pope, to listen to him, and to to amend their position. But they did not. In the end, it cost Flynn his political future.

I lost a lot over Cairo. My relationships with the president, the White House, and the State Department were never the same afterward. But I did learn something, and it was John Paul II who taught it to me. I've always thought of politics as the art of compromise, and I always prided myself on being able to bring people together, even over issues that divide them. During the Cairo controversy, though, the pope showed me that sometimes--when morality is at stake--there can be no compromise, no way to bring people together. All you can to [sic] is to try to persuade them to do what's right and pray for them if they don't.

There are lots of Pope St. John Paul II quotes in the book, ones I assume were confirmed with a copy of the text (though I didn't check any of them myself). People are always giving speeches and I rarely listen to any of them; I think most people don't. We may read bits and pieces of them in the news but we don't really listen. One of the aspects of the book I appreciated was how Mr. Flynn sought out Pope St. John Paul II and seemed to listen carefully and consider all he said. One of these, was the Pope's address to the UN on the eve of its fiftieth anniversary.

Then, in a remarkable passage in which he showed himself to be both theologian and politician, he explained how "every culture is an effort to ponder the mystery of the world and in particular of the human person....The heart of every culture is its approach to the greatest of all mysteries: the mystery of God." He proclaimed, "True patriotism never seeks to advance the well-being of one's own nation at the expense of others. For in the end this would harm one's own nation as well: doing wrong damages both aggressor and victim."

Abortion wasn't the only difficult subject addressed in the book. Near the end, Mr. Flynn remembers the Pope's teachings on capital punishment.

Capital punishment is also a difficult issue to talk about. It's hard to be rational over an issue charged with emotions--such as pain, anger, and revenge. It is particularly hard when the media focus on the obvious harm inflicted on victims and their families by criminals but pay little attention to the more subtle harm done to a society that kills human beings, guilty though they might be. 

This book isn't exactly a biography, but I think it's an excellent introduction to Pope St. John Paul II within the context of his papacy and contemporary society. It is immersed in the twentieth century, which is the focus for First Son in eighth grade. Difficult political issues like abortion and capital punishment force Mr. Flynn to make decisions about how he's going to balance his faith and his career. His respect for Pope St. John Paul II is not simply respect for the papacy, but admiration and esteem for the wisdom and compassion of the man.

First Son will read about three chapters a week from this book, which will take about ten weeks. He will not narrate from it, but it is one of the books from which he can choose to copy passages into his commonplace book.

Escape from the Ice: Endurance

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

by Alfred Lansing

Endurance is one of the books recommended by Mater Amabilis™ ™ Level 4 for Twentieth Century Exploration. It's an extraordinarily detailed account of Shackleton's ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica; their ship was caught in the ice. Many of the men kept journals, which were shared with Alfred Lansing along with remembered experiences through personal interviews.

Upon first abandoning the ship and contemplating a march of 346 miles to the northwest, to where a cache had been left years earlier, Shackleton prepared the men for the march by insisting they limit their belongings to the bare minimum. He believed it was essential to their survival.

Then he opened the Bible Queen Alexandra had given them and ripped out the flyleaf and the page containing the Twenty-third Psalm. He also tore out the page from the Book of Job with this verse on it:

 Out of whose womb came the ice? 

And the hoary frost of Heaven, who hath gendered it?

The waters are hid as with a stone.

And the face of the deep is frozen.

Then he laid the Bible in the snow and walked away.

Eventually, they had to shoot the dogs and a cat, some when they were forced to abandon the ship, and the rest later when their food supplies were running low.

Over the course of the ordeal, they camped on ice, sometimes surprisingly small floes. They pulled their boats over rough ice to get to water open enough to launch. They suffered through thirst, hunger, frost-biting cold, and eternal dampness. There's a paragraph on how they went to the bathroom, I suppose of particular interest to boys, and rather unpleasant. Dreadfully difficult exertion alternated with boredom as they waited for wind to blow them closer to land or warmer weather to open up the pack so they could launch the boats.

Day after day after day dragged in a gray, monotonous haze. The temperatures were high and the winds were light. Most of the men would have liked to sleep the time away, but there was a limit to the number of hours a man could spend inside his sleeping bag.

They slaughtered seals and penguins to eat. One episode described a migration of Adelie penguins right through camp; nearly 600 were killed in a few days. They had to eat the last dogs to be butchered, even some young enough to be called puppies

Though everyone was fully aware that their situation was becoming more critical by the hour, it was much easier to face danger on a reasonably full stomach. 

After four months in a camp on a floe, they were finally able to launch the boats.

In fifteen minutes, Patience Camp was lost in the confusion of ice astern. But Patience Camp no longer mattered. That soot-blackened floe which had been their prison for nearly four months--whose every feature they knew so well, as convicts know every crevice of their cells; which they had come to despise, but whose preservation they had prayed for so often--belonged now to the past. They were in the boats...actually in the boats, and that was all that mattered. They thought neither of Patience Camp nor of an hour hence. There was only the present, and that meant row...get away...escape.

The journey in the boats was tremendously difficult, physically and mentally.

But the dawn did come--at last. And in its light the strain of the long dark hours showed on every face. Cheeks were drained and white, eyes were bloodshot from the salt spray and the fact that the men had slept only once in the past four days. Matted beards had caught the snow and frozen into a mass of white. Shackleton searched their faces for an answer to the question that troubled him the most: How much more could they take? There was no single answer. Some men looked on the point of breaking, while others showed an unmistakable determination to hold out. At least, all of them had survived the night.

Some men complained more or didn't do their share, and it showed in the diaries. They were ridiculed, mocked, yelled at, but often to no avail. They knew there were getting close to land and feared they might miss it and end up rowing their boats right out into open ocean.

The sky was clear, and finally the sun rose in unforgettable brilliance through a pink mist along the horizon, which soon melted into flaming gold.

It was more than just a sunrise. It seemed to flood into their souls, rekindling the life within them. They watched the growing light quenching the wild, dark misery of the night that now, at last, was over.

They successfully landed at Elephant Island and made a makeshift camp. Shackleton and a select few sailed to South Georgia, a crazy attempt in their small boat, planning to return for the remaining crew members with a rescue ship. Though successful in reaching the island, the men they left behind had to wait through another winter before rescue arrived.

Illness, injury, amputation, exhaustion...but not a single man died.

This is a tremendous story of courage and perseverance, of shifting goals without suffering abject depression. I'd like to think First Son will consider his chores easier after reading about these experiences, but that's probably not going to last. Still, it never hurts to read about real men and woman (though this group was all men) who meet every challenge with determination to live.

Our Level 4 (8th Grade) Six Week Study on World War II

Mater Amabilis™ gives some lesson plans for History in Level 4 (8th grade) in which a student studies national history for twelve weeks followed by four six-week terms chosen from six options.

In the first term, First Son will follow the Mater Amabilis™ study reasonably closely, modified only a little to add in a few Kansas-related books. I've posted those plans in the Mater Amabilis™ facebook group for those that are interested.

Beginning in the second term, First Son will spend six weeks studying World War I. I posted the plans for that study on the blog. As I mentioned there, I already owned a book on both world wars from Usborne: The World Wars by Paul Dowswell, Ruth Brocklehurst, and Henry Brook. You can find it on Amazon, but I bought my copy from a friend who sells Usborne books.

Mater Amabilis™ recommends Witness to History: World War II by Sean Connolly as the main book and I requested a copy from PaperBackSwap. I liked the aspect of the eyewitness accounts so I decided to use it in addition to the Usborne book.

I haven't used these plans yet and there's a good chance I've scheduled more than my rising eighth grader will be comfortable doing in the time suggested for history. We'll give it a try, though. (It's hard to know for certain, but it's possible my second child will manage these plans perfectly well.) I've modified the Mater Amabilis™plans considerably to use the Usborne book, but I have no reason to believe they're really better than those. It's also possible these plans would work just as well if you followed them and left out the Usborne book. There's a lot here.

Mater Amabilis™ says history at this level should take about 45 minutes each day three times a week. In addition, a supplemental reading book should be chose from the recommended books. I haven't picked a supplemental reading book yet; there are just so many good ones I'm still considering my options.

Our Main Resources

• Usborne The World Wars (I purchased this new through a friend.)
• Kingfisher HistoryEncyclopedia, as recommended in the Mater Amabilis™ plans (I bought this used from a mom in my local homeschool group.)
• World War II by Sean Connolly (Witness to History) (I requested this from PaperBackSwap.)
• I printed to PDF most of the articles linked in the plans and placed them in a binder before the term began.
• Movies or audio files I linked in a Google doc I shared with my son.

Optional Resources

• Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of John Paul II by Gian Svidercoschi (purchased used)
• Caryll Houselander: Essential Writings selected with commentary by Wendy M. Wright, just a couple of pages
• Remember Pearl Harbor by Thomas B. Allen (from our library)
• Gaijin: American Prisoner of War by Matt Faulkner (from our library)
• Hiroshima by Nathaniel Harris (Witness to History) (purchased used)

Week 1

Lesson 1

The World Wars p 123-129 – Narrate. (The Second World War, The world at war, The Rise of dictators, The fragile democracies)

Watch Hitler speaking.

Read a little about Pope Benedict XVI’s childhood in Nazi Germany.

Lesson 2

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 398-399, 406-407, 412, 408-409. (The Rise of Fascism 1922-1939, Weimar and Hitler 1919-1939, German Expansion 1938-1939, The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939)

The World Wars p 130-133 (Hitler’s Germany, The Road to War)

Notebook: Why do you think World War II happened?

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 135-143 (War begins in Europe, War breaks out, The fall of Western Europe, The battle for Britain, Germany invades Eastern Europe)

World War II p 8-13 (Blitzkrieg, The Battle of Britain, The Blitz)

Stories of Karol chapters 3-4: September 1, 1939 and Hitler’s “New Order” (I decided to assign this book as a saint biography, so First Son won't read it in this lesson.)
A letter from Caryll Houselander in Caryll Houselander: Essential Writings (p 82-84) in which she speaks of how to remain faithful in the dark time of war. 

Notebook: Describe Hitler’s successes early in the war or write about the future Pope’s experiences on September 1^st.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 2

Lesson 1

Read about the Dunkirk evacuation on History.com.

Read interviews with a survivor and Albert Barnes, a 14-year-old rescuer.

Listen to excerpts of speeches by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill:

1. "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" - 13 May 1940
2. "We shall fight on the beaches" - 18 June 1940
3. "Never in the field of human conflict" - 20 August 1940

Notebook: Written narration on the events at Dunkirk.

Lesson 2

The World Wars p 144-151 (European War to World War, Operation Barbarossa, The Siege of Leningrad, Pearl Harbor)

World War II p 14-15 (Pearl Harbor)

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 416-417. (War in the Pacific 1941-1945)

Watch footage of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Listen to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address to congress on December 8th. You can follow along with the transcript of the speech in your notebook.

Notebook: Written narration on the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 152-157. (Japan’s new empire, Underground resistance, The home front)

Remember Pearl Harbor by Thomas B. Allen (from our library) – Read chapter 2.

Listen to an excerpt from the “A call for sacrifice” speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, 28 April 1942.

Read the text of the speech along with some context, printed in your binder.

Narrate.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 3

Lesson 1

Read articles from History.com and the Smithsonian on the Internment camps.

Look at pictures of the camps.

Gajin: American Prisoner of War by Matt Faulkner (from the library)

Notebook: Write a position paper on the Japanese-American internment camps.

Lesson 2

The World Wars p 158-163 (The War in North Africa, Life in occupied territories, The battle of the Atlantic)

World War II p 16-17 (Fighting in North Africa)

Narrate.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 164-169 (Propaganda, The Holocaust, Auschwitz-Birkenau)

World War II p 40-41 (The Holocaust)

Read Inside a NaziDeath Camp from Eyewitness History, printed in your binder.

Read Elie Wisel’s “Listen to the silent screams” speech to mark the 50^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, printed in your binder. Note: the Hebrew words in bold are the opening words of Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead.

Watch Elie Wiesel addressing the Auschwitz survivors gathered in Krakow for the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz- Birkenau.

Listen to Pope John Paul II’s “Holocaust Speech,” given at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Israel, in 2000. The text of the speech is printed in your binder.

Notebook: Write a prayer for the victims of the Holocaust and their families.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 4

Lesson 1

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 414-415 (War in the West 1939-1945)

Look at the maps of the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway in your binder. Keep them in front of you as you read about the battles.

The World Wars p 170-173 (The Tide Turns, Coral Sea and Midway)

Find Midway Island on the globe.

Read the article on Midway at Eyewitness to History.

Notebook: Written narration on Midway.

Lesson 2

The World Wars p 174-181 (The Battle of Stalingrad, The death of an army, The secret war, Kursk)

World War II p 20-21 (The Soviet Defense)

Notebook: Written narration on the Battle of Stalingrad.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 182-189 (Allied bombing in Europe, Bombs, Bombers, Battle of the Titans)

World War II p 24-25 (The Enemy Below)

Watch video of Nazi V-2 rocket launches.

Watch videos of Doc, the B-29 bomber in Kansas.

Narrate.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 5

Lesson 1

The World Wars p 190-201 (Women on the front lines, Island fighting, Entertaining the troops, Special forces, The Italian campaign, War in the Pacific)

World War II p 28-33 (War in the Pacific, Defending Australia, Advancing through Italy)

Narrate.

Lesson 2

The World Wars p 202-207 (The Defeat of Germany, Preparing for D-Day, The D-Day Landings)

World War II p 34-35 (D-Day)

Look at some photos of D-Day at Business Insider.

Notebook: Written narration on D-Day.
Our library also has a DVD called Eisenhower on D-Day I may have First Son watch when the others aren't around.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 208-223 (Hitler – the military commander, Fighting for France, Mother of Invention, Special Relationships, Germany’s ill-fated cities, To Germany’s Eastern border, Into Germany from the West, The fall of Berlin)

World War II p 36-39, 46-47 (Air Raids on Germany, The Battle of the Bulge, V-E Day)

Listen to part of Churchill’s victory speech.

Narrate.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 6

Lesson 1

The World Wars p 224-231 (The defeat of Japan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, The Manhattan Project, Hiroshima & Nagasaki)

World War II p 42-43, 48- (Through Burma, The Atomic Bomb)

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 418 (Peace in the Pacific 1945-1948)

Narrate.

Lesson 2

Hiroshima by Harris p 22-45 (Making the Decision, Mixed Motives, Flight over Japan, Blinding Flash, Burning Wind, Scenes of Horror, Heroes’ Welcome, The Destroyed City, The News Breaks, Second Strike, Japan Surrenders, Invisible Rays, Occupied Japan)
Watch video footage of Hiroshima before the bomb housed at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

Notebook: Position paper on the use of the atomic bomb to end World War II.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 232-238 (The world after the war, The end of the war, The aftermath of the war, The war and the 20^th century)

World War II p 50-51 (What Have We Learned from World War II?)

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 419-420 (The United Nations 1945-1948, Italy and the Balkans 1943-1949).

Notebook: What did you learn from this study of World War II?

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

My dad suggests we watch The Longest Day at the end of our study, but I haven't decided whether we will.

Reading Journal Questions for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry

by Mildred D. Taylor

In the first term next year, First Son will spend twelve weeks studying the United States in the twentieth century, found in the Level 4 history program at Mater Amabilis™. One of the suggested further reading books (remember, one every six weeks) is Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, a book I also read in eighth grade.

Most of the further reading books will just be read without any narration or other assignments, but I wanted to make sure he and I had a chance to discuss this book a little more, so I've assigned a reading journal question for each week. Just in case someone else might be interested in adopting or adapting the questions, here they are.

Week 1: Chapters 1-2
Describe the difference between the Mississippi schools for white and black children at the time of the novel.

Week 2: Chapters 3-4
Give examples of some of the racism you have read so far in the book.

Week 3: Chapters 5-6
Write a narration of the history of slavery and black people in America, based on Mrs. Logan’s explanation to Cassie.

Week 4: Chapters 7-8
Describe the friendship between Stacey and T.J. What about that between Stacey and Jeremy? Why does Mr. Logan give Stacey the advice he does about Jeremy?

Week 5: Chapters 9-10
Describe how options are limited by the poverty of the black sharecroppers and how that poverty is maintained by the white landowners.

Week 6: Chapters 11-12
Choose one of the characters from the book and explain how he or she was courageous.

Faith Amidst Horror: The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place

by Corrie ten Boom

This is one of many worthwhile books proposed as further reading in the Level 4 history program at Mater Amabilis™. One reading book should be chosen for the six-week study of World War II, but oh, how to choose just one?! Only a few are ones I had read myself, so in a hopeless search of the perfect choice (since they are all excellent), I'm reading many of them myself for the first time.

The Hiding Place is a memoir of Corrie ten Boom's life. In her late forties when the Nazis invade her Dutch homeland, she and her family courageously protect and shelter Jews from the invaders. Eventually, they are caught. She and her sister are imprisoned and moved from camp to camp until the war's end draws near. The book is one of faith and trust, describing how her saintly sister's hope and prayers sustain them and bring light to the world in a time of tremendous darkness and evil.

Corrie's family is Christian and her thoughts often dwell on how a Christian should behave when the world has gone mad.

We knew, of course, that there was an underground in Holland--or suspected it. Most cases of sabotage were not reported in our controlled press, but rumors abounded. A factory had been blown up. A train carrying political prisoners had been stopped and seven, or seventeen, or seventy, had made it away. But always they featured things we believed were wrong in the sight of God. Stealing, lying, murder. Was this what God wanted in times like these? How should a Christian act when evil was in power?

Though they always balked at murder, her family members and their underground often stole and lied to protect people from the Nazis.

Love. How did one show it? How could God Himself show truth and love at the same time in a world like this?

By dying. The answer stood out for me sharper and chillier than it ever had before that night: the shape of a Cross etched on the history of the world.

In the concentration camps, Corrie's sister, Betsie, recognizes the greatest needs and sorrows within the guards and other employees at the camp. Though their bodies suffer less than those of the inmates, their souls endure grievous wounds. Betsie always insisted there was hope for them, that they could be taught to love.

I glanced at the matron seated at the desk ahead of us. I saw a gray uniform and a visored hat; Betsie saw a wounded human being.

And I wondered, not for the first time, what sort of a person she was, this sister of mine...what kind of road she followed while I trudged beside her on the all-too-solid earth.

Working in Germany after the war, work her sister envisioned before her death at their hands, Corrie met one of the SS men they had encountered in a camp. Though she had been serving the German people and speaking repeatedly of forgiveness and love, she stood dumbstruck, angry and quivering. She prayed:

Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give Your forgiveness.

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand, a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

Corrie's story is a powerful one of holding fast to the Truth and Beauty of Jesus in the face of absolute horror in the concentration camps. Yet it maintains the dignity of all human life, even those who participated in the camps or turned their backs rather than speak out.

It is a book strikingly Evangelical in character; it's purpose is to share the story of Betsie and God's redeeming work in the world.

Our Level 4 (8th Grade) Six Week Unit on World War I

Mater Amabilis™ gives some lesson plans for History in Level 4 (8th grade) in which a student studies national history for twelve weeks followed by four six-week terms chosen from six options.

In the first term, First Son will follow the Mater Amabilis™ study reasonably closely, modified only a little to add in a few Kansas-related books.

Beginning in the second term, First Son will spend six weeks studying World War I. Mater Amabilis™ recommends Witness to History: World War I by Sean Connolly as the main book but our library didn't have it and I already owned The World Wars by Paul Dowswell, Ruth Brocklehurst, and Henry Brook so I decided to use that instead. You can find it on Amazon, but I bought my copy from a friend who sells Usborne books. 

Because my main book is different than that recommended, I had to revise the lesson plans considerably and thought I'd post them here in case anyone else happens to have this book and wants a six week study of the First World War. I haven't seen Witness to History: World War I, but I do have the World War II book of the same series. It is shorter than the part of The World Wars devoted to World War II and I think would therefore allow for more exploration of topics of interest, World War II saints, or the Church in World War II. It's probably also cheaper than the Usborne book.

I haven't actually read any of the books yet, but I have no reason to believe my plans are any better than the Mater Amabilis™ plans, so this post is for the few people who might already have the Usborne book lying around.

Also, these plans have never been used. Hopefully I have the courage to report back if they turn out to be a disaster!

Mater Amabilis™ says history at this level should take about 45 minutes each day three times a week. In addition, a supplemental reading book should be chose from the recommended books. (I picked War Horse which I was able to find on PaperBackSwap.com.)

Our Resources

• Usborne The World Wars (I purchased this new through a friend.)
• Kingfisher HistoryEncyclopedia, as recommended in the Mater Amabilis™ plans (I bought this used from a mom in my local homeschool group.)
• MapTrek Outline Maps of World History (I've had this for years as it's recommended in Connecting with History; I probably bought it at RC History.)
• I printed to PDF most of the articles linked in the plans and placed them in a binder before the term began. Movies or audio files I linked in a Google doc I shared with my son.

Week 1

Lesson 1

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 376-377 and 386-387 - Narrate. (The Balkan Wars 1921-1913, The World at a Glance 1914-1949)

The World Wars p 9-11 – Narrate. (The Great War)

MapTrek Modern World Map 20: The Balkan Wars

Review the map of World War I in your history notebook (MapTrek Modern World Map 21 completed during the first term’s American History)

Lesson 2

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 388-389. (The Start of World War I 1914)

The World Wars p 12-17. (Balance of power, Assassination and crisis, Europe in arms)

Notebook: Write a brief note on the causes of the First World War.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 16-19 – Narrate. (Plans unravel)

Read First Battle ofMarne from History.com.

Notebook: Write a brief summary of the Schlieffen Plan or the First Battle of Marne.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 2

Lesson 1

The World Wars p 21-27 – Narrate. (Over by Christmas?, Carving a new frontier, Fire, wire and mud, Going up the line)

Watch a video of life in the trenches onHistory.com.

Notebook: Sketch a copy of the map on p 23 of the battles and front lines in the first year of the war. Write a brief summary of life in the trenches.

Lesson 2

The World Wars p 28-29, 32-37 – Narrate. (A storm of steel, North Sea raiders, Your country needs you, A day of peace)

Read more about the Christmas Truce in two articles in your history binder: a BBC special news report and a Smithsonian article.

Notebook: Write a summary of the Christmas Truce.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 39-49 – Narrate. (Going global, Cruiser warfare, African action, Turkey enters the war, Jihad and genocide, The Eastern front)

Notebook: Sketch the map of the Eastern front on p 48.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 3

Lesson 1

The World Wars p 51-55 – Narrate. (Deadlock, A deadly mist, Settling in)

Watch a video on poison gas in World War I.

Lesson 2

The World Wars p 56-61 – Narrate. (A dangerous voyage, Out of thin air, The home front)

Read more on the Lusitania in articles in your binder: A survivor story from Slate, Lost Liners Lusitania on PBS, RMS Lusitania: The Fateful Voyage on FirstWorldWar.com.

Notebook: Write a newspaper account of the sinking of the Lusitania from England or Germany’s point of view.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 62-65 – Narrate. (Gallipoli, War in the snow)

See photos and watch the video on The Gallipoli Campaign.

Notebook: Sketch the map shown on p 63 of the Gallipoli campaign and write a brief summary of its failures and successes.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 4

Lesson 1

The World Wars p 67-77 – Narrate. (The mincing machine, Dreadnoughts duel, Doomed youth, Sky fighters, Slaughter and Sacrifice)

Flying Aces by John Wukovits (from our library) – read Introduction and chapter 1 on the Red Baron.

Notebook: Written narration on the Battle of Verdun, Battle of Jutland, Air warfare in the First World War, or the Battle of the Somme.

Lesson 2

The World Wars p 78-87 – Narrate. (Trials and trauma, Women in uniform, Shock tactics, Secrets and spies, Desert wars)

Read about Lawrence of Arabia at IWM, found in your notebook.

Notebook: Write a short biography of Lawrence of Arabia.

Lesson 3

Read Pope Benedict XV’s Peace Note of 1st August 1917, found in your notebook.

Explore the EWTN Fatima website: https://www.ewtn.com/fatima/

Notebook: Written narration on the apparitions at Fatima.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 5

Lesson 1

The World Wars p 89-91 (Riots and Rebels)

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 392-393 (Ireland: Civil Unrest 1916-1923)

MapTrek Modern World Map 24: The Division of Ireland.

Notebook: Written narration on Ireland just before, during, and after World War I.

Lesson 2

The World Wars p 92-93 (Peace, bread and land)

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 394-395 (Russia 1917-1924)

MapTrek Modern World Map 23: The Russian Revolution.

Notebook: Write a summary of how Russia’s participation in World War I ended.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 94-95 (Waking the giant)

Read Wilson’s War Message to Congress and what it meant, both in your binder.

Notebook: Question to answer – Do you think the USA should have entered the war earlier? Explain your answer.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Week 6

Lesson 1

The World Wars p 96-105 – Narrate. (Drowning in mud, Backs to the wall, Death throes, Armageddon, The time for peace)

Review MapTrek Modern World Map 22 of the final allied offensive, in your binder from first term.

Lesson 2

The World Wars p 107-113 – Narrate. (Peace and its aftermath, Coming to terms, Redrawing the map, The glory and the pity)

Read some war poetry in your binder: Dulce etDecorum Est by Wilfred Owen and The Soldier by Rupert Brooke.

Review MapTrek Modern World Map 25: Europe, Post WWI, in your binder from first term.

Lesson 3

The World Wars p 114-121 – Narrate. (A changed world, Soldiers’ stories, Visions of war, Lest we forget)

Notebook: Write an essay sharing what you have learned from studying World War I.

Add an event to your Book of Centuries from this week.

Sacrificing Everything for the Faith: Blessed Miguel Pro

Blessed Miguel Pro: 20th-Century Mexican Martyr

by Ann Ball

This is one of the possible saint biographies named in the Mater Amabilis™™ Level 4 lesson plans (8th grade). It coordinates with the 20th Century history plans. Our children are already familiar with the story of this mischievous priest from the Glory Story.

Blessed Miguel Pro is one of many priests, religious, and lay Catholics persecuted and executed by Mexican revolutionaries. Unlike many of them, there are plenty of photographs of his execution in 1927. Photographs of the execution, the moment of impact of the bullets, of a soldier standing over Father Miguel's body to shoot him in the head, and a photography of a bloody Father Miguel in death are included in this book, so be aware if you intend to share this book with younger children. Though disturbing, I don't think they are too graphic for my 13 1/2 year old son. He'll be reading this book first term next year.

This book is not a literary biography or historical fiction. The author draws on interviews and letters to present a basic history of Miguel Pro from this childhood through his disrupted studies for the priesthood (when the seminaries in Mexico were closed) and, finally, his return to his Mexico in the midst of the persecution of Catholics and the Church. Throughout the book, little stories and examples of his personality are woven into the more basic narrative.

It is appropriate for my 8th grade son to begin wrestling with martyrdom in the modern world. Living in the security of 2017 Kansas, it is easy to think the martyrdom of saints like St. Paul and St. Ignatius of Antioch are only found in the ancient world. Bl. Miguel Pro is, however, one of many Catholics and Christians killed because of their faith (explicitly or implicitly) in the past century and into the current year. Bl. Miguel gives us an example of how to live faithfully, joyfully, and devotedly in a modern world seeking our destruction. He did not take arms against an unjust government, instead serving the persecuted through the sacraments and gifts of food and clothing.

This book seems to be reasonably well-researched, though not as a scholarly work. There are quite a few resources in the bibliography, but they are not specifically referenced in the text. It also doesn't seem like there are original sources (like the letters), though it's likely those would be difficult to research by an American traveling in Mexico at the current time. There is no translator mentioned for either the letters or the prayers and poems included in the appendices, so I assume the author translated them herself. Despite these minor shortcomings, this is a good book for a late middle school or high school student on Bl. Miguel Pro.

I purchased this book directly from the publisher and received nothing in return for this review.