A wire fence stands between Bruno and Shmuel’s friendship at Auschwitz, and tragedy beckons when Bruno’s naivety and his distance from his family take him beyond the fence.

For this book, we offer a mix of literary and informational texts to support your upcoming novel unit. These lessons are designed to build students’ reading comprehension and engagement.

9th Grade Non-Fiction - General 1100L

Auschwitz

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 2016
Passage Summary:

The informational text "Auschwitz" details the treatment and use of prisoners in the three main Auschwitz concentration camps.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this article to students before they begin reading, in order to provide background knowledge on the novel’s setting: the Auschwitz concentration camps in 1942. As students read the novel, ask them to discuss the people in power involved with the camps, such as Kotler and Father. Direct students to take notes on the conditions of the camp, as indicated by Shmuel.

7th Grade Poem

The Blind Men and the Elephant

John Godfrey Saxe 1873
Passage Summary:

In this famous retelling of an Indian parable dealing with perception and the subjective nature of truth, six blind men approach an elephant and come away with very different perspectives.

When and How to Pair:

Have students read this poem, after reading Chapter 2, in order to provide an example of how different perspectives can lead to different interpretations. The reader is presented with different insights in this chapter: Bruno doesn’t want to leave his friends or familiar home, while Mother supports the family, and Maria is obedient. Ask students to consider the effect of the men’s different perspectives on the elephant in the poem, alongside Bruno and other house members’ different perspectives of their move from Berlin to the new house. Utilizing both texts, ask students to discuss how perspective can affect the telling of a story.

9th Grade Short Story 870L

The Man in the Well

Ira Sher 1995
Passage Summary:

Ira Sher is a contemporary author who writes short fiction. In this story, a man in a vulnerable position asks a group of children for help.

When and How to Pair:

Have students read this story after completing Chapter 3, to help them explore the idea of power that is presented through Bruno, his sister, and his mother. Ask students to discuss the decisions that characters in positions of power make in the novel and the short story. How can power lead to cruelty?

7th Grade Poem

Knock Knock

Daniel Beaty 2013
Passage Summary:

In Daniel Beaty's poem "Knock Knock," the speaker describes his relationship with his father and how he is impacted by his eventual absence.

When and How to Pair:

Have students read this poem after completing Chapter 5, to help students move beyond a surface-level understanding of the relationship between Bruno and his father. While Bruno’s father is not imprisoned in the traditional sense, like the speaker’s father in the poem, he is very much distant from Bruno and there has been a change in their relationship. Ask students to compare the fathers in the poem and novel, as well as the relationships between the sons and their fathers.

7th Grade Informational Text 1260L

Censorship: For the People, or for Controlling the People?

Jessica McBirney 2016
Passage Summary:

In this informational text, Jessica McBirney considers the benefits and disadvantages to censoring content.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this text after students have read Chapter 10. Have students read “Censorship: For the People, Or For Controlling the People?" to support their understanding of the themes of submission, control, and freedom. Ask students to compare the themes in Chapter 10 with the article. What is the relationship between the theme of giving up freedom, as seen in the characters of Bruno and Shmuel, and the debate around censorship?

7th Grade Short Story 650L

The Stolen Party

Liliana Heker 1982
Passage Summary:

In "The Stolen Party," Liliana Heker tells the story of a girl who is invited to her friend's party, whose family also employs her mother as their housekeeper.

When and How to Pair:

Pair this short story with the text after students have read Chapter 14, when Bruno is beginning to see the differences between his standing and Shmuel’s. Ask students to discuss how people are treated differently in both texts. How does the point of view of each text affect the reader’s understanding of the situation? How are people treated differently based on class, age, gender, religion, etc.?

7th Grade Religious Text 870L

Joseph's Dreams from Genesis 37

Unknown 1973
Passage Summary:

Genesis 37 is an Old-Testament passage that contains the story of Joseph and his dreams. Joseph is an important figure in the Hebrew tradition. In this passage he is the favorite of his father Jacob, and dreams that he was chosen by God to rule over many people, including his brothers. His brothers sell him into slavery and he ends up in Egypt. 

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this short story after students have read Chapter 15, when Bruno betrays Shmuel, to explore the themes of betrayal and friendship. Ask students to consider how the themes of betrayal and friendship are developed in each text. What causes a friend or family member to betray another? How do the betrayals affect the relationships in both texts?

8th Grade Poem

Nature

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1878
Passage Summary:

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was an American poet and educator, known particularly for his lyric poems. In this poem, he compares death to a mother leading her child to bed.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this short story to students after they have read Chapter 15, when Shmuel and Bruno are rounded up into the dark room, to explore the theme of death. Have students read “Nature” to add insight into the theme of death. Ask students to reflect on how death is presented in the novel and the poem. Have students compare Boyne’s development of the theme of death to Longfellow’s view of death.

9th Grade Speech 610L

Elie Wiesel's Remarks at the Dedication of Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum

Elie Wiesel 2005
Passage Summary:

In "Elie Wiesel's Remarks at the Dedication of Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum," acclaimed author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel discusses the museum's ability to memorialize the victims of the Holocaust and his hopes for its impact on the future.

When and How to Pair:

This speech can help students evaluate the conclusion of the novel when the author writes: “Of course all this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age.” Ask students if they agree or disagree with the author’s statement. Ask students to brainstorm answers to Wiesel’s question “What should we do?” based on their reading of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.