The Devil's Arithmetic

Bergen-Belson
http://motlc.wiesenthal.org
I used this source as background information on the concentration camps. In the book it focused a lot about the concentration camp they were in and I thought this would be some historical background.

The Devil's Arithmetic
http://library.thinkquest.org/50104/dv.htm
This site had some background and the book and the history of the Holocaust all tied and related together, it also had some great pictures and some lesson plan ideas.

The Devil's Arithmetic: A Holocause Webquest http://topcat.brigew.edu/~kshrock/ML513/condon/mainpage.htm
This gave some lesson plans for teachers, also including the process of how to do it and gave some learning advice.

Passover
Jacobs, Louis. "Passover." The Book of Jewish Practice. New Jersey: Behrman House Inc. (81-91) 1987.
This gave background information on what Passover is and how it is celebrated. As you read the book you are able to see many parallels with this.

What is Judaism?
Jacobs, Louis. "What is Judaism?" The Book of Jewish Belief. New Jersey: Behrman House Inc. (1-10) 1984.
This helped to understand many of the Jewish traditions that are portrayed in the book.

Using Fiction to Teach History
Kornfeld, John. "Using Fiction to Teach History: Multicultural and Global Perspectives of World War II." Elementary Education. 58. (1994) 281-286.
This talked about what it is like and how to present something like the Holocaust in your teaching to these students.

Multicultural Thematic for The Devil's Arithmetic
http://cambios.org/Teacher's%20Education%20Candidates%20Resources/Devils%20Arithmetic.htm
This site included many lesson plan ideas and focus questions. It gave the teacher some direction with what to do when teaching the book.

Holocaust Literature for young readers
Russell, David. "Reading the Shards and Fragments: Holocaust Literature for young readers." Lion and the Unicorn: A critical Journal of children's Literature. 21. (1997) : 267-280.
This discussed the story and what there is to learn from it, as a young reader.

Reading Activities (compiled by Jaclyn Hutchins)
|Pre-Reading | During Reading | After Reading |

Before Reading Strategies

“Behind the Name: the etymology and history of first names”
www.behindthename.com Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
Name meanings play a significant role in The Devil’s Arithmetic especially for the main character. This site gives comprehensive details on first name meanings from various cultures and backgrounds.

Better Homes and Gardens. “Passover Recipes and Traditions” http://houseandhome.msn.com/food/PassoverRecipesandTraditions0.aspx
Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This site gives details on Passover (its origin, activities, etc.) and recipes that the students could sample or make in their Home Economics classes.

Bolt, Richard. “British Studies Web Page: Heritage”
http://elt.britcoun.org.pl/r¬mean.htm Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This site helps explain the various ways heritage can be a part of people’s beliefs and cultures. Knowing what heritage and why its important will help students grasp the behavior of key characters.

Hart, Dr. Stephen A. “World War Two: Liberation of the Concentration Camps” http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/liberation¬_camps_03.shtml
Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This source provides historical background that will help students understand the course that this historical fiction novel follows.

“History Place, The.” “World War Two in Europe Timeline”
www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm
Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
Concentration camps and the murders of 6 million Jews did not happen in a day. There were events that built upon each other to lead up to those tragedies. This site starts with the events after World War I and goes all the way through the final moments of World War II in 1945.

Rich, Tracey. “Judaism 101” www.jewfaq.org
Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This is an online encyclopedia on Judaism (the beliefs, the language, the customs, etc). It’s a great tool for teaching the students about the cultural moments in The Devil’s Arithmetic.

University of Virginia Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Program. “Evolving Jewish Traditions: Passover” www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies/images/Passover.htm
Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This site goes into great detail about Passover, its antiquity and older traditions to those practiced by Jews today. Coupled with the Passover recipes, this information would be an asset to setting up the novel.

“Yiddish: Basic multilingual phrases” www.terena.nl/library/multiling/unilang/yiddish/yiddish1.html Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This site has a short list of Yiddish phrases in their Hebrew and phonetic form. Knowing a few of these phrases would help the students better comprehend certain conversations in the novel between characters.

Yolen, Jane. “Jane Yolen: A Short Biography”
www.janeyolen.com/janebio.html Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
Jane Yolen seems to have been thinking about teachers when she wrote created her website. The short biography gives great detail beyond “I was born…” and expands to items of interest that will engage students.

Yolen, Jane. “Thoughts on The Devil’s Arithmetic” www.janeyolen.com/blurbs/devilsa/html Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
Yolen gives basic background about how the novel came to be, what the writing process was like, the awards the book has one, and the movie that this compelling story became.

During Reading Strategies

Anon. “A Virtual Tour of Auschwitz” www.remember.org/educate/intro.html
Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
The devastation and despair that existed in the concentration camps is not understandable even in part until a person is able to see the conditions in which the prisoners lived, worked, an died. This virtual tour shows the quiet horrors of Auschwitz and also contains pieces of a survivor’s journal. Both are great tools to make Chaya’s experiences come alive during reading.

Anti-Defamation League. “Who are the Children of the Holocaust?” www.adl.org/children¬_holocaust/about_children_of.asp Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This site captures the story of what children went through in the Holocaust, who they were, where they hid, what specific procedures that children had to endure, etc.

Carlson, Eve B. “Department of Veterans Affairs: Effects of Traumatic Experiences” www.ncptsd.org/facts/general/fs_effects.html Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
Chaya has a relative that screams at images of his scarring past. Being able to explain why people are affected by trauma will help the students relate to a man that they might have thought was crazy.

“Children of the Holocaust”
www.graceproducts.com/fmnc/main/htm Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
Numbers can be helpful in understanding the gravity of a group’s death. More than that, individual names can be tied to each student so they can put themselves in someone else’s shoes. This site lists individual children of the Holocaust and gives personal details of their short unfortunate lives.

The Death Camps, a Documentary. 1996
There is no other information listed for this movie. However, its power is indescribable. If a teacher is looking for a way to help the students understand the horrors of places like Krakow, then this film is absolutely the way to go. It brings to life the experiences of the millions who lived in the concentration camps.

Gonzalez, Servando. “The Swastika and the Nazis” www.intelinet.org/swastika/swastika_intro.htm Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
Symbols are important to the Jewish characters of Yolen’s novel. Because the students will have already learned about what a few Jewish symbols are, learning about the Nazis and their beloved Swastika will help give context to the Nazi movement. This site goes into the history of that movement and in the development of the Swastika as it became an internationally recognized symbol.

“Holocaust, The: A Tragic Legacy”
http://library/thinkquest.org/12663/ Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This site provides an excellent comprehensive look at the Holocaust. It gives summaries, photo tours, interactive timelines, the issues still being struggled with today, etc.

Jewish Education Center of Cleveland. “Teaching with Literature & Videos: The Devil’s Arithmetic”
www.jecc.rog/litvdid/holo14.htm Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This site gives insight on how to coordinate teaching efforts with the movie The Devil’s Arithmetic.

Mazal, Harry W. “The Dachau Gas Chamber”
www.holocaust-history.org/dachau-gas-chambers/ Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This essay has specific historical detail that brings to light ideas and events that most people never even think about from the opening of the camp to construction details. It then goes on to provide invaluable insight on those who ran the camps, those who were prisoners, and what their lives and what their allegiances meant.

“The Devil’s Arithmetic Wordsearch”
www.promotega.org/asu30022.wordsearch/html Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This simply is an activity to be done during the reading of The Devil’s Arithmetic. It works off a list mostly comprised of character’s names.

After Reading Strategies

Bennett, Cherie and Gottesfeld, Jeff. Anne Frank and Me, Puffin Books, New York, 2001.
This novel is about girl who goes back in time and lives in Nazi occupied Paris. Eventually her path crosses with the infamous Anne Frank. Details from this story could be tied into the students’ reading experiences about Hannah and her life as Chaya.

“Comfort for Grieving Hearts: Writings and Poems on Grief” www.griefhealing.com/grievinghearts.htm Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
Memories of the Holocaust are almost impossible to digest. This site had pages of poems and essays on grief that could be read to help demonstrate how the grieving process affects people and what can be done to recover.

Frank, Anne. The Diary of Anne Frank. Bantam Books, New York, Republished 1993.
Anne Frank’s is the most known tale of a child’s experience in WWII. If the students needed to research on specific children of the war, this book would be a great resource. Or certain entries can be read to a class to help show that the children were just like them with similar hopes and dreams.

Klarsfield, Serge. French Children of the Holocaust, A Memorial. New York University Press, New York, 1996.
This book is incredible with its pictures and stories of children that died during World War II. Their stories could be assigned to students so that they might imagine what their lives might have been like.

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., New York, 1989.
This is one of the best books written about a child living during World War II. It is not a story of the concentration camps but its insights on living during that time would be great for supplemental reading.

Pious. S. Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination, 1st Edition McGraw Hill Publishing, Wesleyan University, 2003.
Understanding the issues that helped fuel the fires of prejudice during WWII will help the students realize how serious it is to be tolerant and accepting in our society. This book brings to light many different types of discrimination that have existed and still exist today.

“Remembering the Holocaust”
http://home.vicnet/au/~aragorn/holocaus.htm Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This site gives links to memorials and groups that work to help remember those who perished during the Holocaust. One is the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum with its moving tribute to those who lost their lives.

Schindler’s List. Dir. Stephen Spielberg. Perf. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. Universal Studios, Re-released 2004.
No movie ever captured the horrors of World War II so well. Selected scenes from this movie would be a great way to give students a visual representation of the things they’ve been reading about.

“Understanding Prejudice”
www.understandingprejudice.org Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
This website works well with the book on understand prejudice by S. Pious mentioned before. It goes has helpful links and information on the need to accept diversity and what not doing so has done to societies in the past.

Wiesel, Elie. “The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity”
www.eliewieselfoundation.org Reviewed on Feb. 21, 2005.
Elie Wiesel’s story is incredible. Telling his story and showing his role for good since his horrible experiences shows the power of the individual, the ability we have to triumph over evil, and why it is important to never give up.

Back to Yolen's Page