The Boy in the

Striped Pajamas
Written by John Boyne

Novel Study Journal

Name __________________________________
Table of Contents

Tab 1

Note to Parents
Novel Summary
About the Author
Novel Study Schedule

Tab 2
Teacher Tab This tab includes descriptions for each activity for the teacher
to easily access.
Introduction
Comprehension Strategies
Culminating Activities
Writing Connection
Theme Work Poem
Word Work
Conclusion
Project
Tab 3
Student Tab This tab includes the Novel Study Journal that the students will
use while reading the novel. The order corresponds with the teacher tab for
purpose of organization. When the packet is put together for students, the
resources will be placed in the order they will use them within the novel
study.
Student Packet
Tab 4
Summative Assessment
Tab 5
Additional Resources
Tab 6
Bibliography

Novel Study Outline

Week
1

Monday

Tuesday

Introducti
on

Ch. 2 CPR1

Predicting

Visualizatio
n

Wednesda
y
Ch. 3-4
TRA
Ch. 1-4
Recall
Questions

Thursday

Friday

Ch. 6 IR

Ch. 7-8
TRA

Summarizi
ng

Ch. 1 HW
Week
2

Ch. 9-10
CPR2
Outside
Reading
Period

Ch. 12 TRA
Ch. 9-12
Recall
Questions

Ch. 5 HW
Ch. 13
CPR3

Summarizi
ng

Ch. 14 IR

Making
Inferences

Review
Ch. 1-12

Ch. 11 HW
Week
3

Ch. 17 IR
Questionin
g

Summarizi
ng
Ch. 18
CPR4

Ch. 19-20
TRA

Questionin
g

Summarizi
ng
Determinin
g
Importanc
e

Week
4

Work on
Novelzine

Summativ
e
Assessme
nt

Theme
Work:
Friendship
Poems

Ch. 5-8
Recall
Questions
Writing
Connection
Ch. 15-16
TRA

Making
Connection
s

Ch. 13-16
Recall
Questions
Work on
Novelzine

Vocabulary
Review
Study for
Study for
Summative
Summative Assessmen
Assessmen
t
t

I organized the chapters in this

manner due to the content. The
beginning chapters are an easier

Study for
Summative
Assessmen
t

After the
assessmen
t, students
will share
Novelzines
with a
small
group and
start the
Novel Quilt
Project.

read for sixth graders. As the book

progresses, we will need to have
more discussion on the chapters as a
class concerning the Holocaust.
HW Homework
CPR Clock Partner Read
IR Individually Read
TRA Teacher Read Aloud

About the Author

John Boyne is an Irish Novelist who has written 9 novels, 5 books for young
readers, and a collection of short stories. He was born in 1971 in Dublin,
Ireland and remained in Dublin to study English Literature and Trinity College.
Later he studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.
Throughout his career, he and his literature have received several awards
which are as follows: the Curtis Brown prize, the Hennessy Literary Hall of
Fame Award, Irish Childrens Book of the Year, Irish Peoples Choice Book of
the Year, Irish Short Story of the Year, Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in
Spain, Gustave Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany, and Honorary Doctorate
of Letters from the University of Est Anglia. An interesting fact is that his
novels are published in 48 languages. Specific to this novel study, The Boy
in the Striped Pajamas was a New York Times no. 1 Bestseller and was
eventually made into a film. This book has sold over 6 million copies
worldwide.

http://johnboyne.com/about/

Summary of the Book

In this book, a boy named Bruno moved from Berlin to Auschwitz because of
his fathers job. At first, Bruno and his sister Gretel did not understand why
the people outside of the window in Out-With (what they call Auschwitz)
were so sad. The only thing that they know for certain is that they do not
have anyone to play with. Due to this, Bruno went on an exploration one day
to try and have some fun. While exploring he ran into a boy named Shmuel.
This boy lived on the other side of the fence and wore the same grey striped
pajamas as everyone else on his side of the fence. Although Bruno
eventually discovered why he is separated from Shmuel, he did not
completely understand. The two boys continued to meet at the fence and
fostered a friendship despite the literal and figurative separation that the
fence represented. One day, Shmuel informed Bruno that his dad had gone
missing and Bruno told Shmuel that he had to move back to Berlin. Instead
of being excited about moving, Bruno wanted to stay and help Shmuel. The
next day Bruno walked to the fence, changed into his striped pajamas, and
crawled under the fence. He thought it would be a great final adventure, but
soon realized how bad circumstances were on Shmuels side. They did not
find Shmuels dad and Bruno decided to head home. Unfortunately, soldiers
surrounded the boys and led them to a gas chamber. The boys did not
realize where they were, but held hands once inside. Eventually, the lights
turned off, chaos occurred, and we know the sad ending of the story involved
the death of the two boys. After some time, Brunos mother and Gretel
moved back to Berlin. His father, on the other hand, stayed in Auschwitz,
realized what happened to him, and was ordered to go with the Allie soldiers
in the end.

Introducing the Novel Study

This novel study would work the best in a classroom when completed
simultaneously to studying the Holocaust. To introduce the novel, I will
connect the book to the unit being taught in history through a gallery walk
around the room. The gallery walk will have various pictures from the
holocaust that are appropriate for sixth graders to view. It will also have
images from the novel.
As soon as students arrive, they will start the gallery walk while listening to
songs from Fiddler on the Roof and The Sound of Music. These songs allow
the students to hear Jewish and German music. The room will be covered in
stripes to grasp the attention of the students and reinforce their motivation
to start reading the book. As students complete the gallery walk, they will
mentally answer the See-Think-Wonder questions about the pictures.
Students will sit in their table groups after completing the gallery walk. I will
hand out their novel study journals as instruct them to complete the first
page which is a written See-Think-Wonder about the gallery walk.
Once students are finished, there will be a class discussion about what we
have been studying in history: the holocaust. The students will complete an
interactive timeline using Smart Tables to sequence the events pertaining to
the Holocaust. We will revisit their timelines as we progress through the
novel.
The students will complete their predicting activity at this time and read
chapter 1 for homework.

Concluding the Novel Study

Students will complete an anchor project at the end of this this unit. They
will create a novelzine about friendship (as related to the novel and your own
experiences). A novelzine is a zine (or min self-made magazine) that you
make about a literary work read in class. It is marked by you individual
voice, opinions, and creativity. This activity will help them gain a deeper
knowledge about the text, practice expository writing, and help prepare you
for the exam.
The students can work on this project at home, but they will be given class
time for the novelzine as well. They will be allowed to go to the computer
lab the two days leading up to the summative assessment.

Cross Curricular Activities

Math
Science
Art
Music
Social Studies/Geography
Technology

Math
Standard:
28.) Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots. [6SP4]

Objective:
When given a number line, students with sequence the opening dates of five
concentration camps in ascending order.

Activity:
The teacher will discuss the various concentration camps during the
Holocaust. She will make sure that the depth of details is middle school
appropriate. The teacher will navigate through the Jewish Virtual Library
using the Smart Board. She will display the list of major concentration
camps for students to view and they will also have this in their Novel Study
Journal. The teacher will hold a small class discussion on the camps. Then,
the students will choose five from the list and plot the dates they opened on
a number line.

Materials:

Concentration Camps List

Number Line

Science:
Standard:
9.) Identify the moon's phases.

Objective:
When given Oreos, students will make the phases of the moon.

Activity:
The teacher will discuss the phases of the moon during science lessons at
the same time the class is reading this novel during reading lessons. After
the students have finished reading a little over half of the book, she will give
them a scenario where Bruno decides to meet Shmuel at night for two
months. She will ask them to think about the phases of the moon during
their meetings. The students will apply the knowledge they have learned in
science about the phases to this scenario. They will use Oreos to make the
phases of the moon. Students will open Oreos carefully. Using a toothpick,
the students will carve out the white icing inside to match the moon phases.
To end, students will draw the moon phases in their Novel Study Journal.

Materials:

Oreos
Moon phases worksheet
Toothpicks

Art:
Standard:
1.) Create works of art utilizing a variety of traditional and nontraditional media and techniques

Objective:
When given art materials, students will create a mixed media picture to
replicate an image from the novel.

Activity:
The teacher will discuss the art concept of a mixed media picture. She will
explain that this is where artist use various materials to create an image
instead of just painting of drawing. The teacher will then show the students
the picture below from the novel. They will have a class discussion about
what is happening in the picture and the teacher will write comments from
the students on the board. She will then instruct them to recreate this image
using the concept of a mixed media picture. The students will be
encouraged to use any of the materials in the art corner and to be creative.
After they are finished, students will share their art with the class.

Materials:

Colored pencils
Markers
String
Magazines
Scissors
Glue
Washable finger paint
Colored tissue paper
Cardstock
The following image:

Music
Standard:

13.) Identify characteristic differences in music of various cultures.

Objective:
When listening to Jewish and German soundtracks, students will identify
characteristic differences.

Activity:
During various quiet and working times throughout the novel study, the
teacher will play music from Fiddler on the Roof and The Sound of Music.
This will familiarize the students with the different types of music without
them realizing. For this lesson, the teacher will play an excerpt from each
soundtrack for the students to listen to. She will explain that Fiddler on the
Roof contains Jewish music while The Sound of Music is composed of German
music. After having a small discussion, the teacher will play the excerpts
again for the students to listen to them. She will prompt them to listen to
specific characteristics that differ between the two. The third time the
teacher plays the excerpts, the students will write characteristics for each
one in their Novel Study Journal.

Materials:

Soundtrack from Fiddler on the Roof

Soundtrack from The Sound of Music

Social Studies/Geography
Standard:
6.) Identify causes and consequences of World War II and reasons for the United States' entry into the war.
Identifying key figures of World War II, including Adolf Hitler
Describing human costs associated with World War II
Examples: the Holocaust, civilian and military casualties

Objective:
When given a country invaded and overtaken by the Nazis, students will
identify five facts linked to the Holocaust.

Activity:
In chapter 10, Bruno and Shmuel discuss three different countries: Poland,
Denmark, and Germany. The teacher will have a mini geography lesson with
the students and point these countries out using an interactive world map on
the Smart Board. She will then split the students into six groups. Each group
will have one of the three countries to research. They will find five facts
about their country that is linked to the Holocaust and add these to their
Novel Study Journal. When everyone is finished, they will teach the class
about their country.

Materials:

iPads
Report Guide
Interactive World Map

Technology:
Standard:
2.) Publish digital products that communicate curriculum concepts.
Examples: Web pages, videos, podcasts, multimedia presentations

Objective:
When given a character from the book, student partners will create a video
to describing the character.

Activity:
The class will have various discussions throughout the novel study about the
characters and their traits. While reading the second half of the novel,
students will work on a video character project with a partner. They will
choose a character from the novel and brainstorm about him/her in their
Novel Study Journal. The brainstorm can include descriptions, traits, and
even quotes from the novel pertaining to their character. Then they will use
the iPads to create a video character project. They can act it out, give a
report like a news anchor, or whatever else their creativity inspires.

Materials:

iPads
Novels
Brainstorming sheet

Comprehension Strategies

Recall The entire book

Visualizing
Predicting
Making Connections
Summarizing
Making Inferences
Questioning
Determining Importance

Recall
The students will work on recalling information from the text throughout the
entire novel.
To practice this comprehension strategy, the students will complete chapter
questions after every four chapters.
The teacher will present the recall strategy to the students by explaining the
difference in remembering versus recalling. She will make sure that the
students understand that writing their answers down to the chapter
questions will improve their ability to retain the information. She will also
continually reinforce that these questions will serve as a study guide for the
end of the book. Students will be allowed to take each set of chapter
questions home with them in order to study for the summative assessment
at the end of the novel study.

Visualization
This comprehension strategy will take place after students have read
chapters 1-2 and again after they have read chapter 4.
After reading chapters 1-2, the students will practice visualizing by drawing
Brunos old house and Brunos new house.
While reading the text, the teacher will think aloud to point out some of the
differences in the old and new houses. This will provide students will a
model of how to think through the text to visualize.
After reading chapters 3-4, students will practice visualizing by completing a
sketch to stretch of the scene outside Brunos window.
Today, we have read and discussed Gretel and Brunos conversation and the
window discovery. Now you will complete a sketch to stretch of the scene
outside Brunos window. Remember that a sketch to stretch is a way to
visualize what we have read in the text. Be sure to use text evidence to
support your drawing and include a caption at the bottom of the page to
describe the scene outside the window. Your goal should be for others to see
what you are seeing.
Both visualization activities will be kept in their novel study journal.

Predicting
This comprehension strategy will take place at the beginning of the novel
study on day 1.
The teacher will explain the importance of predicting as a comprehension
strategy.
The teacher will show the students the cover of the book and ask them to
mentally predict what the book will be about based on the cover. She will
ask questions such as the following: What does the title tell us about the
novel? Does this cover make you happy or sad? What do you think can be
predicted based off of the cover? She will give them time to turn and talk to
share their predictions.
The teacher will then ask students to complete the chapter predictions chart
with a partner. The partners will each have a chart on which to write. They
will journey through the novel and examine each chapter title. Based on the
title, they will write a prediction about each chapter. The teacher will
encourage them to try and make their predictions connect from chapter to
chapter just as the novel connects between chapters.
Predicting activity will be kept in their novel study journal. The students can
revisit their predictions after reading each chapter to analyze if they were
correct or not.

Making Connections
This comprehension strategy will be revisited through the entire novel.
An additional component will be taught as students are reading chapters 1516.
The teacher will teach a lesson on making connections and explain
three types: text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world. She will enforce that
making connections is a good strategy that readers use to make the text
personal.
The teacher will provide a connections chart for the students that will
go in their novel study journal. This chart will have three columns which will
be as follows: text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world. It will be a basic
chart, but will provide a place for students to take notes on their connections
as they are reading. Students will be encouraged to find all three types of
connections as they read every chapter.
After reading chapters 15-16, students will complete a double entry
journal. The teacher will explain that this strategy will allow them to write
their text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world responses as they read;
however, it will be on a deeper thinking level than the chart. Students must
write down text evidence (sentences or phrases from the reading) on one
side of the journal and then write their personal reaction to that text on the
other side.

It is important that the students complete this double entry journal

instead of just making a chart because most sixth graders have a firm
understanding on completing the chart. The journal pushes them to stop
and think about their connections to the text and make it personal through a
reflection. This should reinforce to students why we make connections when
reading.

Summarizing
This comprehension strategy will occur four times throughout the novel
study as follows:
After chapter 6
After chapter 13
During the chapter 1-12 review
At the end of the novel study
The teacher will explain the importance of summarizing.
The students will practice summarizing for the first time in the novel study
after reading chapter 6. They will use a strategy called $2 Summaries to
summarize chapter 6 alone. In this strategy, students must write a $2
summary of the chapter where each word is worth 10 cents. This will be a
good tool for differentiation because the teacher can scaffold it by giving
students specific words related to the chapter.
During the chapter 1-12 review, the students will summarize what they have
read so far in the novel. To do this, they will use a strategy called Dear
Student Letter. For this activity, students will have to write to a student as if
they have been absent for the first part of the novel study. They will have to
tell this absent student the main points of the book so far and include details
to support their writing.
After chapter 13, the students use a strategy called Headline Summaries to
summarize chapter 13 alone. They will write a newspaper headline that
gives the main points of the chapter. This will assess their understanding of
the content because they have to condense the whole chapter to compose a
headline of the most important aspects.
The students will summarize for the last time in this novel study after
reading chapter 20. This summary will be of chapters 13-20 and they will
use a strategy called Story Wheel. Explain to students that this will help
them practice sequencing skills, summarize a story, visualize story elements,
and recognize story structure. Students will be asked to list the important
events in the story from the beginning, middle, and end of the book. Then
they will narrow the list to the seven most important. Students will receive a
story wheel, write the story title and author on the page, and illustrate or

write a story event in each wedge of the wheel. Students will have a chance
to share their completed wheel with their table groups.
The summarizing activities will be kept in their novel study journal.

Making Inferences
This comprehension strategy will occur after chapters 5 and 14 in the novel
study.
The teacher will explain that sometimes readers do not have all the
information and they have to make the most logical guess possible. She will
explain that this process is a comprehension strategy called making
inferences.
The teacher will provide the following example for the students: When I got
to the classroom today, I noticed that my skirt had a brown stain on it. While
I was driving to work this morning, I hit a bump in the road and my coffee
spilled everyone. I can infer that the brown stain on my skirt is a result of my
split coffee.
The students will practice making inferences about their daily life through a
turn and talk discussion. Then they will answer various questions pertaining
to chapter 5 and 14 to practice making inferences using the text.

Questioning
This comprehension strategy will be implemented after chapters 17-18.
The teacher will discuss with students that questioning is a tool that good
readers practice.
In order to practice their questioning skills, students will use a question cube
to generate their own list of questions pertaining to chapters 17-18. The
cube will have question stems including who, what, when, where, and how.
Students will use these stems to formulate at least 5 of their own questions
for the chapters.
After they have finished, the students will split into their reading groups.
They will each take a turn asking the other members of their group the
questions that they have written. The groups will complete this part of the
activity orally.

Determining Importance
This comprehension strategy will take place after students have read chapter
20.
The teacher will explain that there is a difference between what is important
in a text and what is interesting.
To introduce this thinking process, the teacher will have students draw 10
items that they consider important in their life using sticky notes. She will
then tell them that they are moving and can only take 5 of the items with
them. The rest of the items will be thrown in the trash. The students will
have to determine which items are simply interesting and can stay behind
and which items are important enough to take with them.
The students will then complete a chart for chapter 19 to determine what is
important versus what is interesting in the chapter. The students must
choose 10 parts of the chapter that they found interesting. Then they will
sort them into interesting or important.
After chapter 20, the students will complete a theme web. The teacher will
explain that determining a theme is a way to determine what is important in
a book. The students will have to support their theme choice with evidence
from the book.

Writing Connection
Students will complete the writing connection after reading chapter 8.
In this chapter, Bruno has flashbacks to memories with his grandmother. He
really adores his grandmother and values their relationship. At the end of
the chapter, Bruno decides to write a letter to her. The students will
compose their own letter to grandmother as if they were Bruno. They will
work in groups of four for this activity.
Before students start to write, the teacher will review the parts of a letter.
She will also hold a class discussion concerning the importance of letter
writing and why people write. She will mention that letter writing used to be
the only form of communication before telephones and all the technology in
the world today.
The students will be given the following supports throughout the writing
process:
Prewriting Web to organize their thoughts
First Draft Friendly letter writing template with rubric
Revising Conference with Teacher to participate in a mini lesson for
weaknesses based on rubric
Second Draft Friendly letter writing template with rubric (They can
use the Vivid Verbs handout to add more details to their writing).
Editing Students will peer edit using the Editing Marks sheet as a
guide
Publishing Friendly letter writing template with rubric

Poem #2
This poem will be used to elaborate on the theme of friendship found in the
novel. We will read the poem as a class and discuss how it is related to the
friendship of Bruno and Shmuel. The students will then work with a partner
to write their own poem.

My Guiding Light
Friendship is an unspoken bond
a common ground softly trodden
An intricate partnership
of shared tears and shared laughter
A commitment to each other through thick and thin
and a safe place to run to
when stormy weather lashes
Dear friend, thank you for being
my lighthouse
and guiding me safely home.

Theme:

Friendship

The following books

share the theme of
friendship with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. They will provide multiple
opportunities to further study this theme as well as help students make textto-text connections.

Once by:
Morris
Glietzman

Willy and
Max by:
Amy
Littlesugar

Friendsh
ip

A Friend
Called Anne
by:
Jacqueline
Van
Maarsen
and Carol
Ann Lee

Number the
Stars by:
Lois Lowery

Vocabulary
Ch. 1-12
1. Desolate
2. Foreseeable
3. Commandants
4. Escapade
5. Insolently
6. Summoned
7. Lieutenant
8. Crockery
9. Disdain
Ch. 13-20
1. Dwindle
2. Sarcasm
3. Medicinal
4. Mercilessly
5. Squelch
6. Exasperate

Vocabulary
Word Work
The students will learn 15 vocabulary words during this Novel Study. There
will be 9 words for chapters 1-12 and 6 words for chapters 13-20.
As students are reading the chapters, they will complete two continual charts
which are as follows: Meaningful Word Chart and Keyword Chart.
For the Meaningful Word Chart, students will have a three column chart
where they write the vocabulary word, what they think the word means, and
then what the word actually means. They should use vocabulary resources
provided as well as text evidence to compose their definition for what the
word actually means. This will encourage students to formulate an
understanding of the words and notice the difference in what they thought
the words meant and what they actually mean.
For the Keyword Chart, students will have a two column chart where they
write the vocabulary word and keyword. They will think about the meaning
of each word and come up with one keyword of phrase related to their life
that reminds them of the vocabulary word. They will also draw a small
picture to represent both the vocabulary word and keyword.
After reading chapter 20, students will play a vocabulary review game called
Swat-A-Word. The vocabulary words will be projected at the front of the
room using the Smart Board. Students will be divided into 2 teams. For fun,
the teams will decide on a team name that relates to the book. Each team
lines up at the board with a fly swatter. One team lines up on the left side
and the other on the right. The teacher will give clues for a vocabulary word
and the two students at the front of the lines race to swat the answer the
fastest. This process will continue until every student has gone or every
vocabulary word has been used.

Summative Assessment
The summative assessment will be structured as follows:
9 Matching Questions (1 point each)
11 Short Answer Questions (2 points each)
1 Essay Question (9 points each)
1 Bonus Question (2 points each)
21 Questions Total (40 points total)
Plus bonus (42 points total)

Project
Novel Quilt
Students will create a novel quilt as an extension project after the summative
assessment. This is meant to be an enjoyable way to celebrate the end of
the novel study. Each student will create a 12 x 12 quilt square. Their
square will represent either the perspective of Bruno or the perspective of
Shmuel. Students have to write a small description of their square in the
novel study journal. After everyone is finished, they will explain their square
to the class and we will put them together to hang in the reading corner. An
example of a novel quilt is shown below.

Resources for the Study

Additional Resources