Refugee by Alan Gratz: Background Info Presentation & Notetaker

Frontloading the historical context for the novel Refugee by Alan Gratz can be difficult. Here is a google slides presentation that covers the general basic accounts of the different refugee situations that take place in the novel. The notes cover information on:

The definition of a refugee, what a refugee is, ect. It covers The Holocaust, Kristalnacht, and Hitler. The notes discuss Cuba, Fidel Castro, and the Cuban Rafter crisis. Included in the notes are also the history of the Syrian civil war, and the effect of the Syrian civil war on Syrian refugees.

The notes also have links to a video that discusses the term, "Refugee", A video where Kristalnacht survivors discuss what they remember about being persecuted, A photo gallery of rafters who fled Cuba in 1994, and an interactive choose your journey to escape Syria website where the class can go through different scenarios that are similar to dangerous decisions Syrian refugees had to make.

Included with the presentation of background notes, is a printable note taker for students to follow along, or a digital notetaker to post on google classroom for hybrid or virtual learning.