Our latest books for our Real Teens Read literature group were One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin. The younger kids only read Breaking Stalin’s Nose, but both groups got together for our activity and discussion day.
These books pair together very nicely. We learned some background history of communism and Russia under Stalin’s regime. We also learned about the people and culture of Russia.
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My dad traveled to Russia several years ago, so I was able to share some “show and tell” items with the kids and teens from his collection of memorabilia. Out of all the items I shared with the group, everyone had the most fun trying on the hats and shawl that my dad had brought back.
The group used watercolors to paint a background paper, and then they colored and cut out a scene of Russian buildings to add to the background.
I found these helpful resources for our discussion:
- Breaking Stalin’s Nose website
- Eugene Yelchin’s website
- Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Nobel Prize Biography
- Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s New York Times Obituary
- One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch literature guide
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