As they played games many had never seen before, tried new foods and attempted knitting, the Greenwood Middle School students were asked to imagine life in East Germany in the early 1960s.
During the past several weeks, all of the students at the middle school studied a novel set when the Berlin Wall was constructed, dividing the western and eastern halves of the city. “A Night Divided,” written by Jennifer Nielsen, is about a young girl who becomes trapped on the east side of the Berlin Wall as her family is split up overnight.
Teachers and volunteers set up a series of interactive exhibits drawn from scenes in the book, intended to give students a hands-on opportunity to experience that time in history. The school also invited the author to visit and speak to students.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryOne of the reasons Nielsen was asked to visit the school is that students have devoured her books, Greenwood Middle School Media Specialist Anne Rhinehart said.
Approaching history this way gives students better context for what happened and how it effected kids their age, she said.
“They didn’t understand all the ramifications of the wall and why it came up,” she said.
“I don’t think history is something long gone and needs to be forgotten. We have to study and be aware of it because we have no idea of what will come up next.”
Last week, students huddled in small groups, taking turns at a handful of activities, including playing marbles, makings stamps and going through an obstacle course.
At one station, the students learned how to play marbles, a game that would have been popular with kids their age at that time, and one that was referenced in the book.
“It brings the book alive to all the kids,” Greenwood Middle School Principal Chris Sutton said.
A parent volunteer, Jennifer Estrada, gave students instructions on how to play the age-old game, which many of them never had experienced before. The hands-on learning is a good method for the students to become more connected with what they’ve read, she said.
“It’s fun learning about the book scenes,” seventh-grade student Gavin Ruppert said.
Reading about what life was like in East Germany makes him thankful to live in a democracy, where those things can’t happen, Ruppert said.
About 250 students were able to take part in exhibits. While not all of the students where able to go through the exhibits, each grade got to listen to a presentation from Nielsen, ask the author questions and get their copy of the book signed if they wanted to.
Talking to the students, Nielsen reminded them of the importance of not forgetting history and being sure to not repeat the same mistakes. She highlighted North and South Korea as a situation not too unlike the former divide in Germany.
“The story is a good one,” Sutton said. “It’s about overcoming obstacles and keeping to what you believe in and making it through some hard times, themes that can really connect with the young kids.”
