Wells Students Mastering English and Perseverance

Eighth graders at Wells Middle School are tackling big topics–history, politics and narrative–all in one book called “Refugee” by Alan Gratz. Luckily their guide, teacher Deb Romaine, is a pro and navigates world geography, civil wars, and plot twists with verve and skill.

“Refugee” tells the story of three different kids seeking refuge–Joseph, a boy living in Nazi Germany; Isabel, a girl in Cuba during the unrest in the 1990s; and Mahmoud, a boy in war-torn Syria in 2015.

“Alan Grantz is an engaging author for teens who brings events in our world to life and tells them in a way young readers can understand,” said Romaine.

To start the lesson and to give a little perspective, Romaine shows students a map of Cuba–only 90 miles from Florida–and then uses a short documentary to show students what it was like for Cubans in the 1990s–fleeing the country on rafts, risking their lives for freedom.

Students then discussed why Islabel and her family wanted to leave Cuba, looking for text evidence to support their answers.

“What passage shows the conditions in Cuba at the time?” asked Romaine, “Give a text example of what forced Isabel and her family to leave.”

Reading out loud, Aliyah LaLindez read a passage that answered the question: “Without Russia's gas they couldn’t run the tractors to change the fields over to food, and without the extra food the Cuban people began to starve. All the cows and pigs and sheep had been slaughtered and eaten.”

Students then had to use text evidence to answer a prompt. “Make sure you take your time to write the entire quote using the proper punctuation, capitalization, words–all of it must be exact,” explained Romaine, “These are skills in eighth grade English–using sources exactly-that you must know.”

Moving from audio to video to written and oral, from character to character and plotline to plotline, it is clear Romaine enjoys teaching this book–always engaging with students, keeping them engaged and instilling important eighth grade English and life skills.

“The book also ties in with the Wells theme of overcoming adversity,” said Romaine, “which naturally ties in as a model of our Portrait of a Graduate skills of perseverance and adaptability. We also hope, of course, that it promotes empathy and citizenship.”