Teaching . . .
The Children of Willesden Lane

During the summer of 2003, the Milken Family Foundation distributed copies of this inspiring book to Milken Educators in hopes that teachers would consider adding this title to their curriculum. I applied for and received a grant from the Weymouth Educational Foundation which enabled me to purchase sixty copies of this book and a copy of the Academy Award winning documentary, Into the Arms of Strangers . . . Stories of the Kindertransport, which tells the incredible story of the Kindertransport and the rescue of 10,000 children from Nazi-controlled countries.

On this page I have compiled a list of resources and sample projects which may prove helpful to others teaching this book. A Teacher's Resource booklet created by Facing History and Ourselves and funded by the Milken Family Foundation can be downloaded from the foundation's website or the Facing History and Ourselves website. I would also urge teachers to download the teacher's guide based on the film Into the Arms of Strangers . . . Stories of the Kindertransport. This outstanding film which won "Best Documentary Feature Film" in 2000 provided invaluable historical background for this book.

Michael D.

Into the Arms of Strangers

In class we viewed a segment of the film and discussed it before a corresponding section of the book was assigned. Here is how I coordinated the two:

Walter P.

Writing and Discussion Topics

The Teacher's Resource for The Children of Willesden Lane provides wonderful discussion and writing topic suggestions for each section of the book. I asked students to write a reader's response for individual chapters or to choose to respond to some of the topics suggested in the guide. I retyped some of the topics from the guide and distributed them to students. This allowed students some choice in writing and also gave them insight into the topics we would later be discussing in class.

Readers's Response - Chapters 1-3 by David S.

Poems about the Kindertransport and The Children of Willesden Lane.

Fight Terror with Melody by Kaila H. (5/05)
Remember Your Music by Abigail K. (5/05)
The Holocaust by Erin O'R. (5/05)
One - Five - Eight by Brian C.
I was Alone by Beth M.
The Holcaust by Kiley B.
My Life, Always in My Own Hands by Ryan P.

Family Histories . . .
Love Left Behind by Christine V. (5/05)
Journey to a New Beginning by Erin O'R. (5/05)
Risking Everything by Michael L. (5/05)
To the Land of Opportunity by Joseph M.
And the Rest Is History by Colleen H.

Family Legacies . . .
Basketball Legacy by Jessica R. (5/05)

A Recommendation for Adding This Title to the Curriculum by Melissa Z.

Danielle B.

Memorials

One of the final activities suggested in the Teacher's Resource was creating a monument to the children who were rescued or to the people who helped organize the Kindertransport and to those who provided homes for the refugee children in England. The website Facing History and Ourselves has a special lesson plan that deals with monuments and their design. We read over the material and paid particular attention to the section on the Holocaust Memorial in Boston which is not far from our town on the South Shore of Massachusetts. We also read a story in our literature book about the controversy surrounding the design of the Vietnam Wall Memorial in Washington, D.C. . With this background, some students then chose to design a monument as their final activity/project. View additonal Memorials and read the accompanying explanations for the designs.

Carroll H.

Artwork

Additional Resources

For information about ordering copies of this book for your school or library, contact Hold On to Your Music . . . holdon2yourmusic@aol.com

The Kindertransport Organization Home Page

A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust - Children

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

BBC - Kindertransport Here you can listen to audios files of memoirs of some of the kinder.

NIcky's Children . . . The Kindertransport Program

Created . . . May 2004 Updated . . . June 2005

Please send any questions, comments, or other suggestions for teaching this book.

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