Essential questions

Why is freedom so important to us? It's a great essential question that fit in really well with Harriet Tubman week. I wrote about Harriet Tubman week  here: http://christine-readingisthinking.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html 

What I really loved was that the essential question allowed us to tie together books that are completely different: Biographies, historical fiction stories and science fiction. When you study Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth it is really easy to see how their lives connect to our essential question. I decided to read the novel Among The Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix at the same time.

It is a science fiction (dystopian) novel about a society when having a third child is illegal. Luke, the main character, has to spend his life hiding in the attic from the Population Police. This novel really makes kids think about the concept of freedom in a new way. Its also part of a series, so if I can get them hooked on the first story we have 6 more books ahead! Christine