Lesson Plan - Uprooted by War

Build Background Knowledge

Have students think about these questions as they watch the video “The Day I Became a Refugee”: How has the war affected each of the Ukrainian teens? What do you think Rostyslav Sheichenko means when he says “You have to defend the kindness inside you.”? Use Think-Pair-Share to discuss responses.

Preview Vocabulary

Use the online Skill Builder Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms civilian, Communist, depression, diplomat, displace, emission, empire, intelligence, refugee, Soviet Union, United Nations, and West. Have students refer to the Skill Builder as they read.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to underline or highlight information about challenges that each teen experienced.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• Summarize what has happened in the war between Russia and Ukraine. (Summarizing)
Russia started the conflict by invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Russian forces attacked many Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with missiles while attacking with soldiers and tanks from the north and east. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has promised that his country will fight back hard against Russia. Ukraine has received arms and other assistance from the United States and European countries, which have helped Ukraine push back against some of Russia’s advances. However, the war is inflicting incredible damage on Ukraine and its people. According to the United Nations, more than 6,000 civilians had died by late September. More than 7 million people had been displaced within Ukraine, and another 7.2 million people had become refugees in other countries, most of them in Poland.

• What happened to Olena Gorduz’s family? What does she hope for the future? (Key Details)
Olena’s family first hid from Russian bombs in their basement in Mariupol. One of her classmates was killed, and her family’s home lost electricity, water, and phone connections. On March 15, Olena and her family traveled by car to Poland, where an aid group helped them find a place to live. Olena says she hopes that Ukraine will win the war. She also wants to become a politician or a diplomat so that she can help protect Ukraine in the future.

• How does the map “The Fight for Ukraine” support the article? (Integrating Information)
The map shows Ukraine’s borders and how much of its territory was held by Russia as of September 29. It also supports the article by showing where each of the three teenage refugees used to live before relocating to Warsaw, Poland, which helps readers understand how far each one had to travel during their escapes. Additionally, the map shows Crimea, a region that Russia annexed in 2014, and shows where that area is in relation to Russia and the rest of Ukraine.

• What details from Irina Kiselyk’s story stand out most to you? (Primary Sources)
Sample response: One detail that stands out is that Irina didn’t even close her eyes on the first night of the invasion. That helps me understand how scared she must have been. Another detail that stands out is her explaining how challenging it was to pack one backpack with the items that she and her brother would need most.  The details about living in one room with her mom and siblings in Warsaw and hearing from her father, who is fighting in Ukraine, show that Irina can’t be concerned for her own comfort while her country is at war.

• How does the sidebar “Why Ukraine?” support the article? (Text Features)
The sidebar supports the article by providing historical context for the latest conflict. It explains that Russia has been trying to make Ukraine part of a larger empire for hundreds of years, but Ukrainians have resisted and tried to keep their separate identity. From 1922 until 1991, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, a huge Communist country dominated by Russia. Today Russian President Vladimir Putin does not recognize Ukraine as a nation. In 2014, he took control of Crimea and part of the Donbas region. Experts say that the invasion this year continues a long history of conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

• What does Rostyslav Sheichenko mean when he says that the war “was like being in a fog”? How is he trying to help people who are still in Ukraine? (Making Meaning)
I think that Rostyslav means that it’s hard to understand what is really happening during a war. He said that he wasn’t afraid because everything was changing so quickly he was “simply living”—or just focusing on what he had to do to stay alive each minute. Now that he is in Poland, he’s trying to help his father and friends who stayed in Ukraine by staying in touch with them. Rostyslav says that he tries to talk to them almost every day. Worried about their mental health, he tries to keep them as optimistic as possible. He says to survive a “broken, destroyed world,” you have to “overcome the hate inside you.”

• Choose a photograph from the article to analyze. What do you notice about it? What do you wonder? (Visual Literacy)
Sample response: In the photo of people boarding a train to evacuate from the Donbas region, I notice how few possessions most people have with them. Some children aren’t carrying anything, and one girl is just holding her dog. I wonder what it might feel like to have to leave almost everything behind and not know what your life will be like in a new place.

Analyze Primary Sources

Guide students to complete the Skill Spotlight activity at the end of the article. Help them cite specific details from the interviews in their responses.

Read a Map

Assign the Skill Builder Map Reading: The Fight for Ukraine to have students answer 10 questions about a map of the country. You might challenge fast finishers to write two additional questions and swap with a classmate. Review responses and correct any misconceptions. For more map reading practice, check out our Map Skills Boot Camp with 13 lessons at junior.scholastic.com/mapskills.

Assess Comprehension

Use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.