Programs for Children
Related to Caught in the Middle
- If You Lived on a Farm a Hundred Years Ago
- My Great–Great-Grandparents and Me
- Guided activity for class or small groups
- Examples from Caught in the Middle of everyday items from 1918
- Make list of a few everyday items today
- Example from story of using an everyday item
- Write description of how an everyday item is used today
- Make list of questions about one or more everyday items Great–Great Grandparents knew
- Example questions:
- How did it work? What was it used for?
- How felt or thought when doing it?
- Easy, or hard to do? Fun, or like punishment?
Related to Then the Rules Changed
- Coming to America
- Immigration in the 1870s-1880s
- Leaving what you know; facing the unknown
- Hands-on Activities
- Immigration in the 1870s-1880s
- Video for teachers & program planners: Introduction to activities
Programs for Adults and Teens
Related to Caught in the Middle
- Caught in the Middle–Alice’s Question: “Who Am I?” A story of a pre-teen, second-generation girl caught between old-country home life and new-country public life, old and new women’s roles, German-speaking background and American identity, peace church heritage and war-time patriotism
- Two Stories: Similarities and Differences Between a Peace-Church Farm Girl and Her Would-Be Friend
- Caught in the Middle: The Story Behind the Story. What prompted the story, research discoveries, and purposes of the novels.
- Caught in the Middle: The Second Generation of Immigrant Families. When immigrants come as groups and communities, the first generation tends to transplant the old country, the third generation is assimilated into the new country, and the second generation is caught with one foot in the old country at home and the other in the new country in public.
- Stories of Life Difficulties and Resilience: Topics such as hardship, harassment, and death may be difficult to talk about. Historical fiction can offer readers vicarious experiences, let them see and evaluate how people of the past responded, and help them grow in resilience skills.