I Am David

Saint Paul College Name: _______________________

English Department Section: ______________________

T. Lidy Vargas I Trimester

I Am David

By Anne Holm

General Instructions:

1. In class we will be reading the novel I Am David

2. Bring this booklet to all English classes.

3. Before we read a chapter, you will need to prepare some vocabulary as homework.

4. Well check meaning and pronunciation before reading in class.

5. As we read, you may have other word questions. Write them down as a chapter word bank.

6. After reading each chapter well do some comprehension questions or writing exercises.

7. Feel free to respond to the reading anytime you need to. The more you participate in class, either by speaking or writing, the better.

8. You should expect any type of evaluation when we finish a chapter or two. This could be pop quiz, dictation, multiple choice tests or a journal entry.

9. All work is to be done individually.

10. At the end of the book we will get a chance to watch the movie and compare it to the novel read in class.

About Anne Holm

Anne Holm was born on September 10, 1922 in Denmark. Educated in Denmark, she began her training as a journalist upon completing school. Her first book was published in 1956. Two other Danish titles followed before Holm had I Am David published in 1963 in Danish, and in English the same year. It was formerly known as North to Freedom in the U.S. It has since been re-titled I Am David in its latest published edition by Harcourt, Inc.

The novel has been in print continuously since its original publication. This is significant because it indicates that the book is considered a classic. I Am David has been televised, radio broadcast, and successfully translated in sixteen countries and on four continents.

A member of the Danish Authors Society, Anne Holm traveled extensively throughout Europe, acquiring a modest proficiency in German, Italian, French, and English. She was married to Johan Christian Holm in 1949 and they had one child. Not shy about her politics, Holm once said, No secret about it I am all for king and parliament, and against dictatorships Anne Holm died in 1998.

I Am David has won numerous awards, including the Prize for the Best Scandinavian Childrens Book in 1963, ALA Notable Book in 1965, and Boys Club of America Junior Book Award Gold Medal.

Read this account of what life was like in Europe after World War II. It will help you understand the world David travels through in order to find his way home.

After World War II ended in 1945, much of Europe lay in ruins. Cities, rural areas, communications, and transportation systems were destroyed. Over fifty million people were dead, including over six million Jews, many of whom had been murdered in Nazi concentration camps. Led by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, the Allied forces had worked together to defeat dictator Adolph Hitlers Germany and Germanys ally, Japan, along with other Axis countries in their bid to take over the world. But almost immediately after the War, relations between Allied countries began to fall apart.

By the end of World War II the Soviet Union had driven German soldiers back to Germany. However, Soviet soldiers were still in many Eastern European countries. The leader of the Soviet Union, Dictator Joseph Stalin, had promised the Allies that as soon as possible he would allow free elections in these Eastern European nations and withdraw his soldiers. But right after the War, Joseph Stalin broke his promise. The Soviet soldiers did not withdraw, and by 1948, every Eastern European country was under the control of the Soviet Union.

The government of the Soviet Union was communist, which comes from the word communal, meaning of the group. Communists believe that practicing religion and holding private property should be forbidden. The communist government of the Soviet Union did not believe in a free press. Disagreement by citizens with the government was against the law, and people could be put in prison if their beliefs were different from what the government wanted people to believe. The rights of individuals did not matter. In practice, the government of the Soviet Union was a dictatorship of the proletariat (proletariat means the poorest class of working people). A very small group of leaders controlled the lives of all citizens. In countries with Communist governments, the government owned all factories and workplaces. There was no independent economy, no independent newspapers, no independent courts, and no independent legislature.

But now, after World War II, on one side was the United States and Great Britain and on the other was the Soviet Union. In fact, on March 5, 1946 the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill, made a famous speech at Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri. With United States President Harry Truman in the audience, Winston Churchill warned about Eastern Europe becoming separated from the rest of Europe because of what the Soviet Union was doing. To make his point more forcefully, Churchill used the image of a giant iron curtain coming down on Eastern European countries, separating them from the rest of Europe:

From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Vienna, and Sofia; all these famous cities lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere.

Behind the iron curtain, the Soviet Union was establishing repressive governments and labor camps. In labor camps, people who were thought to disagree with the government were imprisoned, forced to do hard work, tortured, and sometimes even put to death for their beliefs. In the year 1952, the year in which I Am David take place, over two and a half million people were in labor camps in the Soviet Union. In Bulgaria alone, between 1948-1954 there were 99 forced labor camps. This is the backdrop against which the story I Am David takes place.

1. Look up the word dictator in the dictionary and write its meaning?

2. List the two dictators mentioned in this selection, and the countries of which they were the leaders

Chapter 1

1-A

Vocabulary

lay

muttering

shrug

fainter

successor

worthwhile

thicket

compass

clenched

bare

washbasin

astonishment

yawning

coarse

grating

Comprehension questions (Complete answers please)

1. As in most novels, the first chapter introduces the character and sets the scene for what is to follow. But what you are told in the first chapter of I Am David is some- what mysterious, even outright confusing. All you are told is a fragment of information here, a bit there.Why does the author do that? Why doesn't she tell you outright who David is and where he is?

2. David has one chance to escape. Where is he escaping from?

3. A man is giving David instructions to escape. Do you think David likes him?

4. List the specific instructions that this man gave David.

5. Draw and label the specific objects David is taking with him to escape.

6. What places must David look for? Fill in the flow chart with the names of those places.

1-_____________ 2-______________ 3- ____________

4-_____________ 5- _____________

Writing

What would you do if you knew nothing about your past, just your name?

_________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1-B

Vocabulary

taut

searchlight

stump

smudge

tread

afoot

bundle

fumbled

crosswise

barely

swung (swing)

stuck (strike)

whimpering

sparing

cloaks

Brainstorm. Write five characteristics about David, the protagonist.

DAVID

Comprehension questions (Complete answers please)

1. How old do you think David is?

2. Where do you think his family is from?

3. Why did he escape form camp?

4. What people does he meet in this chapter? List a name, description, and the kind of help each one gives David

1C

Vocabulary

tuft

squat

dreadful

quayside

scorching

foolhardy

hauled

swigs

misty

basking

imperceptibly

embers

Writing

You are David. Imagine how you feel when you try to escape the only thing you miss about camp is your friend Johannes, but hes dead. So, write a two paragraph entry describing you mixed feeling, and emotions as you escape.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter 2

2-A

Vocabulary

resolve

oppressive

variegated

runnel

scrubbed

inmates

whittled

lithe

irresolutely

irksome

ravine

treachery

porridge

plank

sparingly

Research and find out the meaning of the name David and write a small paragraph about it. Then color the name David in the colors he was used to.

Comprehension questions (Complete answers please)

1. The Chapter begins with a descriptive paragraph. List the descriptive words.

2. How does David feel about people in general?

3. Why is David feeling different about his life now?

4. One colorful thing in the grass catches Davids attention, what is it?

5. Where does he stay to hide from people?

6. What thought frustrates David and causes him to lose hope?

7. Which foreign languages can he understand? List them.

8. Which two basic things worry him the most?

Add and label the new colors David discovers in this spectrum

Map skills.

Trace Davids escape steps in the map. Mark a check the places hes been to. Draw a crown in the countries that had a king in the 1950s

2B

Proper adjectives

Write all the nationalities of the countries represented in the Europe in the 1950s map in alphabetical order. Dont forget to capitalize correctly.

Example: Albania- Albanian

________________ _______________ _______________ _______________

________________ _______________ _______________ _______________

________________ _______________ _______________ _______________

________________ _______________ _______________ _______________

________________ _______________ _______________ _______________

________________ _______________ _______________ _______________

Comprehension questions (Complete answers please)

1. What principal decision does he make about people?

2. How does his impression of people change in the town?

3. What building does David discover and visit every evening in town?

4. Why did he pick up a newspaper?

5. What two important life lessons does he learn after he met the baby?

6. What is peculiar about Davids eyes according to people?

7. David cries a second time. Why is he crying at the end of this chapter?

Setting the Mood

The setting is the time and place in which a story occurs. By describing setting, an author can create a mood or atmosphere for the story.

Setting and the mood created by that setting are particularly important in I Am David. The environment acts as a force to shape David's character and his actions.

Directions

In the following passages from the book, the author describes setting and creates a mood. Read each passage and answer the questions.

Passage 1

... Every night he ran, and he ran all night long. Once he slipped into a water-hole and the mud caked on him as it dried. Once he was so torn by branches that blood oozed from the scratches on his face, hands and legs. He would never forget that night. He had come to a close thicket of thorn bushes, and the needle of his compass indicated that he should go straight through it. So he plunged into the thicket, elbows up to protect his face. The first branch that struck him hurt painfully, and so did the first gash along his arm, but after that he noticed nothing and just crashed his way through...

1. Select a single word that would best describe the mood created by the setting.

2. List two details that contribute to the mood of the passage.

Passage 2

... And so the days passed. David lost count of them, for it was dark all the time and there was nothing to distinguish day from night. Once he woke he picked up the strange bottle by mistake for his own, and after that he took a drink from it every time stay- ing awake any longer grew too much for him, for he discovered that drinking from it soon made him feel sleepy. It tasted good, too - a little strong perhaps but not unpleas- ant - and then he could sleep a while longer.

1. Select a single word that would best describe the mood created by the setting.

2. List two details that contribute to the mood of the passage.

Crossword puzzle

Which words from your two last lists are hidden here?

V

S

C

R

U

B

B

E

D

B

P

A

C

E

B

M

Y

M

F

R

O

D

R

D

E

V

B

O

R

U

R

E

E

I

O

M

O

S

U

T

R

L

M

S

E

L

T

K

N

A

I

U

B

Y

H

G

H

R

N

L

D

A

E

A

T

J

A

I

E

I

G

H

R

U

I

A

Q

T

L

T

E

D

S

Q

L

I

H

F

E

Y

Y

L

U

F

D

A

E

R

D

D

BRUTALITY

DREADFUL

EMBERS

FOOLHARDY

HAULED

IRKSOME

LITHE

PORRIDGE

QUAYSIDE

RUNNEL

SCRUBBED

Chapter 2 Summary

Chapter 3

Vocabulary

commandant

rummage (rummaging)

hesitant (ly)

disconcert (ed)

awkward

fetch (ing)

sinister

pasture

undulate (undulating)

Comprehension questions (Complete answers please)

1. Mention 5 things that David learns in this beautiful Italian town. (Pages 60-61)

2. Why does David decide to start traveling by day?

3. What key item is lost from his bundle?

4. Which God and religion does David choose and why?

5. Describe Donald and Alice.

6. How do they help each other?

7. How does he plan to get money for bread?

8. How does he react when he finds a mirror in Naples?

9. Which are the two things David wants more than anything else, now?

10. How does he prove the Americans that hes no thief?

11. What does he discover at the bottom of his bundle?

12. Why is that discovery suddenly become a problem?

13. Do you think God listens to David this time? Explain your answer

Drawing of David On a white blank sheet of paper, sketch a 12 year old boy with a sad, but honest face, dark gray eyes with a tint of green, and long wavy hair. He wears an old shirt, and trousers which are both ragged.

Characterization

The book I Am David contains many portraits of memorable people. The process of recalling or creating memorable details about individuals is called characterization.

The personalities of people in a book can be conveyed by

__what the author states directly about the character

__ what the character says and does

__ what others say or think about the character

__ how others act toward the character

Instructions

Read the following chart, list some traits possessed by a character in the book. Find one specific piece of evidence for each trait (from anywhere in chapters 1-3) to prove the character does have that characteristic.

Then decide which characterization method (or methods) is used to reveal that trait. Check the appropriate column.

a = what the character says

b = what the character does

c = what others say or think about the character

d = how others act toward the character

e = what the author writes about the character

Trait Evidence

How trait is revealed

Page

a b c d e

Example:David

distrustful

He doesn't believe the man will let him escape.

9

b

persistent

curious

honest

brave

Chapter 3 Summary

Chapter 4

Vocabulary

conspicuous

lorries

vineyard

hostage

soot

daft

birch

broom

succumbed

caresses

sake

earnestly

Word bank. Predict the meaning of the words by matching columns correctly.

A) spiteful

______

pronounced with a rough grating voice

B) swine

______

to call for, to summon, to assemble

C) provocative

______

having luster, shining

D) brute force

______

having ill will or showing frustration

E) muster

______

to treat with oppression in a cruel way

F) hoarsely

______

an outdoor fire

G) bonfire

______

tending to provoke action, thought, feeling

H) lustrous

______

collective noun for pig or hog

Comprehension questions (Complete answers please)

1. What does he first hear in the forest?

2. What happens to him next?

3. Explain the David Crockett and the Indians game?

4. How does David become a hero?

5. In your own words give a description of the house of the di Levana del "Varchi family.

6. David has been his own master ever since he arrived in Italy. He has been free to select a God, to travel as he wishes and to learn whatever he wishes. After saving Maria, the family insists that David come to their home so that the mother can thank him. David has never been inside a house before and he feels uneasiness (p.95). What explanations can you give for his fear?

7. What did David know about doctors in camps?

8. Which piece of furniture in this house fascinates David?

9. Quote Johannes words literally when he taught David about saying Thank you.

Politeness is _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. Do you understand what I mean!

Circle the correct word in each pair.

1. A number of people in the village swear/swears that David never smiles.

2. In the bundle there was/were a compass, a piece of soap, a loaf of bread, a box of matches and a pocketknife.

3. Each of the three villagers thinks/think David is weird.

4. Everybody in the village was/were at work.

5. Mr. di Levana del "Varchi tells David that his family is/are taking a summer vacation this year.

6. The entire crew of the circus is/are giving a performance in the main square today.

Chapter 4 Summary

Chapter 5

Vocabulary

Pluck

Boundary

gramophone

Worship

lather

jutting

Gracious

deception

bribery

Odd from Man Out

Look at these sets of related words. They express different degrees of related meaning, except one. Circle the word that does not belong. You may use a dictionary or a Thesaurus.

1. Less, good, better, the best

2. Repulsive, fresh, loathsome, matted in dirt

3. Strange, wicked, bad, evil

4. Horrible, unfair, shameful, despicable

5. Gentle, different, delicate, listless

6. Odd, suspicious, strange, weird

7. Alert, weak, emaciated, listless

8. Obstinate, headstrong, carefree, opinionate

Directions

Determine what the characters listed feel about each of the following topics. You may use quotes, paraphrases, or inferences (logical conclusions) in your responses.

1. Escape from the Camp

a. David

b. the Man

2. Understanding

a. the priest and the villagers (pp.48-49)

b. David

3. Helping out

a. the English couple

b. David

4. Trust

a. the American couple

b. David

5. Aggression

a. Carlo

b. David

6. Gratitude

a. the di Levana del 'Varchi parents

b. David

Comprehension questions (Complete answers please)

1. Why does David ask for a book published before 1917? What happened then?

2. How does David feel about playing games with these children and why?

3. What feelings does this family evoke in David?

The young twins______________________________________________________

Andrea _____________________________________________________________

Carlo _______________________________________________________________

Maria ______________________________________________________________

Giovanni and his wife Elsa ______________________________________________

4. How does David find out where Denmark is?

5. Drinking milk gives David a terrible flashback. What was it? Explain

6. What makes David wish to leave the house?

7. How does he explain himself to the family?

8. What does Maria give him as a parting gift?

Chapter 5 Summary

Chapter 6

Vocabulary

sorrow

stiffened

starving

byroad

psalm

easel

lofty

capped

foreboding

Comprehension questions (Complete answers please)

1. What is David wearing now?

2. Which three towns in Italy does he go through?

3. According to David, who asked the most question, the Italians or the tourist?

4. Why does he go into a church? How does he like it?

5. Who does he talk to there? What do they talk about?

6. What does David to in the train station?

7. What does David discover when he picks up a newspaper?

Character lines

Who speaks or writes these words. Write a name or a description

1. Arent we going to play anything?__________________________________________

2. I would have never David had a brutal mind!__________________________________

3- So you are David, whos your God? _________________________________________

4.Dont be afraid. We are not searching for you?________________________________

5. Id like you to let me paint you, if youve had time. ____________________________

6.What kind of thief is staggering about in this weather? __________________________

7. Youre always so stupid! _________________________________________________

Chapter 6 Summary

Chapter 7 & 8

Vocabulary

investigating

circumstances

precipice

meddle

apprehensive

muzzle

interrogate

distinctly

staggering

affection

hurtling

irresistibly

Comprehension questions (Complete answers please)

1. How had David's mother escaped form the concentration camp?

2. Why did the man hate David, while at the same time looking after him? Why did the man let David escape?

3. After having seen many good people, David is suddenly thrown back into a cruel atmosphere.Give examples to show what the Swiss farmer and his family are like.

4. What were the farmer's plans for David?

5. What conclusion did David make about Carlo while he was in the stable prison?

6. How did David escape the farmer?

7. What did David do for the first time as the Swiss truck driver left him?

8. Why does the dog's action affect David so deeply? Consider his last prayer (p.231) as well as his final understanding of the dog's behavior.

9. How does David find his mother's address?

10. How does the story end?

Chapter 7 & 8 Summary

David was not used to brightcolor: he was familiar with various tones of gray and brown, and he was always full of dust and dirt