Daily Life – Activity

Daily Life During the Ukrainian Genocide — Understanding through Literature

[Excerpt From Holodomor in Ukraine, The Genocidal Famine 1932-­33: Teaching Materials for Teachers and Students – By Valentina Kuryliw]

Appropriate for Students:

Grades 7-12

Curriculum Fit / Specific Expectations / Learning Outcomes:

Please select outcomes you wish to cover from either English language arts or so- cial studies or history and prepare an assessment to share with the students at the outset.

Materials Required:

Copy for each student one story from either of the following two publications:

1. A Hunger Most Cruel: The Human Face of the 1932-1933 Terror- Famine inSoviet Ukraine, A. Dimarov, Y. Hutsalo, O. Zvychayna. Language Lanterns Pub- lications, 2002 (short stories). Recommended reading: short stories by Anatoliy Dimarov, Yevhen Hutsalo, Olena Zvychayna
2. Kobzar’s Children, “The Rings”, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006.

A discussion on the conditions of life and human rights of Ukrainians in Soviet Ukraine should follow using a mind-mapping diagram. Students read a story.

TASK 1 RESPONDING TO LITERATURE TASK

Students are asked to depict their impressions of the story by drawing an image that depicts how they felt, and write a one sentence caption to explain their drawing.

POST-TASK ACTIVITY

REFLECTION —

1. What impact does this story have on what you as a citizen?
2. Students make notes individually; discuss the question in small groups, and then have a reporter from each group share their conclusions with the class.
3. How would you describe the life of a child growing up in Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s to that of a life in Canada today?

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