The Freedom Writers Diary Lesson Plans

The Freedom Writers Diary Lesson Plans
The Freedom Writers Diary by Freedom Writers

(c)2015 BookRags, Inc. All rights reserved.
Contents
The Freedom Writers Diary Lesson Plans .................................................................................................... 1
Contents........................................................................................................................................................ 2
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Lesson Calendar............................................................................................................................................ 9
Chapter Abstracts ....................................................................................................................................... 18
Character Descriptions ............................................................................................................................... 25
Object Descriptions .................................................................................................................................... 26
Multiple Choice .......................................................................................................................................... 27
Multiple Choice Key ................................................................................................................................... 55
Short Answer Questions ............................................................................................................................ 57
Short Answer Questions Key ..................................................................................................................... 83
Short Essay Questions .............................................................................................................................. 109
Short Essay Questions Key ....................................................................................................................... 118
Essay Topics .............................................................................................................................................. 130
Daily Lessons ............................................................................................................................................ 134
Fun Activities ............................................................................................................................................ 153
Oral Reading Evaluation Sheet ................................................................................................................ 156
Reading Assignment Sheet ...................................................................................................................... 157
Writing Evaluation Form .......................................................................................................................... 158
One Week Quiz A...................................................................................................................................... 159
Two Week Quiz A ..................................................................................................................................... 162
Four Week Quiz A ..................................................................................................................................... 165
Four Week Quiz B ..................................................................................................................................... 168
Eight Week Quiz A .................................................................................................................................... 171
Eight Week Quiz B .................................................................................................................................... 174
Eight Week Quiz C .................................................................................................................................... 177
Eight Week Quiz D .................................................................................................................................... 180
Eight Week Quiz E .................................................................................................................................... 183
Eight Week Quiz F..................................................................................................................................... 186
2
Eight Week Quiz G .................................................................................................................................... 189
Mid-Book Test - Easy ................................................................................................................................ 192
Final Test - Easy ........................................................................................................................................ 197
Mid-Book Test - Medium ......................................................................................................................... 202
Final Test - Medium .................................................................................................................................. 209
Mid-Book Test - Hard ............................................................................................................................... 212
Final Test - Hard........................................................................................................................................ 219
3
Introduction
Teaching The Freedom Writers Diary
The Freedom Writers Diary lesson plan contains a variety of teaching materials that cater to all
learning styles. Inside you'll find 30 Daily Lessons, 20 Fun Activities, 180 Multiple Choice
Questions, 60 Short Essay Questions, 20 Essay Questions, Quizzes/Homework Assignments,
Tests, and more. The lessons and activities will help students gain an intimate understanding of
the text, while the tests and quizzes will help you evaluate how well the students have grasped
the material.
Target Grade: 7th-12th (Middle School and High School)
Length of Lesson Plan: Approximately 142 pages. Page count is estimated at 300 words per
page. Length will vary depending on format viewed.
Browse The Freedom Writers Diary Lesson Plan:
Introduction Essay Topics

Lesson Calendar Daily Lessons
Chapter Abstracts Fun Activities
Character Descriptions Worksheets and Evaluation Forms
Object Descriptions Quizzes
Multiple Choice Tests
Short Answer Questions Quiz/Test Generator
Short Essay Questions
4
Full Lesson Plan Overview
Completely Customizable!
The Freedom Writers Diary lesson plan is downloadable in PDF and Word. The Word file is
viewable with any PC or Mac and can be further adjusted if you want to mix questions around
and/or add your own headers for things like "Name," "Period," and "Date." The Word file offers
unlimited customizing options so that you can teach in the most efficient manner possible.
Once you download the file, it is yours to keep and print for your classroom.
Lesson Plan Calendars
The Lesson Plan Calendars provide daily suggestions about what to teach. They include detailed
descriptions of when to assign reading, homework, in-class work, fun activities, quizzes, tests
and more. Use the entire The Freedom Writers Diary calendar, or supplement it with your own
curriculum ideas. Calendars cover one, two, four, and eight week units. Determine how long
your The Freedom Writers Diary unit will be, then use one of the calendars provided to plan out
your entire lesson.
Chapter Abstracts
Chapter abstracts are short descriptions of events that occur in each chapter of The Freedom
Writers Diary. They highlight major plot events and detail the important relationships and
characteristics of important characters. The Chapter Abstracts can be used to review what the
students have read, or to prepare the students for what they will read. Hand the abstracts out
in class as a study guide, or use them as a "key" for a class discussion. They are relatively brief,
but can serve to be an excellent refresher of The Freedom Writers Diary for either a student or
teacher.
Character and Object Descriptions
Character and Object Descriptions provide descriptions of the significant characters as well as
objects and places in The Freedom Writers Diary. These can be printed out and used as an
individual study guide for students, a "key" for leading a class discussion, a summary review
prior to exams, or a refresher for an educator. The character and object descriptions are also
used in some of the quizzes and tests in this lesson plan. The longest descriptions run about 200
words. They become shorter as the importance of the character or object declines.
5
Multiple Choice Questions
The 180 Multiple Choice Questions in this lesson plan will test a student's recall and
understanding of The Freedom Writers Diary. Use these questions for quizzes, homework
assignments or tests. The questions are broken out into sections, so they focus on specific
chapters within The Freedom Writers Diary. This allows you to test and review the book as you
proceed through the unit. Typically, there are 5-15 questions per chapter, act or section.
The 60 Short Essay Questions listed in this section require a one to two sentence answer. They
ask students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of The Freedom Writers Diary by
describing what they've read, rather than just recalling it. The short essay questions evaluate
not only whether students have read the material, but also how well they understand and can
apply it. They require more thought than multiple choice questions, but are shorter than the
essay questions.
Essay Questions/Writing Assignments
These 20 Essay Questions/Writing Assignments can be used as essay questions on a test, or as

stand-alone essay topics for a take-home or in-class writing assignment on The Freedom Writers
Diary. Students should have a full understanding of the unit material in order to answer these
questions. They often include multiple parts of the work and ask for a thorough analysis of the
overall text. They nearly always require a substantial response. Essay responses are typically
expected to be one (or more) page(s) and consist of multiple paragraphs, although it is possible
to write answers more briefly. These essays are designed to challenge a student's
understanding of the broad points in a work, interactions among the characters, and main
points and themes of the text. But, they also cover many of the other issues specific to the work
and to the world today.
Daily Lessons
This section of the lesson plan contains 30 Daily Lessons. Daily Lessons each have a specific
objective and offer at least three (often more) ways to teach that objective. Lessons include
classroom discussions, group and partner activities, in-class handouts, individual writing
assignments, at least one homework assignment, class participation exercises and other ways
to teach students about The Freedom Writers Diary in a classroom setting. You can combine
daily lessons or use the ideas within them to create your own unique curriculum. They vary
greatly from day to day and offer an array of creative ideas that provide many options for an
educator.
6
Fun Classroom Activities
Fun Classroom Activities differ from Daily Lessons because they make "fun" a priority. The 20
enjoyable, interactive classroom activities that are included will help students understand The
Freedom Writers Diary in fun and entertaining ways. Fun Classroom Activities include group
projects, games, critical thinking activities, brainstorming sessions, writing poems, drawing or
sketching, and countless other creative exercises. Many of the activities encourage students to
interact with each other, be creative and think "outside of the box," and ultimately grasp key
concepts from the text by "doing" rather than simply studying. Fun activities are a great way to
keep students interested and engaged while still providing a deeper understanding of The
Freedom Writers Diary and its themes.
Evaluation Forms
Use the Oral Reading Evaluation Form when students are reading aloud in class. Pass the forms
out before you assign reading, so students will know what to expect. You can use the forms to
provide general feedback on audibility, pronunciation, articulation, expression and rate of
speech. You can use this form to grade students, or simply comment on their progress.
Use the Writing Evaluation Form when you're grading student essays. This will help you
establish uniform criteria for grading essays even though students may be writing about
different aspects of the material. By following this form you will be able to evaluate the thesis,
organization, supporting arguments, paragraph transitions, grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.
of each student's essay.
Quizzes/Homework Assignments
The Quizzes/Homework Assignments are worksheets that can be used in a variety of ways. They
pull questions from the multiple choice and short essay sections, the character and object
descriptions, and the chapter abstracts to create worksheets that can be used for pop quizzes,
in-class assignments and homework. Periodic homework assignments and quizzes are a great
way to encourage students to stay on top of their assigned reading. They can also help you
determine which concepts and ideas your class grasps and which they need more guidance on.
By pulling from the different sections of the lesson plan, quizzes and homework assignments
offer a comprehensive review of The Freedom Writers Diary in manageable increments that are
less substantial than a full blown test.
7
Tests
Use the Test Summary page to determine which pre-made test is most relevant to your
students' learning styles. This lesson plan provides both full unit tests and mid-unit tests. You
can choose from several tests that include differing combinations of multiple choice questions,
short answer questions, short essay questions, full essay questions, character and object
matching, etc. Some of the tests are designed to be more difficult than others. Some have essay
questions, while others are limited to short-response questions, like multiple choice, matching
and short answer questions. If you don't find the combination of questions that best suits your
class, you can also create your own test on The Freedom Writers Diary.
8
Lesson Calendar
Definitions
Review Chapter Abstracts: Chapter abstracts are synopses of each chapter that you can
use to review the reading assignments with your students.
Daily Lessons: There are 30 daily lessons detailed in this lesson plan. Select a new daily
lesson for each day.
Fun Activities: There are 20 fun activities in this lesson plan. They serve as a way for
students to interact with the material in an enjoyable, educational way.
Read Aloud in Class: Ask students to take turns reading aloud from where they left off
in their most recent reading assignment. Use the Oral Reading Evaluation Form in this
lesson plan to evaluate their reading skills.
In-Class Handout: An in-class handout can be one of the quizzes/homework
assignments, vocabulary games, worksheets, or an essay/writing assignment. It's
something the students can complete and turn in during class, or begin in-class and take
home to finish as a homework assignment.
One Week Lesson Calendar
Before the unit begins:
Homework Assignment: Read through Chapter II, Freshman Year - Spring 1995
Day 1 - Day 2 - Review Day 3 - Quiz Day 4 - Review Day 5 - Test
Introduce Unit Unit Unit
Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Chapter Test

Abstracts up to Abstracts up to Abstracts up to Abstracts up to
Chapter II, Chapter IV, Chapter VII, Epilogue
Freshman Year - Sophomore Year Senior Year - Fall
Spring 1995 - Spring 1996 1997 1 In-Class
Handout
1 Lesson from 1 Lesson from Quiz
Daily Lessons 1- Daily Lessons Homework
15 16-30 1 In-Class Assignment:
Handout Study for the
1 Fun Activity 1 In-Class test
from Fun Handout 1 Fun Activity
Activities 1-10 from Fun
Homework Activities 11-20
Students Read Assignment:
Aloud in Class Read through Homework
Chapter VII, Assignment:
9
Homework Senior Year - Fall Read through
Assignment: 1997 and Epilogue and
Read through choose a assign an essay,
Chapter IV, homework due the week
Sophomore Year assignment from following the
- Spring 1996 one of the Daily test
Lessons
Two Week Lesson Calendar
Homework Assignment: Read through Chapter 1, Freshman Year - Fall 1994

Day 1 - Day 2 - Review Day 3 - Review Day 4 - Review Day 5 - Quiz
Introduce Unit Unit Unit Unit
Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Chapter
Abstracts up to Abstracts up to Abstracts up to Abstracts up to Abstracts up to
Chapter 1, Chapter II, Chapter III, Chapter IV, Chapter V,
Freshman Year - Freshman Year - Sophomore Year Sophomore Year Junior Year - Fall
Fall 1994 Spring 1995 - Fall 1995 - Spring 1996 1996
1 Lesson from 1 Lesson from 1 Lesson from 1 Lesson from Quiz

Daily Lessons 1- Daily Lessons 5- Daily Lessons 9- Daily Lessons
4 8 12 13-15 Homework
Assignment:
Students Read 1 Fun Activity 1 In-Class 1 Fun Activity Read through
Aloud in Class from Fun Handout from Fun Chapter VI,
Activities 1-5 Activities 6-10 Junior Year -
Homework Homework Spring 1997 and
Assignment: Homework Assignment: Review for the assign an essay,
Read through Assignment: Read through quiz due the week
Chapter II, Read through Chapter IV, following the
Freshman Year - Chapter III, Sophomore Year Homework final test
Spring 1995 Sophomore Year - Spring 1996 Assignment:
- Fall 1995 Read through
Chapter V,
Junior Year - Fall
1996 and study
for the quiz
Day 6 - Review Day 7 - Review Day 8 - Review Day 9 - Review Day 10 - Final
Unit Unit Unit Unit Test
10
Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Chapter Test
Abstracts up to Abstracts up to Abstracts up to Abstracts up to
Chapter VI, Chapter VII, Chapter VIII, Epilogue
Junior Year - Senior Year - Fall Senior Year -
Spring 1997 1997 Spring 1998 1 Lesson from
Daily Lessons
1 Lesson from 1 Lesson from 1 Lesson from 28-30
Daily Lessons Daily Lessons Daily Lessons
16-19 20-23 24-27 1 In-Class
Handout
1 Fun Activity 1 In-Class 1 In-Class
from Fun Handout Handout Review for the
Activities 11-15 test
Students Read 1 Fun Activity
Homework Aloud in Class from Fun Homework
Assignment: Activities 16-20 Assignment:
Read through Homework Study for the
Chapter VII, Assignment: Homework test
Senior Year - Fall Read through Assignment:
1997 and Chapter VIII, Read through
choose a Senior Year - Epilogue
homework Spring 1998 and
assignment from choose a
one of the Daily homework
Lessons assignment from
one of the Daily
Lessons
Four Week Lesson Calendar
Homework Assignment: Read through Foreword

Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Review Chapter Quiz

Abstracts up to Abstracts up to Homework Abstracts up to
Foreword Chapter 1, Chapter II, 1 Lesson from
Freshman Year - 1 Lesson from Freshman Year - Daily Lessons 7-
Students Read Fall 1994 Daily Lessons 3- Spring 1995 8
Aloud in Class 4
1 Lesson from Review Students Read
11
Homework Daily Lessons 1- 1 Fun Activity Homework Aloud in Class
Assignment: 2 from Fun
Read through Activities 1-3 1 Lesson from Homework
Chapter 1, 1 In-Class Daily Lessons 5- Assignment:
Freshman Year - Handout Homework 6 Read through
Fall 1994 Assignment: Chapter III,
Homework Read through 1 Fun Activity Sophomore Year
Assignment: Chapter II, from Fun - Fall 1995 and
Choose from Freshman Year - Activities 4-5 choose a
one of the Daily Spring 1995 and homework
Lessons choose a 1 In-Class assignment from
homework Handout one of the Daily
assignment from Lessons
one of the Daily
Lessons
Day 6 - Review Day 7 - Review Day 8 - Review Day 9 - Review Day 10 - Mid
Unit Unit Unit Unit Unit Test
Review Chapter Review Review Chapter Review Review Chapter

Abstracts up to Homework Abstracts up to Homework Abstracts up to
Chapter III, Chapter V,
Sophomore Year 1 Lesson from Review 1 Lesson from Junior Year - Fall
- Fall 1995 Daily Lessons Homework Daily Lessons 1996
10-11 14-15
Review 1 Lesson from Test
Homework 1 In-Class Daily Lessons 1 In-Class
Handout 12-13 Handout Homework
Daily Lesson 9 Assignment:
Students Read 1 Fun Activity Review for the Read through
1 Fun Activity Aloud in Class from Fun test Chapter VI,
from Fun Activities 8-9 Junior Year -
Activities 6-7 Homework Homework Spring 1997 and
Assignment: Homework Assignment: assign an essay,
Homework Read through Assignment: Read through due the week
Assignment: Chapter IV, Choose from Chapter V, following the
Choose from Sophomore Year one of the Daily Junior Year - Fall final test
one of the Daily - Spring 1996 Lessons 1996 and study
Lessons and choose a for the test
homework
assignment from
one of the Daily
Lessons
12
Day 11 - Review Day 12 - Review Day 13 - Review Day 14 - Review Day 15 - Quiz
Unit Unit Unit Unit
Review Chapter 1 Lesson from Review Chapter Review Review Chapter

Abstracts up to Daily Lessons Abstracts up to Homework Abstracts up to
Chapter VI, 17-18 Chapter VII, Chapter VIII,
Junior Year - Senior Year - Fall 1 Lesson from Senior Year -
Spring 1997 1 Fun Activity 1997 Daily Lessons Spring 1998
from Fun 21-22
Review the test Activities 10-12 Review Quiz
Homework 1 Fun Activity
Daily Lesson 16 Homework from Fun Daily Lesson 23
Assignment: 1 Lesson from Activities 13-14
Students Read Read through Daily Lessons Students Read
Aloud in Class and choose a 19-20 Homework Aloud in Class
homework Assignment:
assignment from 1 In-Class Read through 1 Fun Activity
one of the Daily Handout Chapter VIII, from Fun
Lessons Senior Year - Activities 15-16
Homework Spring 1998 and
Assignment: choose a Homework
Choose from homework Assignment:
one of the Daily assignment from Choose from
Lessons one of the Daily one of the Daily
Lessons Lessons
Review Review Chapter Review Daily Lesson 30 Test

Homework Abstracts up to Homework
1 In-Class
1 Lesson from Review 1 Lesson from Handout
Daily Lessons Homework Daily Lessons
24-25 28-29 Homework
1 Lesson from Assignment:
1 Fun Activity Daily Lessons 1 In-Class Study for the
from Fun 26-27 Handout test
Activities 17-18
1 In-Class 1 Fun Activity
Homework Handout from Fun
Assignment: Activities 19-20
Read through Students Read
Epilogue and Aloud in Class
choose a
13
homework Homework
assignment from Assignment:
one of the Daily Read through %s
Lessons
Eight Week Lesson Calendar
Homework Assignment: Read through Foreword

Review Chapter Daily Lesson 1 Review Review Chapter Quiz

Abstracts up to Homework Abstracts up to
Foreword 1 In-Class Chapter 1, Fun Activity 2
Handout Daily Lesson 2 Freshman Year -
Students Read Fall 1994 Students Read
Aloud in Class Homework Fun Activity 1 Aloud in Class
Assignment: Review
Complete the Homework Homework
Daily Lesson Assignment:
Read through Daily Lesson 3
Chapter 1,
Freshman Year - 1 In-Class
Fall 1994 and Handout
complete the
Daily Lesson
Day 6 - Review Day 7 - Review Day 8 - Quiz Day 9 - Review Day 10 - Review
Unit Unit Unit Unit
Daily Lesson 4 Review Review Chapter Review Fun Activity 5

Fun Activity 3 Chapter II, 1 In-Class
Daily Lesson 5 Freshman Year - Daily Lesson 7 Handout
Homework Spring 1995
Assignment: 1 In-Class Fun Activity 4 Homework
Complete the Handout Quiz Assignment:
Daily Lesson 1 In-Class Read through
Students Read Review Handout Chapter III,
Aloud in Class Homework Sophomore Year
- Fall 1995
Homework
14
Assignment: Daily Lesson 6
Read through
Chapter II, Students Read
Freshman Year - Aloud in Class
Spring 1995 and
complete the Homework
Daily Lesson Assignment:
Complete the
Daily Lesson
Day 11 - Review Day 12 - Quiz Day 13 - Review Day 14 - Review Day 15 - Quiz
Unit Unit Unit
Review Chapter Quiz Review Review Review Chapter

Abstracts up to Homework Homework Abstracts up to
Chapter III, Daily Lesson 9 Chapter IV,
Sophomore Year Daily Lesson 10 Daily Lesson 11 Sophomore Year
- Fall 1995 Fun Activity 6 - Spring 1996
1 In-Class Fun Activity 7
Daily Lesson 8 Homework Handout Quiz
Assignment: Homework
Students Read Complete the Homework Assignment: Students Read
Aloud in Class Daily Lesson Assignment: Read through Aloud in Class
Complete the Chapter IV,
Homework Daily Lesson Sophomore Year Fun Activity 8
Assignment: - Spring 1996
Study for the and complete Homework
quiz the Daily Lesson Assignment:
Complete the
Daily Lesson
Daily Lesson 12 Review Review Chapter Review Test

Fun Activity 9 Chapter V, Homework
Daily Lesson 13 Junior Year - Fall 1 In-Class Assignment:
Homework 1996 Handout Assign an essay,
Assignment: 1 In-Class due on day 38
Complete the Handout Review Review for the
Daily Lesson Homework test
Students Read
Aloud in Class Daily Lesson 14 Homework
Assignment:
15
Homework 1 In-Class Study for the
Assignment: Handout test
Read through
Chapter V, Fun Activity 10
Junior Year - Fall
1996 Homework
Assignment:
Complete the
Daily Lesson
Unit Unit Unit Unit
Daily Lesson 15 Daily Lesson 16 Review Review Chapter Quiz

Homework Abstracts up to
Review the test 1 In-Class Chapter VI, Daily Lesson 18
Handout Daily Lesson 17 Junior Year -
Spring 1997 Fun Activity 13
Homework Fun Activity 11
Assignment: Review Homework
Complete the Homework Homework Assignment:
Daily Lesson Assignment: Complete the
Read through Fun Activity 12 Daily Lesson
Chapter VI,
Junior Year -
Spring 1997 and
complete the
Daily Lesson
Review Review Chapter Review Review Quiz

Homework Abstracts up to Homework Homework
Chapter VII, Fun Activity 15
Daily Lesson 19 Senior Year - Fall Daily Lesson 21 Daily Lesson 22
1997 Homework
Homework Fun Activity 14 1 In-Class Assignment:
Assignment: Review Handout Read through
Read through Homework Homework Chapter VIII,
Chapter VII, Assignment: Homework Senior Year -
Senior Year - Fall Daily Lesson 20 Complete the Assignment: Spring 1998
1997 and Daily Lesson Study for the
complete the 1 In-Class quiz
16
Daily Lesson Handout
Students Read
Aloud in Class
Homework
Assignment:
Complete the
Daily Lesson
Unit Unit Unit Unit
Review Chapter Daily Lesson 24 Review Review Chapter Quiz

Abstracts up to Homework Abstracts up to
Chapter VIII, Fun Activity 16 Epilogue Students Read
Senior Year - Daily Lesson 25 Aloud in Class
Spring 1998 Homework Review
Assignment: 1 In-Class Homework Daily Lesson 27
Daily Lesson 23 Complete the Handout
Daily Lesson Daily Lesson 26 Fun Activity 18
Students Read Homework
Aloud in Class Assignment: Fun Activity 17 Homework
Read through Assignment:
Epilogue and Complete the
complete the Daily Lesson
Daily Lesson
Review 1 In-Class Collect essay Review Test

Homework Handout assignments Homework
Daily Lesson 28 Homework Daily Lesson 29 Daily Lesson 30

Assignment:
Fun Activity 19 Finish the essay Fun Activity 20 1 In-Class
Handout
Homework Homework
Assignment: Assignment: Review for the
Complete the Complete the test
Daily Lesson Daily Lesson
17
Chapter Abstracts
Foreword
The foreward is written by Zlata Filipovic who wrote a diary about her life as a child and
teenager during the Bosnian War.
Filipovic urges the Freedom Writers to continue to write, create, and fight stereotypes.
She compares her life in Bosnia to the everyday lives of the Freedom Writers.
Filipovic congratulates the students for breaking the cycle of violence in their lives.
She congratulates Erin Gruwell, their teacher, for making a difference in the students' lives.
Filipovic did not, at first, see the parallels between her experiences and the lives of the
Freedom Writers.
Filipovic is a major inspiration to the students on an intellectual and emotional level.
Chapter 1, Freshman Year - Fall 1994

Erin Gruwell explains how she comes to Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, as a
student teacher.
A caricature of one of the students and the class's ignorance of the holocaust causes Gruwell
to begin teaching lessons about tolerance.
Moonlighting to earn extra money, Gruwell takes her students on field trips, such as the
movie Schindler's List.
The class is a success, but the school dismantles it because Gruwell is making the other
teachers look bad.
When Gruwell returns to Wilson High School as a first-year teacher, she is given a class of at-
risk freshmen.
Part of the story is told by diary entries written by students sharing their day-to-day-lives.
The students discuss their teacher honestly confiding that they find her odd, but also show
how she is there to help them.
The students share the raw reality of what it is like to live in Long Beach with its violence,
gangs, and poverty.
18
One student shares how s/he is tormented by others with bats and knives until s/he gets a
gun.
For most of these students, the only way they can escape the violence, gangs, and poverty is
to die.
Chapter II, Freshman Year - Spring 1995

Gruwell is frustrated at the beginning of this semester because of the race riots and walkouts
in the fall.
She is also frustrated by the stubbornness of the kids who are determined not to learn.
A self-made millionaire agrees to help Gruwell take the kids on a field trip.
The students have mixed reactions to Gruwell's version of Romeo and Juliet.
Gruwell compares the Capulets and Montagues with the Latino and Asian gangs.
A student writes about the Peanut Game designed to teach that the appearance of a peanut
has nothing to do with the taste.
This student, who is regularly beat up because of h/er weight, realizes that the peanuts can
represent people.
One writer relates the Oklahoma City bombings to what is being learned in class.
The students visit the Museum of Tolerance and listen to panelists who have experienced
intolerance first hand.
As the semester ends, one student credits Gruwell with seeing h/er potential and now s/he is
looking forward to school in the fall.
Chapter III, Sophomore Year - Fall 1995

Gruwell is irritated by teachers who dislike her and her teaching style.
Gruwell interviews for, and almost accepts, another teaching position until she realizes she
lumps all the teachers into one group.
Not all the teachers are out to get her, some of the teachers are even supportive.
Most of Gruwell's students return and she is given even more disciplinary problems.
19
This year, the students read The Wave by Todd Strasser, Night by Elie Wiesel, Anne Frank: The
Diary of a Young Girl, and Zlata's Diary: A child's Life in Sarajevo.
Gruwell hopes to show her students that art mirrors real life.
Gruwell teaches short stories and plays like Twelve Angry Men, which she parallels with the
O.J. Simpson trial.
One student's brother is awaiting trial for murder and gets 15 years because he does not have
a dream team of lawyers.
A student from the Distinguished Scholars program requests to be transferred to Gruwell's

class.
The students cover many sensitive issues in their diaries, but their writing becomes more
refined with less cursing and anger.
Although the diaries cover multiple points of view, the students are beginning to see
themselves as classmates.
Chapter IV, Sophomore Year - Spring 1996

The class writes letters inviting Zlata Filipovic to speak to the class.
The students are turning into "scholars with a conscience."
One parent is amazed when Gruwell calls to report the good work his son is doing because
the parent never receives good reports.
Gerda Seifer, a Polish holocaust survivor who spent a year hiding from the Nazis, speaks to
the class.
One of the students identifies with Siefer because the student knows what it is like to have to
say inside to avoid violence.
Miep Gies, whose family sheltered Anne Frank's family during the war, speaks to the class.
Zlata Filipovic is able to come to speak to the class.
Filipofic is about the same age as the students and they have much in common: best friends,
clothes, and music.
The class has several fund-raising events to raise money for food and medical supplies for kids
in Bosnia.
20
Gruwell has to fight to teach the juniors next year, since she doesn't have the seniority to
teach a higher level class.
Chapter V, Junior Year - Fall 1996

Gruwell spends the summer teaching and traveling in Europe.
During her travels, Gruwell spends time with Miep and Zlata.
Gruwell works hard to make American Literature as interesting as last year's literature class.
A student transfers from AP English to Gruwell's class because she is tired of being the token
black in the class.
Self-reliance becomes a theme of the diary entries.
When students are asked to grade themselves, one student feels s/he earns a F.
Gruwell gets in the student's face and says a grade of F reflects negatively on her as the
teacher.
The class is reading Catcher in the Rye and a student shares how s/he is considering suicide.
After a party, a student offers to drive John Tu to his car, even though the student's car only
has one front seat.
Tu tells the student he had to ride a bicycle when he was young, and he offers the student a
job.
A discussion about an album cover by Snoop Doggy Dogg leads a student to write that men do
not respect women unless women respect themselves.
Reading the novel Color of Purple brings back memories for the students of the abuse and
tragedy they see in their lives.
The class still functions as a family and is genuinely coming to care for one another.
Chapter VI, Junior Year - Spring 1997

The students are compiling their diaries into a collaborative book.
Because they often work late, Gruwell drives them home to keep them safe.
Because of the danger in their lives, the diaries entries are listed by number rather than
name.
21
Tu donates computers to the class, and those students who have the highest GPA get a
computer when they graduate.
One student wants to sing when Anne Frank's best friends visit, but is afraid to speak up.
One student is not enthused about combining the diary entries into a "book of events that
change our lives."
The student feels that writing about the pain in their lives only makes things worse.
As students edit the diary entries, they discover the many experiences they have in common.
The students learn about Rosa Park and the Freedom Riders, and decide to call themselves
the Freedom Writers.
The class travels to Washington, D.C. and presents their book to the Secretary of Education.
Despite their successes in the classroom, many students still suffer greatly at home.
At first it appears that the students do not spend their senior year together in Gruwell's class,
but the issue is resolved.
Chapter VII, Senior Year - Fall 1997

In order to teach Senior Level English, Gruwell goes before the Superintendent and President
of the Board of Education.
Gruwell's focus this year is to prepare the Freedom Writers to go on to college.
Graduate students are paired with Freedom Writers and mentor the students on how to
prepare for college.
Gruwell sets up a non-profit organization where tax deductible gifts are applied to
educational expenses.
Attending college is a challenge, some students are on the verge of being homeless and are
having difficulty finishing high school.
The Freedom Writers become mentors themselves, mentoring students at Butler Elementary
School.
The Freedom Writers receive so much mail and media attention, that a student acts as
receptionist each class period.
As the students prepare for college, their diary entries turn reflective.
22
Students write essays that ponder friends are family members who are lost physically or
mentally.
The students are apprehensive about college, but mostly optimistic about their futures.
Chapter VIII, Senior Year - Spring 1998

The Freedom Writers win the Spirit of Anne Frank Award.
Usually only given to individuals, the award honors those who confront anti-semitism, racism,
prejudice and bias related violence in their community.
The award has to be accepted in person, and a company named Guess? offers to fly 45
students to New York.
Their book is accepted by Doubleday and is published as The Freedom Writers Diary.
Life continues; a student is kicked off the basketball team, one presents a speech to a
California senator, another is diagnosed with ADD, one comes out of the closet, and another
becomes prom queen.
The Freedom Writers win another award, the American Jewish Committee's Micah Award for
fighting injustice in society.
Students prepare for graduation and face challenges, such as an unexpected pregnancy or a
double lung transplant.
Many of the students are the first in their families to graduate from high school.
The students are sad to be going their separate ways, but are thankful for the gift they receive
in having Gruwell as their teacher.
Epilogue
Gruwell provides a glimpse of life after high school for the Freedom Writers.
Some of the students attend community colleges and some attend major universities from
Massachusetts to Hawaii.
The first semester is fine for some of the students and overwhelming for others.
The students persevere and some are even managing to pull along family members who go
astray.
23
Gruwell now teaches at California State University developing a college course to help
educators be better teachers.
The student with cystic fibrosis passes away when his body rejectes his lung transplant, but he
meets his goals of getting a driver's license, graduating, and going to college.
Gruwell says the Freedom Writers are a leg in a relay race begun by Anne Frank and Zlata and
she challenges readers to join the race and become the next catalyst for change.
24
Character Descriptions
Erin Gruwell - This individual is a first-year English teacher who is given the tough, unteachable
students.
The Freedom Writers - This is a group of at-risk students, who have troubled home
backgrounds.
Zlata Filipovic - This author's diary chronicled the Bosnian war.
Anne Frank - This author's diary chronicled life hiding in an attic during World War II.
Miep Gies - This person finds a diary that is about life spent hiding during the Holocaust.
Gerda Seifer - This person is the first Holocaust survivor to speak with the high school students
in the story.
Sharaud - A caricature of this student prompts the teacher to mention that this drawing is the
type of propaganda used by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
John Tu - This wealthy person helps fund many of the students' activities.
Peter Maass - This person is a journalist who writes an articles about the Bosnia war.
Jopie and Hanneli (Lies) - These people are friends of someone who writes about hiding in an
attic during the Holocaust.
25
Object Descriptions
Wilson High School - This educational institution has an excellent educational reputation
located in Long Beach, California.
Museum of Tolerance - This place holds artifacts and stories of stereotypes, prejudice,
genocide and intolerance in order to bring history alive for visitors.
Holocaust Museum - Students tour this place in Washington, D.C., which memorializes what
many suffered at the hands of the Germans during World War II.
Bosnian War - Zlata Filipovic wrote a book about this event.
The Attic - Anne Frank and her family lived in this location until they were captured by the Nazis
during World War II.
Auschwitz - This was a Nazi concentration camp where many people died.
Freedom Riders - This consisted of a group of Civil Rights Activists in the 1960s.
New York City - The Freedom Writers accepted the Spirit of Anne Frank Award here.
Washongton D.C. - This is the place where the Freedom Writers traveled to present their
manuscript to the Secretary of Education.
The Spirit of Anne Frank Award - This honors those who follow their convictions and actively
confront anti-semitism, racism, prejudice and bias relating to violence in their community.
The American Jewish Committee's Micah Award - This honor has the motto that whoever
saves one life, saves the entire world and is designed to honor those who fight injustice in
society.
Southwest Airlines Freedom Fighter Award - The Freedom Writers win this their senior year.
26
Multiple Choice
1. What feelings does Zlata have when asked to write the forward?
(a) Honored, proud, and amazed.
(b) Displeased.
(c) Honored, but not interested.
(d) Frustrated and nervous.
2. When does Zlata meet the students of Wilson High School?

(a) December, 1997.
(b) March, 2006.
(c) September, 1998.
(d) March, 1996.
3. Who goes with Zlata to meet the students?

(a) Zlata grandparents.
(b) No one, Zlata goes alone.
(c) Zlata's teacher.
(d) Zlata's parents and her best friend, Mirna.
4. Where is Zlata's homeland?

(a) Ireland.
(b) France.
(c) England.
(d) Bosnia.
5. What does Zlata have in common with the students?

(a) They are teenagers.
(b) They have all lost parents.
(c) They all have seen war.
(d) They like the same rock bands.
6. Who is the teacher of the students at Wilson High School?

(a) Elise Gonzalez.
(b) Erin Gruwell.
(c) Anne Frank.
(d) Emilie Gridwell.
27
7. What are two books mentioned in the forward that the students read in class?
(a) The Royal Diaries and I Will Bear Witness.
(b) Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, and Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo.
(c) The Great Depression: A Diary and The Adderall Diaries.
(d) The Reagan Diaries and The Heroin Diaries.
8. What are the students inspired to do after reading the diaries?

(a) Talk to their parents about improving their lives.
(b) Write their own diaries.
(c) Write a screenplay.
(d) Quit school.
9. When did Zlata begin writing her diary?

(a) After the war began in Bosnia.
(b) Three days before the war ended.
(c) Before the war in Bosnia began.
(d) When the war ended.
10. Why did Zlata start writing a diary?

(a) As a place to keep secrets from her parents.
(b) As a place to record her childhood.
(c) Because her teacher assigned diary writing as a school project.
(d) Because her grandmother encouraged her to do so.
11. What did Zlata's diary become?

(a) A type of therapy to deal with everything that was going on with the war.
(b) A list of all the atrocities of the war.
(c) A way to communicate with her friends.
(d) A way to get out of doing schoolwork.
12. Since war also came to Kosovo, what did almost all young Yugoslavians know?
(a) How to write diaries.
(b) How to protect themselves.
(c) What a bomb sounded like and what it was like to have no home.
(d) How to get out of the country.
13. Why does Zlata believe it is so important for the Freedom Writers to overcome their
circumstances?
(a) Otherwise, they never go to college.
(b) Otherwise, they do not live to thirty years of age.
(c) Otherwise, history repeats with their children.
(d) Otherwise, they do not graduate from high school.
28
14. What does Zlata say about Erin Gruwell?
(a) Gruwell serves as parent, friend, advocate, and teacher.
(b) Gruwell is lucky to have such a talented group of students.
(c) Gruwell is respected and liked by all her fellow teachers.
(d) Gruwell should move on to a different high school.
15. What good came out of Zlata's bad situation?

(a) She was able to become a famous writer.
(b) She was able to finish school.
(c) She is now able to travel.
(d) She was given some influence in the world.
16. According to Zlata, what good came from Anne Frank's tragedy?
(a) Anne's strength remains to lead and inspire.
(b) Anne is responsible for helping to end the war.
(c) Anne never knew what happens to her family.
(d) Anne is known all around the world.
17. According to Zlata, what is important about what happens to people?

(a) Whether family members are there to help.
(b) Whether people endure emotional crises because of what happened.
(c) Whether people are physically hurt or not.
(d) How people deal with what happens in their lives.
18. What does Zlata hope the Freedom Writers Diary will do?
(a) Help the Freedom Writers become successful writers.
(b) Make money so the Freedom Writers can pay for college.
(c) Inspire people to write to fight prejudice and to deal with events in a positive way.
(d) Help the families of the Freedom Writers.
19. Where does Gruwell student teaching?

(a) Williams High School.
(b) Newport Beach High School.
(c) Wilson High School.
(d) A high school in Los Angeles.
20. In what kind of neighborhood is Wilson High School located?

(a) Near the projects.
(b) A safe neighborhood near the ocean.
(c) In a gated community.
(d) Near downtown Los Angeles.
29
21. How do many of the Wilson High Students get to school each day?
(a) They ride bikes.
(b) They walk.
(c) They take 2-3 buses.
(d) Their parents drive them.
22. What types of students attend Wilson High?

(a) Mostly blacks.
(b) Rich kids and poor kids from the projects.
(c) Mostly caucasian students.
(d) Mostly hispanics.
23. What is Sharaud's goal when he arrives in Gruwell's class?

(a) Do well in his studies.
(b) Drop out of school.
(c) Make his preppy student teacher cry.
(d) Play basketball.
24. Why does Gruwell throw out her carefully planned lessons in the fall of 1994?
(a) The lessons are geared toward white middle class students.
(b) The students are not smart enough to handle the work.
(c) The lessons are not appropriate for the class.
(d) None of the students know what the Holocaust is.
25. How does Gruwell get money for new books, guest speakers, and field trips?
(a) She also works at the Marriott Hotel and Norstroms.
(b) The students and their parents pay.
(c) Private donors.
(d) Gruwell has a trust fund.
26. Why is Gruwell not allowed to teach Sharaud and his classmates the following year?
(a) She does not do a very good job of teaching.
(b) She asks to be transferred to a different class.
(c) She doesn't have enough seniority.
(d) She is going to a different high school.
27. Why are the diaries written anonymously?

(a) The principal insisted that the students remain anonymous.
(b) The students are embarassed of their writing.
(c) The school board says the students have to remain anonymous.
(d) To protect the students and show the universality of their experiences.
30
28. What is another word for 'odd' according to one of the students?
(a) Peculiar.
(b) Gruwell.
(c) Sharaud.
(d) Different.
29. In Diary One, how long does the student give Gruwell before she quits?
(a) A month.
(b) Three days.
(c) Two weeks.
(d) One day.
30. In the fall of 1994, why does one student say s/he does not belong in Gruwell's class?
(a) Because the student is Latino.
(b) Because there is a mix up in the schedule.
(c) Because the student is white.
(d) Because the student's test scores are high.
31. Why is the student in Diary Three at Wilson?

(a) Wilson is the closest school to the student's home.
(b) The student's parents arrange a transfer.
(c) It is either Wilson or boot camp.
(d) The student is expelled from their old school.
32. How difficult is it for a student at Wilson to buy a gun?

(a) It is as easy as buying bubble gum.
(b) Difficult, because a gun is very expensive.
(c) Very difficult.
(d) It is impossible; no one sells a student a gun.
33. In Diary Six, how does a student lose many of his friends?
(a) Because the friends don't want to see the student any more.
(b) The friends drop out of school.
(c) In an undeclared war.
(d) The friends are put in juvenile dentention.
34. How far do two students go to be accepted into a gang and a sorority?
(a) They kill someone.
(b) One student is beaten until bones are broken and another student is humiliated.
(c) They beat someone up.
(d) They deface school property.
31
35. Why can most of the class relate to the main character in the book Durango Street?
(a) Because they are the same race as the main character.
(b) Because either they, a family member, or a friend has been in jail.
(c) Because the character dislikes school also.
(d) Because the character has a preppy school teacher also.
36. Why does one student call the story "The Last Spin" a trip?
(a) It is a very unbelievable story.
(b) This student has never before read anything in school that related to everyday life.
(c) The student has never heard of the Montagues and Capulets before.
(d) It is a very funny story.
37. Why is Gruwell frustrated at the beginning of Spring, 1995 semester?

(a) There is one ordeal after the other from race riots to walkouts.
(b) The school board does not allow field trips.
(c) She is not allowed to stay after school.
(d) The principal has new restrictions.
38. In the spring of 1995, who offers to help take the students on a field trip?
(a) John Tu.
(b) Other teachers.
(c) Anne Frank.
(d) The principal.
39. To what does Gruwell compare the Capulets and Montagues in Romeo and Juliet?
(a) The Black and Hispanic gangs in Long Beach.
(b) The preppy students and the Asian students.
(c) The Latino and Asian gangs in Long Beach.
(d) The Black and Asian gangs in Long Beach.
40. After reading Romeo and Juliet, why does a student realize she is not as in love with her
boyfriend as she thinks she is?
(a) Because she sees things in him she does not like.
(b) Because she does not want to see him as often.
(c) Because she is becoming interested in another guy.
(d) Because she can never stab herself over a guy.
41. What happens to a student when she runs away with her boyfriend?
(a) Her parents ground her and transfer her to Wilson High.
(b) She is homeschooled for awhile.
(c) She is sent to juvenile hall.
(d) She goes to live with a relative far away from the boyfriend.
32
42. What does one student compare in his/her life to the Peanut Game?
(a) Being overweight.
(b) Having a disfiguring scar.
(c) Not being handsome.
(d) Not being pretty.
43. What does one student realize after playing the Peanut Game?
(a) Grwell makes some very odd comparisons to everyday life.
(b) Gruwell has an interesting way of looking at life.
(c) People are different because of their experiences in life.
(d) People can't live in harmony because they won't accept each other's skin color or beliefs.
44. What event caused 168 innocent men, women and children to die?
(a) Race riots.
(b) An airplane crash.
(c) Oklahoma City bombing.
(d) An earthquake.
45. What book relates to the life of a student who lives in an interment camp?
(a) Hoop Dreams.
(b) Durango Street.
(c) Farewell to Manzanar.
(d) Romeo and Juliet.
46. What happens to the fathers of the diversity panelist and the student who are sent to
internment camps?
(a) They die.
(b) They lose a limb due to infection.
(c) They are horribly disfigured.
(d) They become abusive and don't care if they hurt their families.
47. What does one student realize after meeting the diversity panelists?
(a) Other people have difficult lives also.
(b) That anything is possible.
(c) The student does not have anything in common with the diversity panelists.
(d) That the panelists overcome many hardships.
33
48. When Renee Firestone, a Holocaust survivor, asked a Gestapo agent if she could see her
family again, what did she learn?
(a) Her family was transferred to another camp.
(b) Her father was dead, but her mother was in Renee's barracks.
(c) Her parents were dead, but her siblings were in Renee's barracks.
(d) She could be reunited with her family in the crematorium.
49. What amazes a student about the bathrooms at the Century City Marriott?
(a) There is a bathroom for whites and one for other races.
(b) The bathrooms have real towels, no trash on the floor, and no stall doors missing.
(c) You have to pay a quarter to use the bathroom.
(d) There is an attendant in the bathroom.
50. What does one student say when she compares her father to John Tu?
(a) Tu is very rude to her.
(b) Tu is taller than her father.
(c) Tu is shorter than her father.
(d) That Tu gives her more attention in seven minutes than her dad has in seven years.
51. What is the perfect Cinderella story for one student?

(a) To be prom queen.
(b) To have a boyfriend like John Tu.
(c) To have her father be a dad.
(d) To have a date for the prom.
52. What important lesson does one student learn during her freshman year?
(a) People do change.
(b) That Gruwell is an extraordinary teacher.
(c) That school can be interesting.
(d) How to study.
53. What does one student do during a "three-week vacation" from school the spring of the
freshman year?
(a) Chill and smoke.
(b) Go to jail.
(c) Go to juvenile hall.
(d) Help a sick family member.
34
54. What does Gruwell tell the student with a 0.5 GPA?
(a) That she can tutor the student over the summer.
(b) That the student has to repeat the class next year.
(c) That the student will never graduate.
(d) She believes in her.
55. What event does Gruwell say puts some teachers at Wilson High over the edge?
(a) When Gruwell's class startes getting good grades.
(b) When Gruwell's class goes to the school board.
(c) When Gruwell's class is invited to meet Spielberg.
(d) When Gruwell's class puts on a play.
56. What do some of the teachers call Gruwell?

(a) A brown noser.
(b) A great teacher.
(c) A Prima Donna.
(d) A troublemaker.
57. Why does Gruwell almost take another job the fall of 1995?
(a) The students' behavior last year.
(b) The attitudes of the other teachers.
(c) The apathy of her students.
(d) The attitudes of the principal and school board.
58. Why doesn't Gruwell take another teaching job in the fall of 1995?
(a) The teachers beg her to stay at Wilson High.
(b) She realizes her hypocrisy.
(c) She cannot find another position.
(d) Other jobs do not pay as well as Wilson High.
59. What is a four-letter word not in the students' vocabulary, according to Gruwell their
sophomore year?
(a) Nice.
(b) Work.
(c) Hope.
(d) Give.
60. What are two books about teens in crisis that are read the fall of 1995?
(a) Durango Street and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.
(b) To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye.
(c) Twelve Angry Men and Durango Street.
(d) The Wave and Night.
35
61. In the fall of 1995, where is home for a student and his mother who are evicted from their
apartment?
(a) Room 203.
(b) His church.
(c) Room 407.
(d) At his aunt's house.
62. Why does one student have to be out of school for a week or two and miss the beginning
of the sophomore year?
(a) The student's mother dies.
(b) He has to be in juvenile hall.
(c) The student's father dies.
(d) He has to have sinus surgery.
63. The beginning of the sophomore year, what does a transfer student wish Gruwell is like?
(a) More interesting, like the other teachers.
(b) Boring like the other teachers.
(c) More concerned about her students.
(d) Less concerned about grades.
64. What does a student compare O.J. Simpson's trial to?

(a) The trial of the student's brother for murder.
(b) The Oklahoma City bombing.
(c) The student's mother's trial for murder.
(d) A trial where the student is a witness.
65. What makes studying Camelot and King Arthur more interesting for the students?
(a) Creating a movie about King Arthur.
(b) Dressing up in medieval costumes.
(c) Making swords.
(d) The opportunity to go to the Medieval Times restaurant.
66. Why are some students not allowed to go to the Medieval Times Restaurant?
(a) Their attitudes.
(b) Their clothes.
(c) They flunk the test.
(d) Their haircuts.
36
67. What happens to a student's friends a year ago, when the student was a freshman?
(a) Killed in a gang fight.
(b) Put in prison.
(c) Sent to juvenile hall.
(d) Killed trying to commit a robbery.
68. How does one student testify at a murder trial?

(a) The student confesses to the crime.
(b) The student tells the truth.
(c) The student takes the fifth.
(d) The student lies.
69. What secret is "Little Miss Goodie Goodie" hiding?

(a) That she is a closet drinker.
(b) That she killed another student.
(c) That she is pregnant.
(d) That she is doing drugs.
70. What does a student who is a "goodie two shoes" do when shopping with her parents?
(a) Put lipstick on clothes she tries on.
(b) Meet a friend.
(c) Tears clothes that she tries on.
(d) Shoplift.
71. What does a student remember after reading about women being molested in Bosnia?
(a) How her father molested her.
(b) How her father's friend molested her.
(c) How she was raped.
(d) How her uncle molested her.
72. After reading Zlata's Diary, what does the class want to do?
(a) Write diaries.
(b) Go see Schindler's List.
(c) Go to Europe.
(d) Invite Zlata to come speak to the class.
73. What makes Tommy Jefferson, a football player, cry?

(a) Anne Frank's experience.
(b) His father's death.
(c) Zlata's experience.
(d) The death of a friend.
37
74. Why is Tommy's father surprised when Gruwell calls him?
(a) He thinks Tommy is doing well in school.
(b) A teacher never calls him before.
(c) Most teachers do not bother to keep parents informed.
(d) Teachers doesn't usually call to say Tommy is doing well.
75. Who is coming to speak to the class immediately after Gerda Seifer?
(a) Zlata Filipovic.
(b) Miep Gies.
(c) Steven Spielberg.
(d) Anne Frank.
76. Who is Miep Gies?

(a) The woman who kept Anne Frank alive in the attic.
(b) A teacher at Wilson High.
(c) Director of the Museum of Tolerance.
(d) A friend of Zlata Filipovic.
77. What are the only kind of heroes one 15-year-old is familiar with before reading about
Anne Frank?
(a) Civil Rights leaders.
(b) Gang leaders.
(c) Good teachers.
(d) Super heroes in tights.
78. Why can't a student go to a movie with her best friend?

(a) The movie is rated R.
(b) They can't go without an adult chaperone.
(c) They don't have any money.
(d) Because the friend is white.
79. What are Zlata and one of the students both wearing when they meet?
(a) Doc Martens.
(b) Aeropostale Ts.
(c) Abercrombie & Fitch jeans.
(d) Gap sweatshirts.
80. How old is Zlata when she speaks to the students?

(a) Fifteen.
(b) Nineteen.
(c) Twenty-one.
(d) Twelve.
38
81. How does Zlata respond when asked if she is Croatian, Muslim or Serbian?
(a) She says that she is Muslim.
(b) She says that she is a human being.
(c) She says that she is Croatian.
(d) She says that she is Serbian.
82. What happened to one student before emigrating to the United States from Peru?
(a) The student's father was killed.
(b) The student was injured in a car bombing.
(c) The student's school was bombed.
(d) The house next door was bombed.
83. Who are the "Dream Team Moms"?

(a) Mothers who adopt the class as their kids.
(b) Mothers of the basketball players.
(c) Mothers of the football players.
(d) Mothers who bake cookies for teachers.
84. What is so special about the buses students rode in with Zlata and Mirna?
(a) They are driven by bus drivers in tuxedoes.
(b) There are no broken windows or torn seats.
(c) The buses are air conditioned, have televisions, seat lights, and bathrooms.
(d) Each student has their own seat.
85. What incident made Schindler try to save every Jew he could?
(a) Seeing Jews herded into cattle cars.
(b) Finding the body of a little girl with other dead bodies waiting to be burned.
(c) Losing a good friend.
(d) Losing a favorite employee.
86. Why does one student apologize in Diary 50?

(a) Because the student shoplifts.
(b) Because the student has a fight with a best friend.
(c) Because the student is taking crystal meth.
(d) Because the student is an alcoholic.
87. How do Gruwell and the students raise money for food and medical supplies for Bosnian
kids?
(a) Donation jars at stores.
(b) A chili supper.
(c) A bake sale.
(d) A basketball tournament.
39
88. Why is one student not able to play sports, climb gym ropes, swing, or do a pull-up?
(a) Because the student has asthma.
(b) Because the student has cystic fibrosis.
(c) Because the student is overweight.
(d) Because the student broke an arm.
89. In her thank you letter, what does Zlata tell the students not to forget?
(a) She keeps in touch by writing.
(b) To keep reading about heroes.
(c) The strength and power to do things is in them.
(d) To raise money for Bosnia.
90. Why does the class split up their junior year?

(a) Other teachers are saying Gruwell doesn't haven't enough seniority to pick students.
(b) The school board is not happy with Gruwell's methods.
(c) The principal wants to split up the class.
(d) Gruwell may be leaving.
91. Where is Gruwell the day before the junior year begins?
(a) France.
(b) Dublin.
(c) Long Beach.
(d) Newport Beach.
92. What does Gruwell do the summer of 1996?

(a) Teach at National University and go to Europe.
(b) Teach at Cal State.
(c) Look for a new job.
(d) Work at Nordstrom's and the Marriott.
93. Why does a teacher say they do not read black literature in class?
(a) Because there isn't time.
(b) Because the teacher prefers to read literature by Hispanics.
(c) Because there aren't any good black writers.
(d) Because it all has sex, fornication, drugs, and cussing.
94. What does a student's mother do about a teacher who doesn't read black literature?
(a) Go to the school board.
(b) Bring a list of black literature to the principal.
(c) The mother doen't do anything.
(d) Yell at the teacher.
40
95. Who wrote, "Who so should be a man, must be a nonconformist"?
(a) Emerson.
(b) Poe.
(c) Whitman.
(d) Thoreau.
96. When one of the juniors was twelve, how did her grandmother die?
(a) From a heart attack.
(b) From a fall down stairs.
(c) From a beating by the student's father.
(d) From burns allegedly inflicted by the student's father.
97. What starts a series of fights between Hispanics and Blacks at school during the fall of
1996?
(a) Someone takes a Black student's seat on the bus.
(b) A Hispanic student steals something from a Black student.
(c) Someone starts name calling.
(d) A carton of milk is thrown.
98. What happens when a student gives her/himself an F?

(a) The student is sent to the principal's office.
(b) The student is dropped from Gruwell's class.
(c) Gruwell gets angry and says that if you fail, I fail.
(d) The student is expelled.
99. What does a truly self-reliant person do, according to Chapter V?

(a) Not accept help from anyone.
(b) Not rely on anyone.
(c) Find his weak link and strengthen it.
(d) Lean on family and friends for support.
100. In Chapter V, what illness runs in a student's family?

(a) Clinical depression.
(b) Cancer of the liver.
(c) Congenital heart defects.
(d) Cystic fibrosis.
101. In Chapter V, to where does a student take a road trip with her friends?
(a) San Francisco.
(b) Mexico.
(c) Los Angeles.
(d) Las Vegas.
41
102. What happens after a student drives John Tu to his car?
(a) Tu gives the student money for the ride.
(b) The student gets a flat tire.
(c) Tu tells the student to get a better car.
(d) Tu offers the student a job.
103. Whose album cover does the class analyze?

(a) Eminem.
(b) Kanye West.
(c) Snoop Doggy Dogg.
(d) 50 Cent.
104. What is a student referring to when she says she is a loving girl, but there is pain in her
heart?
(a) Her best friend died.
(b) She wishes she has a boyfriend.
(c) She is in an abusive relationship.
(d) Her mother is dying.
105. What does a junior student say about her stepfather during the fall semester?
(a) He works hard.
(b) He is never home.
(c) He loves her mother very much.
(d) He is a professional alcoholic.
106. What is the name of the book that has Celie as the main character?
(a) Catcher in the Rye.
(b) Their Eyes Were Watching God.
(c) The Color Purple.
(d) Scared Silent.
107. What does a student talk about at the diversity seminar?

(a) The student's abusive father.
(b) The gang the student belongs to.
(c) The books the student has read that influence him.
(d) How a best friend died in a gang war.
42
108. During the diversity seminar, what does a student remember about how his/her brother
died during his/her sophomore year?
(a) How he died from a knife wound.
(b) How he died from a shooting.
(c) How he died in a car accident.
(d) How he died from a brain tumor.
109. What does Gruwell tell Zlata on the phone spring of 1996?
(a) That Gruwell is going to Bosnia.
(b) Gruwell asks her if she comes again.
(c) Zlata is the inspiration for the latest writing project.
(d) Gruwell thanks her for coming to see the class.
110. Why does Gruwell feel guilty when she drives students home if they stay late after
school?
(a) She feels bad to keep them at school so late.
(b) She feels bad that the students have to help with lesson plans.
(c) Where the students live is very unsafe compared to Gruwell's neighborhood.
(d) She feels bad that she cannot take the students to school also.
111. Why do the students sign an honor code?

(a) So there is not any further fighting.
(b) So there is not any further cheating on exams.
(c) So no one embellishes or sensationalizes their stories.
(d) So there is not any further stealing of personal belongings.
112. Why does Tu donate computers?

(a) Because there are no computers available at school.
(b) To set up a computer lab.
(c) So no one recognizes the handwriting in diary entries.
(d) So every teacher at Wilson High has a computer in their classrooms.
113. What happens to the computers after the students graduate?

(a) The computers are given to the 35 students with the highest grade point average.
(b) The computers are given to the Distinguished Scholars.
(c) The computers are moved to the media center.
(d) The computers are sent to an elementary school.
43
114. What does a student say after not taking the opportunity to sing to Jopie and Lies?
(a) "Silence gets you nowhere in life."
(b) "Success comes only to those who take advantage of opportunities."
(c) "Only those who take advantage of opportunities in life succeed."
(d) "A missed opportunity can never be made up."
115. Who are Jopie and Lies?

(a) Children from the family that hid the Franks during the war.
(b) Anne Frank's parents.
(c) Anne Frank's aunt and uncle.
(d) Anne's best friends from school before the war.
116. Why is one student not excited about making a book of events from their lives?
(a) The student would rather write fiction than be reminded of events s/he wishes to suppress.
(b) Because the student does not like being anonymous.
(c) Because the student thinks everyone should write their own book.
(d) Because the student does feel their writing is very good.
117. Who does a student compare him/herself to when the student says "I've probably
witnessed more dead bodies than a ______________."
(a) Doctor.
(b) Police officer.
(c) Mortician.
(d) Soldier in a war.
118. Why does a teacher call the diary writer of entry 70 lazy?
(a) Because the student does not turn in homework.
(b) Because the student draws pictures rather than taking notes in class.
(c) Because the student does not answer questions in class.
(d) Because the student says s/he is dyslexic.
119. How does a student feel after editing a story about an abortion?
(a) That he was with his girlfriend when she had her abortion.
(b) That his girlfriend did not have an abortion.
(c) That more girls make the choice to have an abortion.
(d) That no one has an abortion.
120. What were Rosa Parks and the other blacks called who rode buses to fight racism?
(a) Freedom Riders.
(b) Freedom Fighters.
(c) Blacks for Freedom.
(d) Riders for Black Rights.
44
121. Why does a student call her mother's boyfriend a tornado?
(a) Because he moves so quickly.
(b) Because he is a slob.
(c) Because after he hits, their apartment and the student's mother look like they've been in a
tornado.
(d) Because he is a runner and runs quickly.
122. Why do the students and Gruwell have to climb out the window of the school one night?
(a) That is how they get into the school.
(b) Because there is a gang fight outside the front door.
(c) So the alarms don't go off.
(d) Because they are not supposed to be in the building after hours.
123. How is money raised for a trip to Washington, D.C.?

(a) A bake sale.
(b) A basketball game.
(c) A concert.
(d) Donations from wealthy donors.
124. To whom does the class give a copy of their diaries when in Washington, D.C.?
(a) U. S. Secretary of Education.
(b) Their senator.
(c) President of the United States.
(d) Their congressman.
125. One student has never been on a Freedom Writers trip before. Why does the student get
to go to D.C.?
(a) Because the student's father is in Mexico.
(b) Because the student finally has good grades.
(c) Because someone donates the money so the student can go.
(d) Because the student no longer has to help with a sick brother.
126. What museum do the students visit in D.C.?

(a) Holocaust Museum.
(b) Smithsonian.
(c) Library of Congress.
(d) National Gallery of Art.
45
127. Who helps Gruwell get permission to teach the seniors?
(a) The teachers' union.
(b) John Tu.
(c) Dr. Cohn and Karin Polacheck.
(d) Teachers at the high school.
128. Why is it difficult for some students to take the SATs?

(a) They do not have transportation to get where the test is given.
(b) They do not have the educational background to do well.
(c) The students have learning disabilities.
(d) Some parents cannot help complete applications and others cannot afford the application
fee.
129. How is money raised to get the students to college?

(a) Basketball tournaments.
(b) Concerts.
(c) A nonprofit organization is created.
(d) Sell the rights to their diaries.
130. How does Cheryl Best inspire a student?

(a) The student realizes you do not need a father figure to do well.
(b) The student realizes that college is possible for him/her.
(c) The student realizes s/he can go to medical school also.
(d) The student realizes that hard work makes up for a poor background.
131. Why does a student have to be head of the household and worry about rent and car
payments Senior year?
(a) The student's cousin is murdered and parents leave the country.
(b) The student's mother is ill and father is nowhere to be found.
(c) The student's parents are murdered.
(d) The student's father takes off with the families small bit of savings.
132. What poem does a student write after realizing living in the ghetto and having brown
skin does not mean you cannot be successful?
(a) You Say, They Say, We Say.
(b) They Say, I Say.
(c) So Say What You Will.
(d) Say it Isn't So.
46
133. What road less traveled does a student decide to take Senior year?
(a) To leave the gang.
(b) To become a doctor.
(c) The road to college.
(d) To graduate from high school.
134. Who said, "The best method of overcoming your obstacles is the team method"?
(a) Maya Angelou.
(b) Colin Powell.
(c) Martin Luther King, Jr.
(d) Eldridge Cleaver.
135. A student who wants to be a aeronautical engineer gets to go to _______.

(a) Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena.
(b) NASA's Johnson Space Center.
(c) UCLA.
(d) MIT.
136. Where do the Freedom Writers mentor students?

(a) Long Beach Elementary School.
(b) Wilson Elementary School.
(c) Butler Elementary School.
(d) Newport Beach Elementary School.
137. When the students are speaking at an elementary school, what icebreaker question
brings nearly everyone forward?
(a) "Has anyone seen someone get shot before?"
(b) "Who only has one parent?"
(c) "Who has heard of Anne Frank?"
(d) "Who has had a family member murdered?"
138. What reporter does a student mention from the Los Angeles Times?
(a) Nancy Phillips.
(b) Anita Wright.
(c) Nellie WIlliams.
(d) Nancy Wride.
139. Why do the students need a receptionist every class period?

(a) They have so many visitors.
(b) To help write letters.
(c) They are receiving so much mail.
(d) To teach them how to behave in certain social situations.
47
140. What Christmas song is twisted during a sorority hazing?
(a) Deck the Halls.
(b) Here Comes Santa Claus.
(c) White Christmas.
(d) Jingle Bells.
141. What does a student want to tell a prisoner in West Virginia?

(a) That he must tell the judge he is innocent so he can be with his daughter.
(b) To think how he can be an influence even though he is in jail.
(c) To write an apology letter to the family of the man he murdered.
(d) To be on good behavior so he can get out soon.
142. What happens to Teres's father?

(a) He is shot in the head.
(b) He is shoved in front of a train.
(c) He overdoses on crack.
(d) He is killed in a drive-by shooting.
143. Why does a student's mother usually get twice as many presents on Christmas Eve as
everyone else?
(a) Because her husband is sorry for the years he isn't there for the family.
(b) Christmas Eve is her birthday.
(c) She doesn't get many present as a child and her parents are trying to make up for it.
(d) Because she has so many children.
144. How does a mother of a student die of shortly before her Christmas Eve birthday?
(a) Shot in the chest.
(b) Heroin overdose.
(c) Raped and left for dead.
(d) Cancer.
145. After Christmas 1997, what award do the students win?

(a) Martin Luther King, Jr., Award.
(b) Freedom Award.
(c) Spirit of Anne Frank Award.
(d) Mies Giep Award.
146. After Christmas 1997, what do the students have to do to accept an award?
(a) Mentor other students.
(b) Fly to Washington, D.C..
(c) Submit their diaries.
(d) Go to New York City.
48
147. Why is the Guess? Company sponsoring a trip for some of the Freedom Writers?
(a) Because they graduated from Wilson High School.
(b) Because they are minority entrepreneurs and wish to help others succeed.
(c) Because they donate twenty percent of their profits to needy causes.
(d) Because the founders are Jewish and had to flee Europe during the Holocaust.
148. What is different about rooming arrangements when the Freedom Writers go to New
York?
(a) The students stay with holocaust survivors.
(b) The students stay with private individuals.
(c) Gruwell chooses who rooms with who.
(d) The students choose their roommates.
149. What article by Peter Maass does a student read his/her sophomore year?
(a) Bosnia: War or Religious Cleansing?
(b) The Bosnia War.
(c) Bosnia, a First-Hand Persepective.
(d) Ground Zero.
150. Who publishes the Freedom Writer's diaries?

(a) McGraw-Hill.
(b) HarperCollins.
(c) Doubleday.
(d) Inner City Press.
151. What novel inspires one of the student's to try to write her own book?
(a) Anne of Green Gables by Montgomery.
(b) Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice.
(c) Dawn by V.C. Andrews.
(d) Beauty by Robin McKinley.
152. In the book "Animal Farm", what is a Molly?

(a) A person who does not work hard.
(b) A person who can't keep a secret.
(c) A person who gossips.
(d) A person who works hard.
153. In the book, "Animal Farm", what is a Boxer?

(a) A person who is a homebody.
(b) A person who is hardworking.
(c) A person who does not work hard.
(d) A person who likes to party.
49
154. Why does a student get kicked off the basketball team this senior year?
(a) Her attitude.
(b) Skipping practices.
(c) Drinking on school property.
(d) Arrested for doing drugs.
155. Why is a student amazed at being chosen to speak in front of Barbara Boxer, their
senator?
(a) The student has a speech impediment.
(b) The student does not have good grades.
(c) The student is deaf and speaks with sign language.
(d) Because the student has done some very outrageous things over the years.
156. How does one student describe Ritalin?

(a) It has the power to control like a lasso on a horse.
(b) It makes you drowsy.
(c) It is like taking speed.
(d) It makes you dizzy like being on a carnival ride.
157. What is the prom queen's native country?

(a) Nicaragua.
(b) Mexico.
(c) Peru.
(d) Bosnia.
158. What award do the students receive from the American Jewish Committee?
(a) The Micah Award.
(b) Spirit of Anne Frank Award.
(c) The Martin Luther King, Jr., Freedom Award.
(d) Freedom For All Award.
159. Why, a few weeks before graduation, does a student have to give up his dream of
attending a prestigious technical school?
(a) He does not get a scholarship.
(b) He flunks several of his classes.
(c) His father is ill.
(d) His mother dies.
50
160. What does the student who used to play park league and Pop Warner football receive?
(a) A full-ride scholarship to a PAC-10 school.
(b) A scholarship to play baseball.
(c) A scholarship to play basketball.
(d) A contract to play pro ball.
161. Why is a student asking the question, "To sign or not to sign"?
(a) The student is trying to decide whether to go to college or play minor league baseball.
(b) The player is trying to decide whether to play professional basketball.
(c) The student is trying to decide whether to play professional football or not.
(d) The student is trying to decide whether to play professional soccer.
162. Why does a student say John Tu gives instead of handouts?

(a) Inspiration.
(b) Hope.
(c) Jobs.
(d) Scholarships.
163. Who says, "Little black boys and black girls are able to join hands with little white boys
and white girls"?
(a) Rosa Parks.
(b) Martin Luther King, Jr.
(c) Eldredge Cleaver.
(d) Malcom X.
164. What do the students do when they walk down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the
spring of 1997?
(a) Begin singing a freedom song.
(b) They join hands and retrace the steps Martin Luther King Jr. walked.
(c) Meet with their local senators.
(d) Light candles and make speeches about freedom and tolerance.
165. When the students walk down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, what motto do they
chant?
(a) Freedom Writers have a dream.
(b) Freedom forever.
(c) Be free, dream.
(d) Dreams make you free.
51
166. Why at the Lincoln Monument does Gruwell begin to understand why moms cry at
school plays and graduations?
(a) She is worried about getting everyone back on the buses.
(b) She is so proud of the Freedom Writers.
(c) She is not looking forward to losing the students after they graduated.
(d) She can't find one of the students.
167. After the students walk down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where do they wish to
go next?
(a) The Library of Congress.
(b) Anne Frank's attic.
(c) The Smithsonian.
(d) Bosnia.
168. Why do the students have a particular place they want to visit after walking down the
steps of the Lincoln Memorial?
(a) They want to see the national library.
(b) They always wanted to travel abroard.
(c) They know they may never return to Washington, D.C.
(d) That is where their journey began.
169. Why doesn't Gruwell cheer when students get excited about making another trip after
touring the Lincoln Memorial?
(a) She has to deal with practical matters of the trip.
(b) Their funds are getting low and they do not have as many sponsors any more.
(c) She is not sure that she wants to take another trip so soon.
(d) She is too tired.
170. What do the Freedom Writers do after their first year in college?
(a) Go to China.
(b) Visit South America.
(c) Tour Europe.
(d) Go to an impoverished country and build houses.
171. Although their destinations after high school are different, what is still the same for the
Freedom Writers?
(a) They are all attending college.
(b) They are mentoring kids from the projects.
(c) Their common goal.
(d) Their full-ride scholarships.
52
172. Besides moving forward, what are the Freedom Writers doing?
(a) Serving as volunteers.
(b) Volunteering at the Museum of Tolerance.
(c) Pulling family members and friends along too.
(d) Writing novels, poetry, and newspaper or magazine articles.
173. What do the Freedom Writers remember when the pressure of their new lives gets too
intense?
(a) All the awards they receive.
(b) The lessons learned in Gruwell's class.
(c) John Tu's encouragement.
(d) Words of Anne Frank.
174. Who says, "Earning happiness means doing good and working, not speculating and being
lazy"?
(a) Zlata Filipovic.
(b) Anne Frank.
(c) Martin Luther King, Jr.
(d) Miep Gies.
175. What civil rights activist do the Freedom Writers meet days before the second college
semester begins?
(a) Celeste Wiley.
(b) Harry Belafonte.
(c) Rosa Parks.
(d) Lurma Rackley.
176. Who challenges the Freedom Writers to not just talk, but "to walk the walk"?
(a) Connie Cheung.
(b) John Tu.
(c) Erin Gruwell.
(d) Harry Belafonte.
177. How do the Freedom Writers hone their writing craft?

(a) The school board brings in tutors.
(b) They create a college course.
(c) Gruwell and other teachers work with them one-on-one.
(d) They hire tutors.
53
178. Until the students found the safety of Room 203, what did they see to be a solution to
their problems?
(a) Sex.
(b) Gangs.
(c) Violence.
(d) Drugs.
179. What program is created to teach tolerance to kids who feel as if they don't fit in?
(a) Celebrating Diversity Through Sports.
(b) Celebrating Diversity Through the Arts.
(c) Diversity Through Mentoring.
(d) Celebrating Diversity Through Literature.
180. What do the Freedom Writers want the readers of their book to do?
(a) Volunteer with at-risk students.
(b) Pick up a pen and be a catalyst for change.
(c) Write to the students.
(d) Buy copies of the books and give them to students who need hope.
54
Multiple Choice Key
55
1. A 41. A 81. B 121. C 161. A
2. D 42. A 82. D 122. C 162. B
3. D 43. D 83. A 123. C 163. B
4. D 44. C 84. C 124. A 164. B
5. A 45. C 85. B 125. A 165. A
6. B 46. D 86. C 126. A 166. B
7. B 47. B 87. D 127. C 167. B
8. B 48. D 88. C 128. D 168. D
9. C 49. B 89. C 129. C 169. A
10. B 50. D 90. A 130. B 170. C
11. A 51. C 91. A 131. A 171. C
12. C 52. A 92. A 132. B 172. C
13. C 53. A 93. D 133. C 173. D
14. A 54. D 94. B 134. B 174. B
15. D 55. C 95. A 135. A 175. B
16. A 56. C 96. D 136. C 176. D
17. D 57. B 97. D 137. A 177. B
18. C 58. B 98. C 138. D 178. C
19. C 59. C 99. C 139. C 179. B
20. B 60. D 100. A 140. D 180. B
21. C 61. A 101. D 141. A

22. B 62. D 102. D 142. A
23. C 63. B 103. C 143. B
24. D 64. A 104. C 144. D
25. A 65. D 105. D 145. C
26. C 66. B 106. C 146. D
27. D 67. D 107. A 147. D
28. B 68. B 108. D 148. C
29. A 69. A 109. C 149. D
30. C 70. D 110. C 150. C
31. C 71. B 111. C 151. C
32. A 72. D 112. C 152. A
33. C 73. C 113. A 153. B
34. B 74. D 114. A 154. A
35. B 75. B 115. D 155. D
36. B 76. A 116. A 156. A
37. A 77. D 117. C 157. A
38. A 78. D 118. D 158. A
39. C 79. A 119. A 159. C
40. D 80. A 120. A 160. A
56
Short Answer Questions
57
circumstances?
58
59
60
61
62
internment camps?
63
freshman year?
64
sophomore year?
apartment?
62. Why does one student have to be out of school for a week or two and miss the beginning of
the sophomore year?
65
66
77. What are the only kind of heroes one 15-year-old is familiar with before reading about Anne
Frank?
67
68
kids?
69
1996?
70
heart?
71
110. Why does Gruwell feel guilty when she drives students home if they stay late after school?
72
73
to go to D.C.?
74
132. What poem does a student write after realizing living in the ghetto and having brown skin
does not mean you cannot be successful?
75
137. When the students are speaking at an elementary school, what icebreaker question brings
nearly everyone forward?
76
everyone else?
77
York?
78
senator?
79
163. Who says, "Little black boys and black girls are able to join hands with little white boys and
white girls"?
spring of 1997?
chant?
166. Why at the Lincoln Monument does Gruwell begin to understand why moms cry at school
plays and graduations?
167. After the students walk down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where do they wish to go
next?
80
Freedom Writers?
intense?
81
lazy"?
semester begins?
their problems?
82
Short Answer Questions Key
Honored, proud, and amazed.
March, 1996.
Zlata's parents and her best friend, Mirna.
Bosnia.
They are teenagers.
Erin Gruwell.
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, and Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo.
83
Write their own diaries.
Before the war in Bosnia began.
As a place to record her childhood.
A type of therapy to deal with everything that was going on with the war.
What a bomb sounded like and what it was like to have no home.
circumstances?
Otherwise, history repeats with their children.
Gruwell serves as parent, friend, advocate, and teacher.
84
She was given some influence in the world.
Anne's strength remains to lead and inspire.
How people deal with what happens in their lives.
Inspire people to write to fight prejudice and to deal with events in a positive way.
Wilson High School.
A safe neighborhood near the ocean.
They take 2-3 buses.
85
Rich kids and poor kids from the projects.
Make his preppy student teacher cry.
None of the students know what the Holocaust is.
She also works at the Marriott Hotel and Norstroms.
She doesn't have enough seniority.
To protect the students and show the universality of their experiences.
Gruwell.
86
A month.
Because the student is white.
It is either Wilson or boot camp.
It is as easy as buying bubble gum.
In an undeclared war.
One student is beaten until bones are broken and another student is humiliated.
Because either they, a family member, or a friend has been in jail.
87
This student has never before read anything in school that related to everyday life.
There is one ordeal after the other from race riots to walkouts.
John Tu.
The Latino and Asian gangs in Long Beach.
Because she can never stab herself over a guy.
Her parents ground her and transfer her to Wilson High.
Being overweight.
88
People can't live in harmony because they won't accept each other's skin color or beliefs.
Oklahoma City bombing.
Farewell to Manzanar.
internment camps?
They become abusive and don't care if they hurt their families.
That anything is possible.
She could be reunited with her family in the crematorium.
The bathrooms have real towels, no trash on the floor, and no stall doors missing.
89
That Tu gives her more attention in seven minutes than her dad has in seven years.
To have her father be a dad.
People do change.
freshman year?
Chill and smoke.
She believes in her.
When Gruwell's class is invited to meet Spielberg.
A Prima Donna.
90
The attitudes of the other teachers.
She realizes her hypocrisy.
sophomore year?
Hope.
The Wave and Night.
apartment?
Room 203.
He has to have sinus surgery.
Boring like the other teachers.
91
The trial of the student's brother for murder.
The opportunity to go to the Medieval Times restaurant.
Their clothes.
Killed trying to commit a robbery.
The student tells the truth.
That she is a closet drinker.
Shoplift.
92
How her father's friend molested her.
Invite Zlata to come speak to the class.
Zlata's experience.
Teachers doesn't usually call to say Tommy is doing well.
Miep Gies.
The woman who kept Anne Frank alive in the attic.
Anne Frank?
Super heroes in tights.
93
Because the friend is white.
Doc Martens.
Fifteen.
She says that she is a human being.
The house next door was bombed.
Mothers who adopt the class as their kids.
The buses are air conditioned, have televisions, seat lights, and bathrooms.
94
Finding the body of a little girl with other dead bodies waiting to be burned.
Because the student is taking crystal meth.
kids?
A basketball tournament.
Because the student is overweight.
The strength and power to do things is in them.
Other teachers are saying Gruwell doesn't haven't enough seniority to pick students.
France.
95
Teach at National University and go to Europe.
Because it all has sex, fornication, drugs, and cussing.
Bring a list of black literature to the principal.
Emerson.
From burns allegedly inflicted by the student's father.
1996?
A carton of milk is thrown.
Gruwell gets angry and says that if you fail, I fail.
96
Find his weak link and strengthen it.
Clinical depression.
Las Vegas.
Tu offers the student a job.
Snoop Doggy Dogg.
heart?
She is in an abusive relationship.
He is a professional alcoholic.
97
The Color Purple.
The student's abusive father.
How he died from a brain tumor.
Zlata is the inspiration for the latest writing project.
110. Why does Gruwell feel guilty when she drives students home if they stay late after
school?
Where the students live is very unsafe compared to Gruwell's neighborhood.
So no one embellishes or sensationalizes their stories.
So no one recognizes the handwriting in diary entries.
98
The computers are given to the 35 students with the highest grade point average.
"Silence gets you nowhere in life."
Anne's best friends from school before the war.
The student would rather write fiction than be reminded of events s/he wishes to suppress.
Mortician.
Because the student says s/he is dyslexic.
That he was with his girlfriend when she had her abortion.
99
Freedom Riders.
Because after he hits, their apartment and the student's mother look like they've been in a
tornado.
So the alarms don't go off.
A concert.
U. S. Secretary of Education.
to go to D.C.?
Because the student's father is in Mexico.
Holocaust Museum.
100
Dr. Cohn and Karin Polacheck.
Some parents cannot help complete applications and others cannot afford the application fee.
A nonprofit organization is created.
The student realizes that college is possible for him/her.
The student's cousin is murdered and parents leave the country.
132. What poem does a student write after realizing living in the ghetto and having brown
skin does not mean you cannot be successful?
They Say, I Say.
The road to college.
101
Colin Powell.
Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena.
Butler Elementary School.
137. When the students are speaking at an elementary school, what icebreaker question
brings nearly everyone forward?
"Has anyone seen someone get shot before?"
Nancy Wride.
They are receiving so much mail.
Jingle Bells.
102
That he must tell the judge he is innocent so he can be with his daughter.
He is shot in the head.
everyone else?
Christmas Eve is her birthday.
Cancer.
Spirit of Anne Frank Award.
Go to New York City.
Because the founders are Jewish and had to flee Europe during the Holocaust.
103
York?
Gruwell chooses who rooms with who.
Ground Zero.
Doubleday.
Dawn by V.C. Andrews.
A person who does not work hard.
A person who is hardworking.
Her attitude.
104
senator?
Because the student has done some very outrageous things over the years.
It has the power to control like a lasso on a horse.
Nicaragua.
The Micah Award.
His father is ill.
A full-ride scholarship to a PAC-10 school.
The student is trying to decide whether to go to college or play minor league baseball.
105
Hope.
163. Who says, "Little black boys and black girls are able to join hands with little white boys
and white girls"?
Martin Luther King, Jr.
spring of 1997?
They join hands and retrace the steps Martin Luther King Jr. walked.
chant?
Freedom Writers have a dream.
166. Why at the Lincoln Monument does Gruwell begin to understand why moms cry at
school plays and graduations?
She is so proud of the Freedom Writers.
167. After the students walk down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where do they wish to
go next?
Anne Frank's attic.
106
That is where their journey began.
She has to deal with practical matters of the trip.
Tour Europe.
Freedom Writers?
Their common goal.
Pulling family members and friends along too.
intense?
Words of Anne Frank.
107
lazy"?
Anne Frank.
semester begins?
Harry Belafonte.
Harry Belafonte.
They create a college course.
their problems?
Violence.
Celebrating Diversity Through the Arts.
Pick up a pen and be a catalyst for change.
108
1. Why is Zlata Filipovic pleased and honored to write a foreword for "The Freedom Writers
Diary"?
2. Why did Zlata begin writing a diary and how did her diary evolve?
3. What parallel does Zlata see between herself and the Freedom Writers?
4. What does Zlata think about the situation in Kosovo?
5. Why does Zlata highly respect and admire Gruwell?
6. What does Zlata mean when she says we cannot erase evil from the world, but can change
the way we deal with it?
109
7. What journey begins for Gruwell as the book opens?
8. Why does a student decide 'odd' is not a three-letter word, but a seven-letter word?
9. In Diary Two, why does a student wonder why he is in Gruwell's English class?
10. As described in Chapter 1, why does a student get a gun to protect him/herself?
11. Describe what happens when a student is in a liquor store buying candy?
12. What is tagging?
13. Why is Gruwell frustrated at the beginning of the semester in the spring of 1995?
110
14. Why does one student decide she is not as in love with her boyfriend as she thought she
was?
15. What do the students do when they play the peanut game?
16. Why is a student excited to meet a Japanese man who was in an internment camp during
World War I?
17. Why does Renee Firestone's story affect one student?
18. Why does one student feel like Cinderella after a dinner at the Century City Marriott?
19. Why is Gruwell stereotyped by some of the other teachers?
20. Why is the summer before the sophomore year the worst ever for one student?
111
21. Why is one student out of school for a week or two before beginning the sophomore year?
22. Why is the word 'murder' a shadow hovering over a student's life the fall of 1995?
23. Why does a student transfer from the Distinguished Scholars program to Gruwell's class?
24. Why are some students not allowed to go to Medieval Times?
25. Because of the Read-a-Thon for Tolerance, why is Zlata invited to speak to the class?
26. Who is Gerda Seifer?
112
28. In Diary 46, why does a student's father dislike her best friend?
29. What happens to a Croatian boy named Tony?
30. Describe a tour through the Museum of Tolerance.
31. How does Gruwell spend the summer of 1996?
32. Why does a student feel that "National Spokesperson for the Plight of Black People" is
stamped on her forehead?
33. Why does reading "Catcher in the Rye" make a student begin to think about the
consequences of suicide?
34. What circumstances lead to a student being offered a job from John Tu?
113
35. Why does the character Celie in "The Color Purple" remind a student about her Uncle Joe?
36. Why does a student write that she is a loving girl and mention that she cries when she read
"The Color Purple"?
37. Why is Gruwell scared sometimes when she drives students home?
38. Why does a student mention that her/his mother said that "Silence gets you nowhere in
life"?
39. Why are little kids bad in the projects?
40. Why does a student have trouble editing a story about an abortion?
41. Why does a student have to clean his/her mother's blood off the wall?
114
42. When they are in Washington, D.C., what do some students do when they see swastikas?
43. Why is it difficult for Gruwell to get permission to teach the students their senior year?
44. In Diary 103, how many girls does the student know that go to college?
45. Why does a student refer to choices s/he is making as if the student is a traveler in Frost's
poem "The Road Not Taken"?
46. Why is a student acting as receptionist in the classroom by Chapter VII?
47. Who is a prisoner who writes the Freedom Writers from West Virginia?
48. Why it Christmas Eve so difficult for the student who writes Diary 113?
115
49. Why is it so unusual that the Freedom Writers win the Spirit of Anne Frank Award?
50. Why does the Guess? Company wish to help the students get to New York City to accept an
award?
51. Who is Peter Maass?
52. Why is getting kicked off the basketball team eventually a positive thing for Joan?
53. Why did a student charge a Coke machine when s/he was young?
54. What does the prom queen write about her life?
55. What magical event occurs at the Lincoln Memorial?
116
56. After the students walk down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, what does someone
suggest?
57. Since Europe is over a year away, what takes precedence in Gruwell's plans after
graduation?
58. What does Gruwell do after the student's graduate?
59. What tragic event makes the Freedom Writers realize how fortunate they are?
60. What do the Freedom Writers want readers of their book to do?
117
Short Essay Questions Key
1. Why is Zlata Filipovic pleased and honored to write a foreword for "The Freedom Writers
Diary"?
Zlata FIlipovic is pleased and honored to write the foreword for "The Freedom Writer's Diary"
because she is proud and happy to have had a chance to meet the students. She is also glad
that she is able to play a role in their growth as human beings.
2. Why did Zlata begin writing a diary and how did her diary evolve?
Zlata Filipovic began writing a diary because she wanted a place to record her childhood. Plus,
she wanted to create something she could read to look back on her life, laugh, cry, and
reminisce. Her older girlfriends were writing diaries, so Zlata felt it was the right thing to do.
After the war began, the diary became a friend willing to accept anything and everything Zlata
wished to say.
3. What parallel does Zlata see between herself and the Freedom Writers?
Zlata sees a parallel between herself and the students because they both are subjected to
things in their surroundings that can make them victims. Writing about their experiences help
both Zlata and the students to turn a negative experience into something positive and useful.
4. What does Zlata think about the situation in Kosovo?
Zlata is terribly sad about the situation in Kosovo. It is sad that the young people and children
have to learn about bombs, learn about hiding in cellars, and learn what it is to not have water
or electricity. She hopes that the experiences of young Yugoslavians help them to rise above
and not wallow in their circumstances.
5. Why does Zlata highly respect and admire Gruwell?
Zlata highly respects and admires Gruwell because she is a mentor, friend, and teacher to the
students. Not only is she a teacher, but she is a parent to those who do not have parents or
118
who cannot communicate with their parents.
6. What does Zlata mean when she says we cannot erase evil from the world, but can change
the way we deal with it?
Zlata feels that although evil can never be erased from the world, we can change the way we
deal with evil. She feels we can rise above evil and stay strong and true to ourselves. Most
importantly, we can inspire others to rise above their situations.
7. What journey begins for Gruwell as the book opens?
Gruwell officially begins her journey as an English teacher. She student taught last year and is
now looking forward to having a class of her own.
8. Why does a student decide 'odd' is not a three-letter word, but a seven-letter word?
A student decides 'odd' is not a three-letter word, but a seven-letter word, because her
freshman English teacher is "out there." The teacher's name, Gruwell, is seven letters long.
In Diary Two, a student wonders why he is in Gruwell's English class because he is the only
white student. He does not feel that he belongs in a class of rejects.
A student decides to buy a gun in Chapter 1, because that is the only way to protect him/herself
from "older fools with bats and knives." These fools pick on the student because s/he is a
different race.
119
11. Describe what happens when a student is in a liquor store buying candy?
When a student is in a liquor store buying candy, two friends run into the store. One dives to
the ground; the other one simply falls. One of these friends have blood coming from his back
and mouth. The friend is gunned down for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
12. What is tagging?
Tagging is like graffiti. It is writing with markers on any surface whether it is a wall, trash can, or
something else.
13. Why is Gruwell frustrated at the beginning of the semester in the spring of 1995?
Gruwell is frustrated at the beginning of the spring semester of 1995 because there have been
so many ordeals from race riots to walkouts. She is frustrated with the kids and the system. The
kids are always acting out, but they are just kids. The system, on the other hand, is created by
adults.
was?
One student decides that she is not as in love with her boyfriend as she thought, because she
would not kill herself because of him. The class is reading Romeo and Juliet and the student
cannot believe that Juliet stabs herself over a guy she knows for only a few days.
15. What do the students do when they play the peanut game?
When students play the peanut game, they have to write a description about the outside and
the inside of a peanut. Then the peanuts are categorized by mentioning their different
exteriors.
120
16. Why is a student excited to meet a Japanese man who was in an internment camp during
World War I?
The student is excited to meet a Japanese man who was in an internment camp during World
War I because this student and her family had to go to a camp during the war in Cambodia. This
student and the Japanese man have many experiences in common. They both had trouble with
the food. Their living conditions were horrible, and their fathers were negatively impacted by
the experiences in the camps.
17. Why does Renee Firestone's story affect one student?
Renee Firestone's story affects one student because of the experiences that Firestone has in a
concentration camp. Firestone's family was killed in the concentration camp and Firestone was
left alone when the war ends. Firestone eventually emigrated to America with an infant
daughter and became a successful clothing designer.
18. Why does one student feel like Cinderella after a dinner at the Century City Marriott?
One student feels like Cinderella after having dinner at the Century City Marriott and having
John Tu at her table. John Tu really cares about her opinions and listens to what she has to say.
John Tu gives her more attention in seven minutes than her dad has in seven years. Between
having John Tu really listen to her and the special dinner, it is a very special evening.
19. Why is Gruwell stereotyped by some of the other teachers?
Gruwell is stereotyped by the other teachers because of the things she does. They call her a
prima dona because she wears suits. They say she makes them look bad by taking students on
field trips. They say that John Tu is her "sugar daddy."
The summer before the summer year is the worst for one student, because the student and
his/her mother are evicted from their apartment. Although the student's mother begs for an
extension, the landlord refuses to listen. They are evicted by the sheriff.
121
21. Why is one student out of school for a week or two before beginning the sophomore
year?
The student is out of school for a week or two because he is having sinus surgery. The student
has a lung disease called cystic fibrosis and needs the surgery to help manage the disease.
22. Why is the word 'murder' a shadow hovering over a student's life the fall of 1995?
'Murder' is word hovering over a student like a shadow because everywhere the student turns,
the student sees the O.J. Simpson trial on television. Plus the student's brother is given a verdict
in his murder trial.
A student transfers from the Distinguished Scholars program to Gruwell's class because the
student isn't comfortable in the program. The teachers in the program act as if they are better
than everyone else. Plus, the other students make it clear that they are better than everyone
else because of their race, economic state, and the classes they are taking. Even though the
student is white, lives in the same neighborhood, and has all the same classes, the student
wants out.
24. Why are some students not allowed to go to Medieval Times?
Some students are not allowed to go to Medieval Times because a chaperone decides they are
not dressed properly. The students are dressed neatly, but not wearing ties, so they are not
allowed to attend.
Gruwell wants Zlata to speak to the class to put a face on the genocide in Bosnia. Gruwell
startes the project as a ploy to get the student to write letters, however the students take her
seriously.
122
26. Who is Gerda Seifer?
Gerda Seifer is a Holocaust survivor. Like Anne Frank, Gerda is Jewish. She lives in Poland and
had to go into hiding with a Catholic family during World War II. She lived in a basement where
she could barely stand up. Gerda was the only member of her family to survive.
Miep Gies is the woman responsible for keeping Anne Frank alive in the attic. She hid the Frank
family from the Nazi soldiers and later found Anne's diary. When Anne was captured, she tried
to bribe the officers to let her friends go, but the officers threatened to kill her.
A student's father dislikes her best friend because the girl is white. The student's father wants
her to have only black friends. He is always telling his daughter that white people will stab you
in the back.
29. What happens to a Croatian boy named Tony?
A Croatian boy named Tony is shot in the face by Serbian soldiers when he is sleeping. He is in
the United States because a Bosnian woman sponsores his trip to the United States to have his
jaw reconstructed.
30. Describe a tour through the Museum of Tolerance.
When you visit the Museum of Tolerance, you receive a passport with a child's face and name.
As you walk through the museum and tour various rooms, you can slip the passport into a
computer and it tells you what happens to the child.
31. How does Gruwell spend the summer of 1996?
During the summer of 1996, Gruwell first teaches a seminar at the National University. After
123
the seminar, Gruwell is offered a job teaching two education classes a week. Because of this job
and her job at the Marriott, Gruwell saves enough money to go to Europe. There, Gruwell visits
Zlata and Miep.
A student feels that "National Spokesperson for the Plight of Black People" is stamped on her
forehead because her teachers treat her as if she alone has the answers to the mysterious
creatures that black people are. Whenever anything comes up in class about blacks or life for
blacks, teachers ask her to present the black perspective.
A student begins to think about the consequences of suicide after reading the part in the
"Catcher in the Rye" where Holden Caulfield talks about a friend's suicide. This student never
realized the effect that a suicide has on the people left behind.
34. What circumstances lead to a student being offered a job from John Tu?
A student is offered a job from John Tu after a big party held at the Bruin Den. After the party,
the student offers to drive Tu to his car. The only problem is the student's car only has one seat.
This does not bother Tu. Instead, he begins talking about riding a bicycle when he was a
teenager and had to work for any money he earns. After they reach Tu's car, Tu offers the
student a job.
35. Why does the character Celie in "The Color Purple" remind a student about her Uncle Joe?
The character Celie reminds a student of her Uncle Joe because the student was raped by this
uncle. Just as Celie is violated, tormented, and humiliated, so was this student. However just as
Celie has courage, this student does too. Knowing that she has courage helps the student
survive.
124
36. Why does a student write that she is a loving girl and mention that she cries when she
read "The Color Purple"?
The student writes that she is a loving girl who is in the same situation as Celie in "The Color
Purple". The student is in an abusive situation with her boyfriend. The abuse started slowly, but
has escalated.
Gruwell is frightened sometimes when she drives students home because their neighborhoods
are so dangerous. Gruwell has seen prostitutes, a crack dealer, and even gangsters hanging out.
Plus, there are many makeshift altars with flowers and candles adorning bloodstained concrete
where the latest casualty happens.
life"?
The student wants to sing when Jopie and Lies come, but the student does not speak up. Later,
the student is sad because s/he did not speak up and sing. The student is also thinking about
how bad things happen when people withhold information. There are many tragedies that can
be stopped if someone speaks up. From then on, this student is not silent.
39. Why are little kids bad in the projects?
Little kids are bad in the projects because they do not play, they destroy. They set trash cans on
fire, they knock on people's doors and run, and they turn on water hoses to flood people's
backyards.
40. Why does a student have trouble editing a story about an abortion?
A student has trouble editing a story about an abortion because his girlfriend had an abortion.
He did not even know that his girlfriend was pregnant until after the abortion. The student
wishes he at least was there when she had the abortion.
125
41. Why does a student have to clean his/her mother's blood off the wall?
A student has to clean his mother's blood off the wall because the mother's boyfriend hit her.
Whenever the boyfriend gets mad, he hurts anyone and anything in his path.
When some students starting seeing swastikas on walls in the city, they decide to do something
about it. They create a logo for the Freedom Writers and have several copies made. Then,
whenever they see a swastika, they tape their logo over it.
43. Why is it difficult for Gruwell to get permission to teach the students their senior year?
Gruwell has difficulty getting permission to teach the students their senior year because of her
lack of seniority. Since Gruwell is still relatively new, she is only supposed to be teaching
underclassmen. Fortunately, the president of the Board of Education and the superintendent of
schools make sure Gruwell can continue teaching the Freedom Writers.
In Diary 103, the only person the student know that graduated from college is Gruwell. In fact,
the student does not even know any girls who graduated from high school.
45. Why does a student refer to choices s/he is making as if the student is a traveler in Frost's
poem "The Road Not Taken"?
The student is referring to choices s/he is making as if s/he is a traveler in the poem "The Road
Not Taken", because the student is taking a path no one in his/her family takes before. The
student can take the more traveled road of getting a job, but decides to take the less traveled
road and go to college.
126
46. Why is a student acting as receptionist in the classroom by Chapter VII?
A student is acting as a receptionist in the classroom because the students are receiving so
much mail. They are receiving letters from all across the country because of the publicity they
received in the media.
47. Who is a prisoner who writes the Freedom Writers from West Virginia?
A prisoner from West Virginia who writes the Freedom Writers is eighteen years old. His name
is Leonard and he is in prison for a crime he did not commit. He has a little girl eight months
old. He won't "rat" on his friends, so he spends his life in prison.
48. Why it Christmas Eve so difficult for the student who writes Diary 113?
Christmas Eve is difficult for the writer of Diary 113 because his/her mother died eight days
prior. Christmas Eve is also his/her mother's birthday.
It is unusual that the Freedom Writers win the Spirit of Anne Frank Award because the award
usually is given to individuals, not groups. The award is given usually given to the person who
actively confronts anti-Semitism, racism, prejudice, and bias-related violence in their
community.
50. Why does the Guess? Company wish to help the students get to New York City to accept
an award?
The founders of the Guess? Company want to help the students get to New York City to accept
an award because they are Jewish and suffer persecution.
51. Who is Peter Maass?
Peter Maass is a journalist and war corespondent. Maass covers the war in Bosnia and writes
127
about it for "Vanity Fair".
52. Why is getting kicked off the basketball team eventually a positive thing for Joan?
Being kicked off the basketball team seems like a tragedy for Joan at first. However, if she were
not kicked off the team, she would not have the time to write the essay that got her a chance to
go to New York City with the Freedom Writers.
53. Why did a student charge a Coke machine when s/he was young?
A student charged a Coke machine when s/he was young because the student forgot to take
his/her Ritalin. The student has ADD and cannot control his/her behavior without the
medication.
54. What does the prom queen write about her life?
The prom queen writes that when she was young, she and her family lived in Nicaragua. Her
family was wealthy and her father was an accountant. When Somoza lost his presidency,
anyone associated with him was in danger. The student and her family fled the country.
55. What magical event occurs at the Lincoln Memorial?
When the students are at the Lincoln Memorial, something magical happens. All 150 of the
students join hands and slowly retrace the steps Martin Luther King, Jr. walk. First they are
reciting lines from the "I Have a Dream" speech. Then they begin to chant "Freedom Writers
have a dream!"
56. After the students walk down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, what does someone
suggest?
After the students walk down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, someone suggests that their
next field trip be Anne Frank's attic. After all, that is where there journey began.
128
57. Since Europe is over a year away, what takes precedence in Gruwell's plans after
graduation?
Since the European trip is over a year away, Gruwell wants the students to focus on college. The
students need to learn how to adapt to dorm life and college. They need to adjust to new
environments and their new-found freedom.
58. What does Gruwell do after the student's graduate?
After the students graduate, Gruwell says goodbye to Wilson High. Gruwell becomes a
professor at California State University. Gruwell's job are to share the lessons of the Freedom
Writers with future teachers.
59. What tragic event makes the Freedom Writers realize how fortunate they are?
The Columbine High School tragedy makes the Freedom Writers realize how fortunate they are.
The Freedom Writers can identify with the alienation and misunderstanding Klebold and Harris
suffer. The students realize that if it were not for Room 203, some of them may have taken the
same path as Klebold and Harris.
60. What do the Freedom Writers want readers of their book to do?
The Freedom Writers want people who read their book to pick up a pen and be a catalyst for
change. The Freedom Writers feel their book is the third leg in a relay race first begins by Anne
Frank. Anne's story inspired Zlata who in turn passed the baton to the Freedom Writers. Now it
is the reader's turn to take the baton.
129
Essay Topics
Essay Topic 1
A theme in the book is the parallel between warfare as experienced by Anne Frank and Zlata
Filipovic and the violence the students see in their everyday lives. How can the events in Anne's
and Zlata's lives be compared to the student's lives? What kind of violence did Frank and
Filipovic experience? What type of violence do the students experience? How is the violence
that Anne and Zlata experienced similar or dissimilar to what the students face?
Essay Topic 2
What comparisons can be made between Zlata and the Freedom Writers? How are Zlata and
the Freedom Writers subjected to things that can make them victims? Why don't Zlata and the
Freedom Writers become victims? How does writing help all of them? Provide examples from
the foreword and the book.
Essay Topic 3
What does it mean "World peace is only a dream because people won't allow themselves and
others around them to simply be peanuts"? Explain the meaning of the phrase, and why a
student compares people to peanuts. How do peanuts compare to people? What happens if
people are allowed to be peanuts? What does people living in harmony have to do with the
appearance of peanuts?
Essay Topic 4
During the spring semester of 1996, Tommy makes a statement: "They say America is the 'Land
of the Free and home of the Brave,' but what's so free about a land where people get killed?"
What does Tommy mean by this statement? What examples does he give to demonstrate what
he means by this statement? Why does Tommy make this statement? What is he comparing
when he makes this statement?
Essay Topic 5
A mother tells her child in Diary 99 that "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" A person
the student looks up to says "Adversity makes warriors of us all." What do each of these
statements mean? How can a person become stronger through difficulties? How can adversity
make a person a warrior? How does the student feel about these statements at first? What
130
person inspires the student? How does this person help the student to realize the possibilities
that life holds?
Essay Topic 6
In Diary 69, a student compares his/her neighborhood to "The Brady Bunch". Write about what
life is like for the Brady Bunch. Compare the lives portrayed on the television show to the life
this student leads. How are the neighborhoods different? How are their lives different? Is there
anything about their lives that is the same?
Essay Topic 7
In Diary 119, a student asks journalist Peter Maass how he can "simply sit and watch people
die." Write about Mr. Maass's answer. Do you agree with his answer? Why or why not?
Essay Topic 8
The motto of the American Jewish Committee that issues the Micah Award is "Whoever saves
one life saves the world entire." What does that statement mean? How does that apply to
Zlata? How does that statement apply to Anne Frank and those who helped her family? How
does that statement apply to Gruwell and the Freedom Writers?
Essay Topic 9
Write why Gruwell decides that she is being hypocritical at the beginning of the sophomore
year. What is hypocrisy? How is Gruwell being hypocritical? How is Gruwell using labels to
describe people? What is the danger of stereotyping? How many of the teachers actually are
out to get Gruwell? Who helps Gruwell understand her hypocrisy?
Essay Topic 10
The fall semester of 1996, a student says that America is at war. Is America at war? Why or why
not? What examples are provided in the book? Why do students at Wilson High School say that
America is at war? Who are the combatants if America is at war?
Essay Topic 11
The students study Ralph Waldo Emerson when learning about self-reliance. What does this
quote by Emerson mean: "Who so should be a man, must be a nonconformist"? How does the
quote relate to self-reliance? From their diary entries, list examples of how the students are
131
becoming more self-reliant. How is Gruwell helping the students become more self-reliant?
How are the circumstances in their daily lives making the students more self-reliant?
Essay Topic 12
In Diary 74, a student's mother tells him/her that "One person can make a difference that can
change the world." Why does the student find that statement unbelievable? What are some
examples of people the student remembers making great changes? Does the student begin to
believe that one person can make a difference that changes the world? Does the student
believe that s/he can make that kind of difference or that his/her fellow students can make that
type of a difference? Why or why not? Provide examples from the book.
Essay Topic 13
In Diary 107, a student compares the students at an elementary school to lotus flowers. Why
does the student compare these children to lotus flowers? In what type of environment do
lotus flowers grow? How is the environment of a lotus plant similar to the environment the
children from the elementary school live in?
Essay Topic 14
In the foreword to the book, Zlata mentions that good comes out of something bad. Several
students, also mention in their diary entries how something bad turns into something positive.
Write about what Zlata means that good comes from bad. What examples does Zlata give that
shows good comes from bad circumstances? What do students say about difficult
circumstances providing positive results? Provide examples from the book when something
seems negative, but leads to positive results.
Essay Topic 15
Violence is an everyday occurrence for the Freedom Writers in their homes and neighborhoods.
Write about the violence they see everyday. How does this violence affect the students? How
does this violence affect their families or friends? How does writing the diaries help the
students learn to deal with the violence in their lives? Does Gruwell help the students to break
this cycle of violence?
Essay Topic 16
Things change for the Freedom Writers from the time they begin classes with Gruwell their
freshman year beyond when they graduate from high school. What are some changes students
132
make? What books, people, or events help students to change? List examples from the book of
how specific students change and what specific things help the students to change.
Essay Topic 17
During the fall semester of the sophomore year, a student struggles with the decision of
whether to protect a "homie" and lie in court or to tell the truth. Before the student went to
courtroom, what does s/he plan to say? What changes the student's mind? What conversation
with his/her mother may be a factor in the student's decision? What circumstances in the
student's own life may influence the student's decision? What does the student finally decide
to do? Why?
Essay Topic 18
During the spring semester of 1996, Gruwell asks, "If you could live an eternity and not change
a thing or exist for the blink of an eye and alter everything, what do you choose?" How does
Gruwell relate this statement to the students' lives? What does she tell the students they can
do? How are the students to seize the moment? Which is better, to live forever and leave the
world the same or live for a moment and change everything?
Essay Topic 19
When Zlata comes to visit and people ask her her nationality, she tells them "I'm a human
being." Why is it strange that adults ask this question? What happens if instead of labeling
people, people are treated as individuals? What does the writer of Diary 47 say about this
incident? How is the world a better place if we are all treated just as human beings? What
happens if there are no labels?
Essay Topic 20
Zlata says during her visit that the Bosnian Children become "soldiers" and the soldiers became
"children". What does Zlata mean by that statement? What happens to children during a war?
How do soldiers behave when trying to achieve their goals? How are the roles reversed?
133
Daily Lessons
Lesson 1
Objective: Foreword The foreword to the book, The Freedom Writers Diary, is written by Zlata
Filipovic. Zlata writes a diary of her own about her experiences in Bosnia. The objective of this
lesson is to learn about Zlata's diary.
1) Research: Research the Bosnian War. Why did the war start? Who fought against whom?
Where is Bosnia located? When was the war fought?
2) Class Discussion: Why did Zlata begin writing a diary? Who else did Zlata know that is writing
a diary? Why was Zlata's childhood cut short? Why did Zlata's diary become more than a place
to record daily events? How did the diary become a friend? What types of things did she begin
writing in her diary?
3) Partner Discussion: Discuss why Zlata's diary changed. How did the war change Zlata? How
did the war change the way that Zlata wrote in her diary? How was writing in the diary
therapeutic for Zlata?
4) Homework: Write a few paragraphs about Zlata's diary. What was its purpose at the
beginning? Why did the purpose of the diary change? How did the purpose of the diary change?
How did the diary help Zlata cope with the changes in her life?
Lesson 2
Objective: Foreword Zlata Filipovic compares herself to the Freedom Writers in the foreword of
the book. The objective of this lesson is to compare Zlata to the Freedom Writers.
1) Class Discussion: What difficulties has Zlata faced in her life? What difficulties have the
Freedom Writers faced? Why can Zlata and the Freedom Writers be made to feel like victims?
How do Zlata and the Freedom Writers decide to deal with injustice? How does writing help
both Zlata and the Freedom Writers cope with their circumstances? Why is writing so
powerful?
2) Group Discussion: Divide the class into groups and have the groups discuss the comparisons
between Zlata and the Freedom Writers seen in the foreword. What difficulties have both Zlata
and the Freedom Writers faced? How have they dealt with the tragedies in life? Why don't Zlata
or the Freedom Writers think of themselves as victims? How have they decided to deal with
injustice?
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a Venn diagram to compare the Freedom Writers and Zlata. What
134
circumstances in their lives are the same? What circumstances are different? Are Zlata and the
students from the same generation? What are their ethnic backgrounds? How do Zlata and the
students face tragedy? How have Zlata and the students learned to deal with pain?
4) Homework: Write a few paragraphs comparing Zlata and the Freedom Writers. Are they
about the same age? What experiences do they have in common? What became a therapy for
Zlata? What becomes a therapy for the Freedom Writers? Who else probably helped Zlata?
Who helps the Freedom Writers? Did Zlata break a cycle of hatred and fear? Do the Freedom
Writers break a cycle of hatred and fear? How have Zlata and the Freedom Writers dealt with
inhumane situations?
Lesson 3
Objective: Foreword In the foreword to the book, Zlata mentions the influence Erin Gruwell has
on her students. The objective of this lesson is to discuss the influences Zlata feels Gruwell has
had on the Freedom Writers.
1) Class Discussion: Why does Zlata say that Gruwell is more than a teacher? What roles does
she say Gruwell plays in the student's lives? What has Gruwell shared with the students? What
kind of a place did Gruwell create for the students? How did Gruwell help make the students
into the kind of people they became? How long did it take for Gruwell to make a difference in
the student's live? What lessons did she help the students learn?
2) Partner Discussion: Discuss the things Gruwell did that show her dedication to the students.
What lessons did she teach the students? What kind of time did Gruwell give to the students?
Why did Zlata say that the world is a better place if their are more teachers like Gruwell? What
actions did Gruwell perform that gave Zlata this impression?
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a graphic organizer to create a character sketch of Gruwell. Base the
description on what is learned about Gruwell. List examples that Zlata provides in the foreword.
4) Homework: Write a few paragraphs about Erin Gruwell. Who is she? What roles does she
play with the students? How does she help the students? How much time is she willing to
dedicate to her students? What does she help the students overcome?
Lesson 4
Objective: Chapter One, Freshman Year - Fall 1994 During the fall of the freshman year,
students meet Gruwell for the first time. This lesson discusses what the students think of
Gruwell.
1) Class Discussion: What word does the student in Diary One use to describe Gruwell? Where
does the student think Gruwell belongs? What does the student assume Gruwell thinks about
135
the students? What kind of an English book does the student think they are using? How long
does the student think Gruwell will last? Why does the student in Diary Two think s/he should
be in a different class? What does the student say about Gruwell? What happens if the student
stays in Gruwell's class? What problem does the student in Diary 11 have? How does Gruwell
help? What does the student learn from Gruwell? What does Gruwell encourage the student to
do? What does the student in Diary 13 say about Gruwell's teaching methods?
2) Role Play: Divide the students into groups of two or three. Have each student take the point
of view of a student in Diary 1, 2, 11, or 13. Why do some students not like Gruwell? Why do
some think Gruwell will not last long? Why do some students like Gruwell? Do you think the
opinions of the students in Diary 11 or 13 are written at the beginning, middle or end of the
semester?
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a T-chart and compare what the students in Diaries 1 & 2 think about
Gruwell and what the students in Diaries 11 and 13 think about Gruwell. Which students like
Gruwell? Why do they like her? Which students do not like Gruwell? Why do they not like
Gruwell?
4) Homework: Write a few paragraphs about why students do or do not like Gruwell. List
reasons why the students do or do not like Gruwell. Compare how the students perceive
Gruwell.
Lesson 5
Objective: Chapter One, Freshman Year - Fall 1994 The students reveal in their diaries the
violence they face on a day-to-day basis. The objective of this lesson is to discuss the violence
and its effect on the students' lives.
1) Writing Assignment: Read through the diary entries in this chapter and make a list of the
violent situations the students describe.
2) Class Discussion: According to Gruwell, what does MTV say about Long Beach? Why is
Sharaud transferred to Wilson High? Do the students carry weapons? What happens after
school to the student in Diary 3? Why is war declared? What violence does the student in Diary
4 write about? In Diary 5, why does the student says each new day is the continuation of a
nightmare? What does this student do to protect her/himself? What happens to the friend of
the student in Diary 6? Why is the violence that is part of being a gang "all worth it" according
to student in Diary 7? What violence occurs during sorority pledging?
3) Group Discussion: Divide the class into groups. Have each group pick an incident of violence
mentioned in one of the diary entries. What violence occurs? Is the student involved directly or
indirectly? How does the violence affect the student? Does the violence change the student's
behavior?
136
4) Homework: Compare two of the incidents of violence mentioned in diary entries. How are
the violent situations alike? How are the situations different? How do the students react to the
violence? Do either of the students change their behavior because of the violence? If so, does
the situation make the student's behavior more or less socially acceptable?
Lesson 6
Objective: Chapter One, Freshman Year - Fall 1994 In Diary 12, a student compares him/herself
to Rufus in "Durango Street". This lesson discusses why the student compares him/herself to
Rufus.
1) Class Discussion: What is the story "Durango Street" about? What happened to this student
in junior high? What does the student do? Why did the student go to juvenile hall? How does
the student describe juvenile hall? How long was the student in juvenile hall? How did juvenile
hall make the student feel? What did the student decide to do after being in juvenile hall? How
are the student's experiences similar to those in "Durango Street"?
2) Writing Assignment: Make a list of phrases the student uses to describe the three days spent
in juvenile hall. When looking for examples, consider how the student felt, what the student
saw, and what the student heard. Use the list for the homework assignment.
3) Group Discussion: Why do you think the student decided to change his/her life? What were
the student's feelings as s/he was in juvenile hall? How was the student treated? What were
the other inmates like? What did the student say showed how s/he felt about being in juvenile
hall? What kind of an animal did the student feel like after being released?
4) Homework: Write a few paragraphs about the reasons why the student decided to turn
his/her life around. Look at the list of phrases from the writing assignment to see how the
student felt. How does the student describe his experience? What words does the student use
to show juvenile hall in a negative light? How does the experience affect the student even after
release? How is the student's experience similar the Rufus's experience in "Durango Street"?
Lesson 7
Objective: Chapter II, Freshman Year - Spring 1995 The students read Romeo and Juliet. This
lesson discusses the students' reactions to the play and how the students compare the play to
their lives.
1) Class Discussion: What does the student who write Diary 15 say about the language of the
play? To whom does Gruwell compare the Capulets and Montagues? Why does this student
think the family feud is stupid? Is it stupid for the gangs to kill each other? Why does the
student realize the gang fighting is stupid? What can the student in Diary 16 not believe about
137
Juliet's actions in the play? Does the student do something like that? Why or why not? How
does the student compare her relationship with her boyfriend to Juliet's relationship with
Romeo? What does this student have to admit about her parents? What should this student
and her boyfriend do? Why does the student say she is young and stupid?
2) Group Discussion: Divide the class into groups to discuss the lessons the students learned
from Romeo and Juliet. What does the student who writes Diary 15 learn? What questions are
posed by Gruwell to help the student come to this conclusion? What does the student who
writes Diary 16 learn? What examples are provided to show how the student comes to this
conclusion? How does the student compare him/herself to Juliet?
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a Venn diagram to compare what the students learn from Romeo and
Juliet. What lessons do they learn? Do they learn the same lessons? Which part of Romeo and
Juliet influence each student? Do the students change their behavior because of what they
learn?
4) Homework: Write a few paragraphs comparing what the students learn from Romeo and
Juliet. What lessons do each student learn? What parts of Romeo and Juliet speak to each
student? Do the students change anything because of what they learn?
Lesson 8
Objective: Chapter II, Freshman Year - Spring 1995 In class, the students play the "Peanut
Game". This lesson discusses the peanut game.
1) Class Discussion: How do you play the "Peanut Game"? What is the contrast between the
inside and the outside of the peanut? In Diary 17, to what situation does a student compare the
"Peanut Game"? Why does the student compare that situation in her life to the "Peanut
Game"? What saying of Gruwell's does this student remember? Does the student need to worry
about what other people think of her? Why or why not? Why does the writer of Diary 18 say
the "Peanut Game" is stupid? Why does the student change his/her mind? What does the
"Peanut Game" have to do with world peace?
2) Group Discussion: Divide the class into groups. Have the students discuss what the writer of
Diary 17 says about the "Peanut Game". What does the student soon realize after playing the
"Peanut Game"? How does the "Peanut Game" relate to this situation in the student's life? How
do other girls treat this student? What does the student mean when she says, "a peanut is still a
peanut even if the shell is different"? Why doesn't this student need to worry about what
others say?
3) Writing Assignment: Write about why the student who wrote Diary 18 realizes a peanut is
like world peace. What does the student think when Gruwell compares a peanut to world
piece? What quote does the student remember? How does this quote help the student
138
compare peanuts to world peace? Why is world peace only a dream?
4) Homework: Write several paragraphs comparing what the students learned from the
"Peanut Game". What does each student learn? Is the message more personal for one student
than the other? Are there situations in their lives that help the students find a meaning in the
"Peanut Game"? Explain how the students come to their conclusions.
Lesson 9
Objective: Chapter II, Freshman Year - Spring 1995 The students visit the Museum of Tolerance
and listen to a panel of successful people who overcame difficulties. The objective of this lesson
is learn what the students learn during the visit.
1) Class Discussion: What is the Museum of Tolerance? What movie do the students watch?
Who are the people that lead the panel discussion? What types of discrimination do panelists
face? How are the panelists doing now?
2) Group Discussion: Divide the students into two groups. One group discusses panelist Mas
Okui and the other group Renee Firestone. Where did the panelist live when they faced
discrimination? What happened to the panelist and his/her family? Did the panelist's family
survive the difficulties? If not, who died? How has the panelist coped with the troubles s/he's
faced? What is the panelist doing now? Bring the groups back together and have individuals
present what they learn about each panelist.
3) Writing Assignment: Write what is learned about Mas Okui and Renee Firestone. What
happens to each of these people? How have their experiences affected their lives? How have
their experiences affected their families? Did all of their family members survive?
4) Homework: Write a few paragraphs describing what Mas Okui and Jeanne Wakatski have
endured. Why were American citizens put in an internment camp? What were the conditions in
the camp? What was camp food like? What happened to Jeanne's father? Why were Okui and
Wakatski considered enemies?
Lesson 10
Objective: Chapter III, Sophomore Year - Fall 1995 Gruwell always feels that some of the
teachers at Wilson High have it in for her. Gruwell even consideres finding another job until she
realizes that she is being hypocritical and is labeling all the teachers when only a few dislike her.
The objective of this lesson is to discuss Gruwell's decision to stay at Wilson High.
1) Class Discussion: How do some teachers treat Gruwell, even when she is student teaching?
What do some teachers not like about Gruwell? What does the head of the English department
say to Gruwell? What happens to make Gruwell draw the line? How far is Gruwell from leaving?
139
Who asks her to think about what she is doing? What makes Gruwell realize she is being
hypocritical? Why does Gruwell decide to stay?
2) Role Play: Divide the students into groups and have some students act out Gruwell's
arguments to support her decision to leave Wilson High. Have the other group use the
arguments of the principal and those that Gruwell herself lists to show why Gruwell should
stay. Why is it so difficult for Gruwell to be labeled by the other teachers? What is Gruwell
teaching the students about labeling and stereotyping people? What does Holocaust survivor
Renee Firestone say to influence Gruwell's decision to stay?
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a T-chart to list the pros and cons of why Gruwell should or should
not stay at Wilson. On one side of the chart, list the reasons why Gruwell is considering leaving.
What are others saying about her? How should that affect her decision to leave? On the other
side of the chart, list the reasons why she decides to stay. What happens to the students? Is
Gruwell being hypocritical? Use specific examples from Gruwell's diary entry.
4) Homework: Write several paragraphs about the reasons why Gruwell decides to stay. What
role does Gruwell's realization that she is being hypocritical play in her decision to stay? What
does the principal remind her? Who is the ultimate loser if Gruwell leaves?
Lesson 11
Objective: Chapter III, Sophomore Year - Fall 1995 For the student who writes Diary entry 27,
"The word murder is a shadow hovering over [his/her] life." This lesson explores why murder is
hovering over the student's life.
1) Class Discussion: What does the student say about murder? What is the first event that
brings murder to the student's mind? What is the class reading? What does that have to do
with murder? What is the second event that makes the student think about murder?
2) Group Discussion: Compare the O.J. Simpson's trial and the student's brother's trial. What do
they call Simpson's lawyers? How do they help Simpson? Who is the brother's lawyer? What
does this lawyer do? What happens to the brother? Is justice based on the expertise of your
legal team?
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a Venn diagram to compare O.J. Simpson's trial and the trial of the
student's brother. How is their legal defense different? Is there anything similar about their
legal defense? How are the cases the same? What are the pleas of Simpson and of the brother?
What is the result of the trials?
4) Homework: Write a few paragraphs about how the student feels justice is served. Does the
brother commit the murder according to the student? What may save the brother? Is the
sentence just?
140
Lesson 12
Objective: Chapter III, Sophomore Year - Fall 1995 In Diary Entry 33, a student says, "You can't
go against your own people, your own blood!" The student is faced with lying to a judge about
a murder. The objective of this lesson is to discuss the student's decision to protect his/her
people or tell the truth.
1) Class Discussion: Why does the statement, "You can't go against your own people, your own
blood!" keep repeating in a student's mind? Whose future is in this student's hands? How is the
courtroom divided? Why does the student not feel safe? What can the student not be
protected from? What is the student supposed to do? What person catches the student's eye?
Who is the student reminded of when s/he sees this person? What does the student's mother
say when the student says you have to protect your own? What does the statement mean that
you can't go against your own blood? Why is the student struggling with this decision? Is
protecting your own more important than truth?
2) Group Discussion: Divide the class into two groups. Have one group take the side that you
have to protect your own, you can't go against your own people no matter what happens. The
other group should take the side that truth is more important than simply protecting your own
people. Give students 10-15 minutes to organize their position. Then arrange a debate and
have individuals from each group argue their points.
3) Writing Assignment: Write a paragraph that describes what it is about the woman and little
girl that influences the student's decision. How does the student feel when s/he sees this
woman? Is the woman angry? What is the woman doing?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about the student's decision to tell the truth. Why does
seeing the woman make the student hesitate to lie? What happens to the student's father?
How does the fate of the student's father and brother play a part in the student's decision? Is
the student determined to lie before s/he gets to the courtroom? What does the student
decide?
Lesson 13
Objective: Chapter IV, Sophomore Year - Spring 1996 A student wonders what is so free about a
land where people get killed. The student is referring to America when he makes this
statement. This lesson explores whether parts of America are a war zone.
1) Class Discussion: What does Tommy have to watch out for? Who does Tommy know that
dies? How do these people die? Is their a point to their deaths? Why or why not? What kind of
war does Tommy say there is in America? According to Gruwell, is there a war on the streets of
Long Beach? Why or why not? Is there an undeclared war in America?
141
2) Group Discussion: Divide the class into two groups and have each group take a side in
argument as to whether there is or is not an undeclared war in America. Give the students 10-
15 minutes to organize their position. Bring the groups together and have individuals argue
their points in a debate.
3) Graphic Organizer: Use examples that Tommy and Gruwell provide in the book to compare
the war that Zlata is fighting and the war that Tommy says he is fighting. What indications are
there that Tommy is in a war? How is the war Tommy is fighting different from the war Zlata
sees? How are the two wars alike? How are the weapons alike or different? How are the
"soldiers" similar or different?
4) Homework: Write a short essay explaining why portions of America are a war zone. Provide
examples from the book. Explain the incidents that indicate that there is a war being fought on
some city streets.
Lesson 14
Objective: Chapter IV, Sophomore Year - Spring 1996 Gerda Seifer and Miep Gies visit Room
203 and talk about their Holocaust experiences. This lesson discusses Gerda's and Miep's visits.
1) Classroom Discussion: Who is Gerda Seifer? How did she survive World War II? What
happened to her family? Who is Miep Gies? What were her experiences during World War II?
Why is she famous? Is she Jewish?
2) Research: Research the lives of Gerda Seifer and Miep Gies. Write a few paragraphs about
their lives, their accomplishments, and why their message is important for the students to hear.
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a Venn diagram to compare the lives of Gerda and Miep. How are
their experiences during the war the same? How are they different? Did either of them have
family members die during the war? Did either of them end up in a concentration camp?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about Gerda's and Miep's experiences during the war. How
did each survive the war? How were their circumstances different? Is one of the women more
famous than the other? Why?
Lesson 15
Objective: Chapter IV, Sophomore Year - Spring 1996 The student who writes Diary 50 says that
"The little baggy of white powder is calling my name." The student feels guilty about taking
drugs, but takes them anyway. The student is also afraid that s/he will becomes an addict. This
lesson discusses whether the student is already an addict.
142
1) Research: Look up addiction. Find out when something is an addiction and write a definition
for addiction.
2) Class Discussion: What does the student take? What does the student do to support her
habit? Who knows the student's secret? How does the student hide her secret? How did the
student behave when s/he first starts taking drugs? How did s/he learn to control her behavior?
Why was the student put in rehab? How many times has the student gone? What is the
student's worst fear? Is the student an addict?
3) Group Discussion: Divide the class into two groups. Have one group take the position that
the student is not an addict, yet. The other group can take the position that the student is an
addict. Give the groups 10-15 minutes to organize their position. Then bring the groups back
together and have individuals from each group argue their points.
4) Homework: Write an essay about this student's drug habit. Do the drugs change the students
behavior for better or worse? Is the student a model child? Why or why not? What does the
student call crystal meth? Is the student addicted?
Lesson 16
Objective: Chapter V, Junior Year - Fall 1996 A student feels like she has "National
Spokesperson for the Plight of Black People" stamped on her forehead. Until Joyce attends
Gruwell's class, all the teachers wanted her to provide the black perspective. This lesson
discusses how Joyce loses the label that she feels is stamped on her forehead.
1) Class Discussion: Why does Joyce feel that she has a stamp on her head that is visible only to
teachers? Why is Joyce not an expert on the black perspective? Whose opinion can Joyce give
with some degree of certainty? Why does one teacher say black literature is not read in class?
What does Joyce's mother do? Why does Joyce transfer to Gruwell's class? How does Gruwell
remove the stamp on Joyce's forehead? What does Gruwell replace it with?
2) Group Discussion: Why does Joyce feel she is not qualified to provide the perspective of
blacks on various topics? Can anyone be a spokesperson for a group of people? Why or why
not? Why does Joyce decide to transfer? How does transferring help Joyce not feel like she has
to be a spokeswoman?
3) Writing Assignment: Write a few paragraphs about why Joyce says, "I wouldn't have to keep
sending Gallup polls out to Negroes all around the country." How does transferring to Gruwell's
class help Joyce feel this way?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about Joyce's experience in honor English. How does moving
to Gruwell's class solve her problem? Why is Gruwell different from the other teachers? Why
does this also help Joyce?
143
Lesson 17
Objective: Chapter V, Junior Year - Fall 1996 Gruwell is encouraging students to be independent
thinkers and to question authority. She is teaching the students how to be self-reliant. This
lesson discusses what self-reliance means to the students.
1) Research: Look up the word self-reliant in the dictionary. Write a definition of the word.
2) Class Discussion: For what does one student blame him/herself? What does the student
misunderstand? What does the student have to learn to do now? What does self-reliance have
to do with not stopping a fight? Why does standing by and not breaking up a fight irritate
Gruwell? How does Gruwell react when a student gives him/herself a F? What does Gruwell's
"pep talk" teach the student about self-reliance? What does a truly self-reliant person do?
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a three-circle Venn diagram to compare what the students in diary
entries 55, 56, and 57 say about self-reliance. Does each student demonstrate self-reliance?
Compare the situations the students face. Show how the situations are similar and dissimilar.
Does each student mean the same thing when they talk about self-reliance?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about what the students learn about self-reliance from the
circumstances they face. Do their circumstances make them more self-reliant? Why or why
not? Does self-reliance mean the same thing to each of the students? If there definitions of self-
reliant are different, what is different about the definitions. What do the students learn from
their circumstances about self-reliance?
Lesson 18
Objective: Chapter V, Junior Year - Fall 1996 The students are reading "The Color Purple". Three
students share how the book is like circumstances in their lives. The objective of this lesson is to
learn how the students relate the events in the novel to their own experiences.
1) Class Discussion: What happened to the student who write Diary 62? Who does this student
realize that Celie is? How does that knowledge help this student? In Diary 63, of what does the
book "The Color Purple" remind the student of? How did the problem start? How did it
escalate? Why does reading "The Color Purple" make the student in Diary 64 uncomfortable?
What is happening in the student's family? What does this student do to protect the family?
Why is the color purple not just the name of a book?
2) Graphic Organizer: Use a Venn diagram to compare the three students' interpretations of the
novel "The Color Purple". How are the circumstances in the students' lives alike and different?
Does the novel remind students of themselves or someone else? Do the students learn
different things from the novel?
144
3) Group Discussion: In Diary 64, the student says that the book comes to life. Why does the
book come to life for the student? What does the student do? How is Celie in the same role as
the student's mother? What is different for Celie? What does the student vow never to happen
again?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about the student in Diary 63 and how the novel "The Color
Purple" relates to her life. What does the student do after reading the book? What does the
book remind the student of? What did the student think when it first happens? Why did she let
it go on? How is the student's circumstances similar to Celie's?
Lesson 19
Objective: Chapter VI, Junior Year - Spring 1997 The students and Gruwell decide to compile
their diaries into a collaborative book. The objective of this lesson is to learn more about the
book project.
1) Class Discussion: Why are the diaries anonymous? Why does Tu donate computers? Why do
the students have to sign an honor code? Who are the students emulating? Why is the student
who writes Diary 69 not excited about the project? Why does writing about this student's pain
do? What does Gruwell hope writing does? What did writing do for Zlata and Anne? Why do
the student who write Diary 70 not want to write stories? How does a computer help? Who is
editing the stories? Why do they decide to call themselves Freedom Writers? In Diary 76, what
does the student say the title of the book is? Who do they want to give the book to? What's the
problem with giving the book to this person?
2) Group Discussion: Why are some students excited about the project? What do these
students hope the project does? Why are some students not excited about the project? What
in their lives makes it difficult for these students to be excited about the project?
3) Writing Assignment: Write a few paragraphs about the student who is reluctant about the
project at first. Why is this student reluctant about the project? What handicap makes the
project difficult for this student? What makes the student more enthusiastic about the project?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about the book project. How is it being written? What is the
purpose? Why are the diary entries going to be anonymous? How are they going to keep
people from identifying handwriting? What is the purpose of the project? To whom does the
students want to give a copy?
Lesson 20
Objective: Chapter VI, Junior Year - Spring 1997 A student compares his/her life to the "Brady
Bunch" television show. This lesson explores how the student's neighborhood compares to the
neighborhood in the "Brady Bunch".
145
1) Research: Research the Brady Bunch television show. What is the show about? What type of
family is in the show? What kind of lives do they lead? What race are they? How do the parents
treat the children?
2) Class Discussion: What does the student in this diary entry smell in his neighborhood? What
does the student hear? What does the student see? Where does the student live? What is the
Brady Bunch neighborhood like? What are the parents like? How do the kids get along? What
are little kids like in the projects? What are lawns like in the projects? What happens if you try
to be friendly with a neighbor in the projects? How are you treated if you have good grades?
How many dead bodies has this student seen? What other types of violence are prevalent in
the projects?
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a graphic organizers to compare the neighborhood the student lives
in to the neighborhood of the "Brady Bunch". Are there any similarities in the neighborhoods?
What are the differences? How are children, parents, neighbors, and yards different?
4) Homework: Write a short essay comparing the projects to the neighborhood in the "Brady
Bunch". Why does the student compare his neighborhood to the "Brady Bunch" neighborhood?
Does the student compare the projects to the "Brady Bunch" for the same reason that he goes
to school far from home?
Lesson 21
Objective: Chapter VI, Junior Year - Spring 1997 The students are reading about Rosa Parks and
also the Freedom Riders. This lesson discusses how Rosa Parks and the Freedom Riders
influence the students.
1) Research: Research Rosa Parks' life. Who is she? Why did she begin a protest? What was the
result of the protest? How did the protest influence her life?
2) Class Discussion: Who is Rosa Parks? What happened one day after work? Why didn't she
move? In Diary 74, what does the student say about power and Rosa Parks? Why does the
student believe that there is hope for all the students? What can the students be? How does
Rosa Parks influence the Freedom Riders?
3) Group Discussion: Why do the students decide to call themselves Freedom Writers? What do
they need to take from the Freedom Riders to use the name Freedom Writers? What
responsibilities come with the name?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about the influences that Rosa Parks and the Freedom Riders
have on the class. Why do the students call themselves the Freedom Writers? What character
traits of Rosa Parks and the Freedom Riders do the students think they need to emulate?
146
Lesson 22
Objective: Chapter VII, Senior Year - Fall 1997 The student in Diary 99 is told, "What doesn't kill
you makes you stronger!" The student does not realize the truth of this statement until s/he
meets a woman who overcomes great tragedy. This lesson explores how the student learns that
difficulties can make a person stronger.
1) Class Discussion: In Diary 99, what cliche does a mother tell a student? What does that
statement mean? How does the student feel about living in the projects? Does the student
want to be strong? At the beginning of the diary entry, does the student have hope for the
future?
2) Group Discussion: The student meets a woman named Cheryl Best. What is Cheryl's favorite
saying? How is that statement similar to the statement the student's mother often says? What
happened to Cheryl? How did Cheryl respond to the horrible situation she endured? How does
the student feel about his/her circumstances after listening to Cheryl? Does the student give
up?
3) Writing Assignment: Write a couple of paragraphs about the phrase "What doesn't kill you
makes you stronger!" Why doesn't the student want to accept this statement at first? What
does the student want to do other than be strong? Would the student rather die than be
strong? Does the student believe that difficulties make you stronger? Does the statement
inspire the student to think about the future?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about what Cheryl has to say about adversity. Explain what
happens to Cheryl and how she overcomes the adversity in her life. Show how her example
inspires the student and helps the student learn that difficulties make a person stronger.
Lesson 23
Objective: Chapter VII, Senior Year - Fall 1997 Gruwell wants the students to attend college.
Besides money, there are other barriers the students face. The objective of this lesson is to
discuss the challenges the students face to be able to attend college.
1) Classroom Discussion: What does Gruwell realize makes it difficult for the students to take
their SATs and fill out college applications? Why are graduate students paired with Freedom
Writers? Why does Gruwell arrange college tours? According to the student in Diary 103, what
does Gruwell tell the students? What does Gruwell say is not important? How does Gruwell get
the students thinking about careers? In Diary 104, what does Gruwell say about a "realistic"
career? What other things is Gruwell doing to help the students overcome the challenges that
attending college present?
2) Group Discussion: In Diary 100 and 101, what difficulties are the students facing? Why is the
147
student in Diary 101 having trouble studying? Why is the student in Diary 102 not able to apply
for college? Do these students give up? What do these students decide to do about their
situations? In Diary 103, why does a student say that Gruwell's madness is rubbing off on them?
How does this help the student with the decision to attend college? What does the student in
Diary 104 decide can be done with the support of his/her classmates and Gruwell? What path
does the student in Diary 105 decide to take? How does the student see the challenges that are
ahead if s/he attends college?
3) Graphic Organizer: Use a T-chart to show the ways that Gruwell is helping the students face
the challenges that lie ahead if they attend college. On the other side of the chart, show what
the students are doing to get ready to tackle the challenges ahead as they plan for college.
4) Homework: Write a short essay about the teamwork that is taking place to get the students
to college. How are the students able to fill out applications and pay for SAT tests? How are the
students able learn more about college? Who helps the students learn more about their chosen
careers? How are the students, Gruwell, and others working together to overcome the
challenges that college presents?
Lesson 24
Objective: Chapter VII, Senior Year - Fall 1997 Now the students are even mentoring others. It is
arranged for the students to mentor at Butler Elementary School. The objective of this lesson is
learn more about the mentoring the students are doing.
1) Class Discussion: Why is the mentoring session so positive? Why does the student compare
the elementary students to Lotus flowers? How can these students help these kids? Where is
Butler Elementary located? Why are the students invited to the school? During a warm up
game, what do nearly all the students have in common?
2) Group Discussion: Why does a student refer to elementary students as Lotus flowers? How
does the environment of the children compare to the environment of the Lotus flower? What
things do these young students face that makes their environment dirty and ugly? How does
the student think these young kids can become beautiful? How do the Freedom Writer
encourage the elementary students? How can the Freedom Writers relate to what these
children experience?
3) Role Play: Divide students into groups and have them role play the icebreaker game. How
many children step forward when the question is asked, "Has anybody seen someone get shot
before?" What do the Freedom Writers decide to share at that point? Why does a little girl
begin to cry? What happens after the little girl cries? How are the children's stories similar to
what the Freedom Writers experience? Is the mentoring session mutually beneficial? Why or
why not?
148
4) Homework: Write a short essay about the mentoring session at Butler Elementary. Why are
the students asked to speak at the school? What are the backgrounds of the students who
attend the elementary school? What do the students do at the school? Describe the icebreaker
game. How can the elementary students relate to the Freedom Writers? How do the Freedom
Writers encourage the children?
Lesson 25
Objective: Chapter VIII, Senior Year - Spring 1998 The Freedom Writers win two awards. This
lesson discusses the awards they win and why they win them.
1) Class Discussion: What is the first award the students win? What are the qualifications for
winning the award? Why is it unorthodox for the Freedom Writers to win? What does the
center want Gruwell to do when she first submits the application? What is the only catch about
accepting the award? What is the second award the students win? What do they receive this
award for? What is the quote on the invitation?
2) Graphic Organizer: Compare the two awards that the students win. How are the awards
similar? How are they different? What are the qualifications to win these awards? Do both
awards have to be accepted in person?
3) Group Discussion: What things do the Freedom Writers do that qualify them to win these
awards? How does Gruwell help the students learn to combat discrimination? How are the
Freedom Writers fighting discrimination? How are they changing the world one life at a time?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about the awards. How do the student qualify for the
awards? How does Gruwell help them get the awards? How have the awards make a difference
in the students' lives?
Lesson 26
Objective: Chapter VIII, Senior Year - Spring 1998 A student in Diary 129 believes the statement
"Whoever saves one life saves the world entire" is very powerful. This lesson discusses what the
statement means to the student and how the statement affects her actions.
1) Class Discussion: Where do the students read the statement, "Whoever saves one life save
the world entire"? What does this phrase mean? How does the student interpret this phrase?
What happens in Germany because of silence? What happens in the student's life because she
was silent?
2) Group Discussion: What does the student decide to do because of this phrase? Who does the
student tell next? Why does the student ask a cousin if she was molested? How does the
student feel when she learns that her cousin was molested by the same person who raped her?
149
Why does the student get more confidence to speak out? Does the student want revenge? Why
or why not? Write a few paragraphs about the student's decision to report her uncle. What
leads the student to report the abuse? What does the student want to stop by reporting this?
3) Writing Assignment: Write several paragraphs about why the phrase influences the student
so greatly. Why does the statement make the student think about what she endures? Why does
this statement make the student want to make a different?
4) Homework: Write about the statement "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire."
What does the statement mean? What does it mean to the student in Diary 129? How does the
statement spur the student to action? How does the student's actions save others?
Lesson 27
Objective: Chapter VIII, Senior Year - Spring 1998 When the students are in New York City, they
learn that their book is published. The objective of this lesson is to learn more about the book
and how it is published.
1) Class Discussion: Who publishes "The Freedom Writers Diary"? Why is one student overjoyed
that this is the publishing house that publishes the book? Why does one student compare the
Freedom Writers to Mollys and Boxers from the novel "Animal Farm"? How are some students
like Boxers? Why are some students like Mollys? How do the Boxers feel about the Mollys?
What do the agent, the lawyer, and Gruwell want the book to be? What happens to destroy the
project? What does the student want the Mollys to do?
2) Group Discussion: Discuss the book agent. How do the student's describe the book agent?
Why do they describe her that way? What does one student think when they hear the agent
described that way? What does the agent look like? Is the book agent fair? How is a book
agent's job like a pimp?
3) Writing Assignment: Write a few paragraphs about some students' reactions to having their
diaries published. Why is one student pleased that the publisher is Doubleday? Why won't the
student imagine his/herself as a "starving artist" any more? How does the writer of Diary 123
feel about the book project?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about the book that is published. What is the name of the
book? How does that change? Who helps the Freedom Writers find a publisher? Who publishes
the book? Are all the students pulling together to get the project done?
Lesson 28
Objective: Epilogue In the epilogue, Gruwell shares that she is also leaving Wilson High School.
This lesson discusses Gruwell's future plans.
150
1) Class Discussion: Where does Gruwell go after the students graduate? What is her title?
What are her responsibilities? How is she still going to help the Freedom Writers? What does
she do to help them hone their writing skills? What are the plans for the first summer after
graduation?
2) Group Discussion: Are you surprised to learn that Gruwell left Wilson High? Do you think the
other teachers at Wilson influenced her decision to leave? Why did she wait to leave until the
students graduated? Does Gruwell have more or less influence teaching on the college level?
Why?
3) Writing Assignment: Write about the reasons why Gruwell left Wilson High. Was Gruwell
tired of the infighting at Wilson? Is Gruwell simply wishing to inspire other teachers so that
there are other 203s?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about Gruwell's future plans. What is she doing? What type
of influence does she have? Who is she mentoring? How does she continue to help the
Freedom Writers?
Lesson 29
Objective: Epilogue At the beginning of the Epilogue, Gruwell remembers how the students
chanted "Freedom Writers have a dream" in Washington, D.C. This lesson explores how the
Freedom Writers dreams and how those dreams are being fulfilled.
1) Class Discussion: How is high school graduation the realization of a dream? What dream do
the students pursue in the fall? What do the students dream of doing the summer of 1999?
How are they honing their skills so their dream of a book can come true? What tragic event
makes the Freedom Writers even more determined to dream and to help others to dream? Do
you see the Freedom Writers continuing to set new goals and find new dreams?
2) Group Discussion: What is a dream the students have for the summer of 1999? Why do they
feel the trip is a logical extension of all they do? What do they see when they go? Why is the
trip a symbolic trip? What things are the students doing to help them achieve their dreams?
3) Writing Assignment: Write several paragraphs about the students' dream to go to Europe.
What inspires them to want to go to Europe? How is this trip a logical conclusion to their
journey? Is the trip the end of their journey or a beginning? Why?
4) Homework: Write a short essay about how Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream speech inspires
the students. How do they use his motto? What are their dreams? How do the difficulties they
live through help them to be strong? How does Gruwell inspire them to dream about the
future?
151
Lesson 30
Objective: Epilogue In the Epilogue, we learn that most of the students go on to college and are
adjusting to their new lives. This lesson explores the students new lives.
1) Class Discussion: What does Gruwell say that the Freedom Writers have to learn? How is the
first semester of college for the students? Is the semester more difficult for some than others?
How is Gruwell continuing to assist the students?
2) Group Discussion: What happens to the student who has cystic fibrosis? Does he accomplish
some goals? If so, what? How does the boy's mother feel about what her son accomplished?
3) Writing Assignment: Write a few paragraphs about what the students are doing now. Where
do most of them go after graduation? How do the students adjust to their new lives? What are
some things the students are doing in addition to going to college?
4) Homework: Write about the students' futures. How are the students breaking the cycle of
poverty and violence that they grow up in? How are the students pulling others along with
them?
152
Fun Activities
Letter to the Freedom Writers
Write a letter to Erin Gruwell and/or the Freedom Writers telling them what you think of the
book "The Freedom Writers Diary".
Freedom Writers, the Movie

Watch the movie, "The Freedom Writers".
Museum of Tolerance
Make an online visit to the Museum of Tolerance.
Dear Diary
Begin a diary about your school and home experiences.
Erin Gruwell Biography

Write a biographical sketch of Erin Gruwell. Include what she is doing now.
Miep Gies
Research Miep Gies' life and write about her life and why her family hid Anne Frank.
United States Holocaust Museum

Visit the United States Holocaust Museum online.
Book Review
Write a book review of the book, "The Freedom Writers Diary".
153
Newspaper Article
In the book is a page with headlines of what newspapers say about the Freedom Writers. Pick a
headline and write a newspaper article about the Freedom Writers.
Create an Award
In the book, the Freedom Writers win many awards. Create an award, the requirements for
winning the award, and write why the Freedom Writers should get your award.
See the Sites

In the book, the Freedom Writers travel to Washington, D.C. and New York City. Create a poster
that shows the sites the students visited at either or both of these cities.
Peanut Game
Play the Peanut Game.
Comparison
Use a Venn diagram to compare your life to the lives of the Freedom Writers.
Book Poster
Design a poster promoting the book.
Timeline
Make a timeline that shows the major events that happen in the students' lives in the book.
Map It
Use a map and show the various places the Freedom Writers travel in the book and after
graduation when they go to Europe.
154
Interview
Create 10-15 questions for one of the students or Gruwell if you are able to do an interview
with them.
Where Are They Now

Research online or offline and find out what some of the Freedom Writers are doing now.
Postcards from the Freedom Writers

Create postcards that the students might send from their trips.
Anne Frank
Research Anne Frank's life and write a short biography about her.
155
Oral Reading Evaluation Sheet
Name: _________________________ Period: _______________________
5 = Above Average 3 = Average 1 = Below Average
Audibility - Projecting your voice so your audience can hear and understand you.
5 4 3 2 1
Pronunciation - Ability to recognize words before you say them and pronounce all the sounds
correctly.
5 4 3 2 1
Articulation - Using your tongue, mouth and lips to pronounce all the sounds correctly.
5 4 3 2 1
Vocal Variety/Expression - Using appropriate pitch, volume and flow.
5 4 3 2 1
Rate - Reading a speed, or pace that is easy to follow.
5 4 3 2 1
Comments:
156
Reading Assignment Sheet
Name: _________________________ Period: _______________________
Date Assigned Date Due Date Completed

Reading Assignment
To Page: _____ __________ __________ __________
To Page: _____ __________ __________ __________
To Page: _____ __________ __________ __________
To Page: _____ __________ __________ __________
To Page: _____ __________ __________ __________
To Page: _____ __________ __________ __________
To Page: _____ __________ __________ __________
To Page: _____ __________ __________ __________
To Page: _____ __________ __________ __________
157
Writing Evaluation Form
Name: _________________________ Period: _______________________
5 = Above Average 3 = Average 1 = Below Average
Clear thesis or position Strong conclusion
5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1
Relevant supporting arguments Grammar
5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1
Transitions between paragraphs Spelling
5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1
Clarity of expression Punctuation
5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1
Comments:
158
One Week Quiz A
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter VII, Senior
Year - Fall 1997.

(a) Teachers at the high school.
(b) Dr. Cohn and Karin Polacheck.
(c) The teachers' union.
(d) John Tu.

(a) The principal has new restrictions.
(b) There is one ordeal after the other from race riots to walkouts.
(c) She is not allowed to stay after school.
(d) The school board does not allow field trips.
(a) Tu is shorter than her father.
(b) That Tu gives her more attention in seven minutes than her dad has in seven years.
(c) Tu is taller than her father.
(d) Tu is very rude to her.
(a) Nancy Phillips.
(b) Anita Wright.
(c) Nellie WIlliams.
(d) Nancy Wride.
(a) To graduate from high school.
(b) To leave the gang.
(c) To become a doctor.
(d) The road to college.
159
160
Multiple Choice Questions Key
1. B
2. B
3. B
4. D
5. D

Because she can never stab herself over a guy.
Jingle Bells.
Cancer.
The woman who kept Anne Frank alive in the attic.
161
Two Week Quiz A
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter V, Junior
Year - Fall 1996.

(a) Twenty-one.
(b) Fifteen.
(c) Nineteen.
(d) Twelve.

(a) Because the friend is white.
(b) They don't have any money.
(c) The movie is rated R.
(d) They can't go without an adult chaperone.

(a) The students are embarassed of their writing.
(b) The school board says the students have to remain anonymous.
(c) The principal insisted that the students remain anonymous.
(d) To protect the students and show the universality of their experiences.
(a) Meet a friend.
(b) Put lipstick on clothes she tries on.
(c) Shoplift.
(d) Tears clothes that she tries on.
(a) Because the student has asthma.
(b) Because the student has cystic fibrosis.
(c) Because the student is overweight.
(d) Because the student broke an arm.
162
sophomore year?
163
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. C
5. C

It is either Wilson or boot camp.
sophomore year?
Hope.
Because it all has sex, fornication, drugs, and cussing.
Finding the body of a little girl with other dead bodies waiting to be burned.
164
Four Week Quiz A
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter II,
Freshman Year - Spring 1995.

(a) She also works at the Marriott Hotel and Norstroms.
(b) Private donors.
(c) Gruwell has a trust fund.
(d) The students and their parents pay.

(a) That the student has to repeat the class next year.
(b) She believes in her.
(c) That she can tutor the student over the summer.
(d) That the student will never graduate.

(a) There is one ordeal after the other from race riots to walkouts.
(b) The principal has new restrictions.
(c) The school board does not allow field trips.
(d) She is not allowed to stay after school.
(a) There is a bathroom for whites and one for other races.
(b) There is an attendant in the bathroom.
(c) The bathrooms have real towels, no trash on the floor, and no stall doors missing.
(d) You have to pay a quarter to use the bathroom.

(a) Write their own diaries.
(b) Quit school.
(c) Talk to their parents about improving their lives.
(d) Write a screenplay.
165
166
1. A
2. B
3. A
4. C
5. A

Erin Gruwell.
People do change.
Before the war in Bosnia began.
Being overweight.
167
Four Week Quiz B
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter VIII, Senior
Year - Spring 1998.

(a) No one, Zlata goes alone.
(b) Zlata grandparents.
(c) Zlata's parents and her best friend, Mirna.
(d) Zlata's teacher.

(a) They do not have the educational background to do well.
(b) The students have learning disabilities.
(c) Some parents cannot help complete applications and others cannot afford the application
fee.
(d) They do not have transportation to get where the test is given.

(a) They are teenagers.
(b) They like the same rock bands.
(c) They have all lost parents.
(d) They all have seen war.
(a) Invite Zlata to come speak to the class.
(b) Go to Europe.
(c) Go see Schindler's List.
(d) Write diaries.

(a) Drop out of school.
(b) Do well in his studies.
(c) Make his preppy student teacher cry.
(d) Play basketball.
168
5. What is different about rooming arrangements when the Freedom Writers go to New York?
169
1. C
2. C
3. A
4. A
5. C

Nicaragua.
Holocaust Museum.
A Prima Donna.
The road to college.
5. What is different about rooming arrangements when the Freedom Writers go to New York?
Gruwell chooses who rooms with who.
170
Eight Week Quiz A
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 1,
Freshman Year - Fall 1994.

(a) The friends drop out of school.
(b) The friends are put in juvenile dentention.
(d) Because the friends don't want to see the student any more.

(a) One student is beaten until bones are broken and another student is humiliated.
(b) They kill someone.
(d) They deface school property.

(a) Because her teacher assigned diary writing as a school project.
(b) As a place to record her childhood.
(c) As a place to keep secrets from her parents.
(d) Because her grandmother encouraged her to do so.
(a) None of the students know what the Holocaust is.
(b) The lessons are not appropriate for the class.
(c) The students are not smart enough to handle the work.
(d) The lessons are geared toward white middle class students.

(a) They like the same rock bands.
(b) They are teenagers.
(c) They all have seen war.
(d) They have all lost parents.
171
172
1. C
2. A
3. B
4. A
5. B

Make his preppy student teacher cry.
Inspire people to write to fight prejudice and to deal with events in a positive way.
She also works at the Marriott Hotel and Norstroms.
173
Eight Week Quiz B
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter II,
Freshman Year - Spring 1995.

(a) The lessons are not appropriate for the class.
(b) The students are not smart enough to handle the work.
(c) None of the students know what the Holocaust is.
(d) The lessons are geared toward white middle class students.

(a) Before the war in Bosnia began.
(b) Three days before the war ended.
(c) After the war began in Bosnia.
(d) When the war ended.
(a) Other people have difficult lives also.
(c) That the panelists overcome many hardships.
(d) The student does not have anything in common with the diversity panelists.

(a) Write a screenplay.
(b) Quit school.
(c) Write their own diaries.
(d) Talk to their parents about improving their lives.
(a) People are different because of their experiences in life.
(b) People can't live in harmony because they won't accept each other's skin color or beliefs.
(c) Grwell makes some very odd comparisons to everyday life.
(d) Gruwell has an interesting way of looking at life.
174
175
1. C
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. B

March, 1996.
Because the student is white.
Erin Gruwell.
176
Eight Week Quiz C
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter III,
Sophomore Year - Fall 1995.

(a) Write a screenplay.
(b) Write their own diaries.
(c) Quit school.
(d) Talk to their parents about improving their lives.
sophomore year?
(a) Hope.
(b) Nice.
(c) Work.
(d) Give.

(a) The school board says the students have to remain anonymous.
(b) To protect the students and show the universality of their experiences.
(c) The students are embarassed of their writing.
(d) The principal insisted that the students remain anonymous.

(a) One student is beaten until bones are broken and another student is humiliated.
(b) They kill someone.
(c) They deface school property.
(d) They beat someone up.

(a) Because her teacher assigned diary writing as a school project.
(b) As a place to keep secrets from her parents.
(c) Because her grandmother encouraged her to do so.
(d) As a place to record her childhood.
177
178
1. B
2. A
3. B
4. A
5. D

Gruwell serves as parent, friend, advocate, and teacher.
Shoplift.
179
Eight Week Quiz D
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter IV,
Sophomore Year - Spring 1996.

(a) They can't go without an adult chaperone.
(b) The movie is rated R.
(c) Because the friend is white.
(d) They don't have any money.
(a) He has to have sinus surgery.
(b) The student's mother dies.
(c) He has to be in juvenile hall.
(d) The student's father dies.
(a) To keep reading about heroes.
(b) The strength and power to do things is in them.
(c) She keeps in touch by writing.
(d) To raise money for Bosnia.

(a) The friends are put in juvenile dentention.
(b) Because the friends don't want to see the student any more.
(d) The friends drop out of school.

(a) Fifteen.
(b) Twelve.
(c) Nineteen.
(d) Twenty-one.
180
kids?
181
1. C
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. A

kids?
A basketball tournament.
She believes in her.
Zlata's parents and her best friend, Mirna.
They take 2-3 buses.
182
Eight Week Quiz E
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter VI, Junior
Year - Spring 1997.

(a) The opportunity to go to the Medieval Times restaurant.
(b) Creating a movie about King Arthur.
(c) Making swords.
(d) Dressing up in medieval costumes.
(a) When Gruwell's class goes to the school board.
(b) When Gruwell's class is invited to meet Spielberg.
(c) When Gruwell's class puts on a play.
(d) When Gruwell's class startes getting good grades.

(a) Because the student is an alcoholic.
(b) Because the student is taking crystal meth.
(c) Because the student has a fight with a best friend.
(d) Because the student shoplifts.
(a) Three days.
(b) One day.
(c) Two weeks.
(d) A month.

(a) A friend of Zlata Filipovic.
(b) The woman who kept Anne Frank alive in the attic.
(c) Director of the Museum of Tolerance.
(d) A teacher at Wilson High.
183
184
1. A
2. B
3. B
4. D
5. B

Being overweight.
She was given some influence in the world.
Holocaust Museum.
185
Eight Week Quiz F
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter VII, Senior
Year - Fall 1997.

(a) The school board is not happy with Gruwell's methods.
(b) Gruwell may be leaving.
(c) Other teachers are saying Gruwell doesn't haven't enough seniority to pick students.
(d) The principal wants to split up the class.
everyone else?
(a) She doesn't get many present as a child and her parents are trying to make up for it.
(b) Because her husband is sorry for the years he isn't there for the family.
(c) Christmas Eve is her birthday.
(d) Because she has so many children.

(a) Basketball tournaments.
(b) A nonprofit organization is created.
(c) Sell the rights to their diaries.
(d) Concerts.

(a) Twenty-one.
(b) Nineteen.
(c) Fifteen.
(d) Twelve.
(a) An earthquake.
(b) Race riots.
(c) Oklahoma City bombing.
(d) An airplane crash.
186
187
1. C
2. C
3. B
4. C
5. C

Gruwell gets angry and says that if you fail, I fail.
Anne's strength remains to lead and inspire.
188
Eight Week Quiz G
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Epilogue.

(a) Go to an impoverished country and build houses.
(b) Go to China.
(c) Visit South America.
(d) Tour Europe.

(a) Cancer of the liver.
(b) Congenital heart defects.
(c) Clinical depression.
(d) Cystic fibrosis.

(a) December, 1997.
(b) September, 1998.
(c) March, 1996.
(d) March, 2006.
(a) She is not sure that she wants to take another trip so soon.
(b) She is too tired.
(c) She has to deal with practical matters of the trip.
(d) Their funds are getting low and they do not have as many sponsors any more.
(a) She says that she is Serbian.
(b) She says that she is a human being.
(c) She says that she is Croatian.
(d) She says that she is Muslim.
189
190
1. D
2. C
3. C
4. C
5. B

Because either they, a family member, or a friend has been in jail.
Because the student is taking crystal meth.
Teachers doesn't usually call to say Tommy is doing well.
191
Mid-Book Test - Easy
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

(a) Because she can never stab herself over a guy.
(b) Because she sees things in him she does not like.
(c) Because she does not want to see him as often.
(d) Because she is becoming interested in another guy.
(a) Put lipstick on clothes she tries on.
(b) Shoplift.
(c) Tears clothes that she tries on.
(d) Meet a friend.

(a) To be prom queen.
(b) To have her father be a dad.
(c) To have a boyfriend like John Tu.
(d) To have a date for the prom.

(a) That she is a closet drinker.
(b) That she is doing drugs.
(c) That she killed another student.
(d) That she is pregnant.

(a) Near the projects.
(b) Near downtown Los Angeles.
(c) A safe neighborhood near the ocean.
(d) In a gated community.
192
(a) The trial of the student's brother for murder.
(b) The student's mother's trial for murder.
(c) The Oklahoma City bombing.
(d) A trial where the student is a witness.
circumstances?
(a) Otherwise, they do not live to thirty years of age.
(b) Otherwise, they never go to college.
(c) Otherwise, history repeats with their children.
(d) Otherwise, they do not graduate from high school.

(a) March, 1996.
(b) March, 2006.
(c) December, 1997.
(d) September, 1998.

(a) Rich kids and poor kids from the projects.
(b) Mostly caucasian students.
(c) Mostly blacks.
(d) Mostly hispanics.
(a) That Gruwell is an extraordinary teacher.
(b) That school can be interesting.
(c) People do change.
(d) How to study.
(a) Steven Spielberg.
(b) Zlata Filipovic.
(c) Miep Gies.
(d) Anne Frank.
(a) The student does not have anything in common with the diversity panelists.
(c) That the panelists overcome many hardships.
(d) Other people have difficult lives also.
193
(a) Her family was transferred to another camp.
(b) Her parents were dead, but her siblings were in Renee's barracks.
(c) Her father was dead, but her mother was in Renee's barracks.
(d) She could be reunited with her family in the crematorium.

(a) Anne Frank.
(b) Erin Gruwell.
(c) Emilie Gridwell.
(d) Elise Gonzalez.

(a) The student confesses to the crime.
(b) The student lies.
(c) The student takes the fifth.
(d) The student tells the truth.
194
195
Multiple Choice Answer Key
1. A 6. A 11. C
2. B 7. C 12. B
3. B 8. A 13. D
4. A 9. A 14. B
5. C 10. C 15. D
Short Answer Key

The attitudes of the other teachers.
Boring like the other teachers.
The Wave and Night.
She realizes her hypocrisy.
196
Final Test - Easy
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________

(a) They want to see the national library.
(b) They always wanted to travel abroard.
(c) That is where their journey began.
(d) They know they may never return to Washington, D.C.

(a) That no one has an abortion.
(b) That he was with his girlfriend when she had her abortion.
(c) That his girlfriend did not have an abortion.
(d) That more girls make the choice to have an abortion.

(a) Zlata is the inspiration for the latest writing project.
(b) Gruwell thanks her for coming to see the class.
(c) Gruwell asks her if she comes again.
(d) That Gruwell is going to Bosnia.

(a) Anne Frank's parents.
(b) Anne's best friends from school before the war.
(c) Anne Frank's aunt and uncle.
(d) Children from the family that hid the Franks during the war.
5. Why at the Lincoln Monument does Gruwell begin to understand why moms cry at school
plays and graduations?
(a) She can't find one of the students.
(b) She is so proud of the Freedom Writers.
(c) She is worried about getting everyone back on the buses.
(d) She is not looking forward to losing the students after they graduated.
197
(a) U. S. Secretary of Education.
(b) Their congressman.
(c) Their senator.
(d) President of the United States.

(a) Go to an impoverished country and build houses.
(b) Visit South America.
(c) Tour Europe.
(d) Go to China.
(a) How he died from a brain tumor.
(b) How he died in a car accident.
(c) How he died from a shooting.
(d) How he died from a knife wound.
(a) Because the student does feel their writing is very good.
(b) Because the student does not like being anonymous.
(c) Because the student thinks everyone should write their own book.
(d) The student would rather write fiction than be reminded of events s/he wishes to suppress.
(a) He is a professional alcoholic.
(b) He works hard.
(c) He loves her mother very much.
(d) He is never home.

(a) It is like taking speed.
(b) It has the power to control like a lasso on a horse.
(c) It makes you dizzy like being on a carnival ride.
(d) It makes you drowsy.
198
lazy"?
(a) Martin Luther King, Jr.
(b) Miep Gies.
(c) Anne Frank.
(d) Zlata Filipovic.
(a) To become a doctor.
(b) To leave the gang.
(c) To graduate from high school.
(d) The road to college.
semester begins?
(a) Rosa Parks.
(b) Harry Belafonte.
(c) Celeste Wiley.
(d) Lurma Rackley.
(a) "Silence gets you nowhere in life."
(b) "Success comes only to those who take advantage of opportunities."
(c) "A missed opportunity can never be made up."
(d) "Only those who take advantage of opportunities in life succeed."
199
200
1. C 6. A 11. B
2. B 7. C 12. C
3. A 8. A 13. D
4. B 9. D 14. B
5. B 10. A 15. A
Short Answer Key

Doubleday.
Because after he hits, their apartment and the student's mother look like they've been in a
tornado.
A person who does not work hard.
Pulling family members and friends along too.
201
Mid-Book Test - Medium
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay
questions.

(a) The school board does not allow field trips.
(b) There is one ordeal after the other from race riots to walkouts.
(c) The principal has new restrictions.
(d) She is not allowed to stay after school.

(a) They deface school property.
(b) One student is beaten until bones are broken and another student is humiliated.
(d) They kill someone.
(a) Make money so the Freedom Writers can pay for college.
(b) Help the families of the Freedom Writers.
(c) Inspire people to write to fight prejudice and to deal with events in a positive way.
(d) Help the Freedom Writers become successful writers.
Anne Frank?
(a) Gang leaders.
(b) Good teachers.
(c) Super heroes in tights.
(d) Civil Rights leaders.

(a) Different.
(b) Sharaud.
(c) Peculiar.
(d) Gruwell.
202
203
life"?
204
was?
205
1. B
2. B
3. C
4. C
5. D
Short Answer Key

A type of therapy to deal with everything that was going on with the war.
Mothers who adopt the class as their kids.
That anything is possible.
That Tu gives her more attention in seven minutes than her dad has in seven years.
206
Short Essay Answer Key
life"?
In Diary 103, the only person the student know that graduated from college is Gruwell. In fact,
the student does not even know any girls who graduated from high school.
community.
A student's father dislikes her best friend because the girl is white. The student's father wants
her to have only black friends. He is always telling his daughter that white people will stab you
in the back.
207
A student begins to think about the consequences of suicide after reading the part in the
"Catcher in the Rye" where Holden Caulfield talks about a friend's suicide. This student never
realized the effect that a suicide has on the people left behind.
Gruwell is frightened sometimes when she drives students home because their neighborhoods
are so dangerous. Gruwell has seen prostitutes, a crack dealer, and even gangsters hanging out.
Plus, there are many makeshift altars with flowers and candles adorning bloodstained concrete
where the latest casualty happens.
was?
One student decides that she is not as in love with her boyfriend as she thought, because she
would not kill herself because of him. The class is reading Romeo and Juliet and the student
cannot believe that Juliet stabs herself over a guy she knows for only a few days.
Gruwell wants Zlata to speak to the class to put a face on the genocide in Bosnia. Gruwell
startes the project as a ploy to get the student to write letters, however the students take her
seriously.
In Diary Two, a student wonders why he is in Gruwell's English class because he is the only
white student. He does not feel that he belongs in a class of rejects.
208
Final Test - Medium
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________

(a) Their congressman.
(b) President of the United States.
(c) Their senator.
(d) U. S. Secretary of Education.

(a) Kanye West.
(b) Eminem.
(c) 50 Cent.
(d) Snoop Doggy Dogg.

(a) Donations from wealthy donors.
(b) A bake sale.
(c) A basketball game.
(d) A concert.
chant?
(a) Dreams make you free.
(b) Freedom Writers have a dream.
(c) Be free, dream.
(d) Freedom forever.

(a) How a best friend died in a gang war.
(b) The books the student has read that influence him.
(c) The gang the student belongs to.
(d) The student's abusive father.
209
5. During the diversity seminar, what does a student remember about how his/her brother died
during his/her sophomore year?
210
1. D
2. D
3. D
4. B
5. D
Short Answer Key

Anne's best friends from school before the war.
France.
Go to New York City.
How he died from a brain tumor.
211
Mid-Book Test - Hard
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay
topics.

apartment?
internment camps?
212
life"?
213
award?
9. What is tagging?
214
Essay Topics
Essay Topic 1
What does it mean "World peace is only a dream because people won't allow themselves and
others around them to simply be peanuts"? Explain the meaning of the phrase, and why a
student compares people to peanuts. How do peanuts compare to people? What happens if
people are allowed to be peanuts? What does people living in harmony have to do with the
appearance of peanuts?
Essay Topic 2
The fall semester of 1996, a student says that America is at war. Is America at war? Why or why
not? What examples are provided in the book? Why do students at Wilson High School say that
America is at war? Who are the combatants if America is at war?
Essay Topic 3
Write why Gruwell decides that she is being hypocritical at the beginning of the sophomore
year. What is hypocrisy? How is Gruwell being hypocritical? How is Gruwell using labels to
describe people? What is the danger of stereotyping? How many of the teachers actually are
out to get Gruwell? Who helps Gruwell understand her hypocrisy?
215
Short Answer Key
apartment?
Room 203.
internment camps?
They become abusive and don't care if they hurt their families.
Short Essay Answer Key

A student decides to buy a gun in Chapter 1, because that is the only way to protect him/herself
from "older fools with bats and knives." These fools pick on the student because s/he is a
different race.
216
life"?
community.
A student feels that "National Spokesperson for the Plight of Black People" is stamped on her
forehead because her teachers treat her as if she alone has the answers to the mysterious
creatures that black people are. Whenever anything comes up in class about blacks or life for
blacks, teachers ask her to present the black perspective.
Miep Gies is the woman responsible for keeping Anne Frank alive in the attic. She hid the Frank
family from the Nazi soldiers and later found Anne's diary. When Anne was captured, she tried
to bribe the officers to let her friends go, but the officers threatened to kill her.
217
When some students starting seeing swastikas on walls in the city, they decide to do something
about it. They create a logo for the Freedom Writers and have several copies made. Then,
whenever they see a swastika, they tape their logo over it.
award?
The founders of the Guess? Company want to help the students get to New York City to accept
an award because they are Jewish and suffer persecution.
9. What is tagging?
Tagging is like graffiti. It is writing with markers on any surface whether it is a wall, trash can, or
something else.
A student transfers from the Distinguished Scholars program to Gruwell's class because the
student isn't comfortable in the program. The teachers in the program act as if they are better
than everyone else. Plus, the other students make it clear that they are better than everyone
else because of their race, economic state, and the classes they are taking. Even though the
student is white, lives in the same neighborhood, and has all the same classes, the student
wants out.
218
Final Test - Hard
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

spring of 1997?
219
Essay Topics
Essay Topic 1
The students study Ralph Waldo Emerson when learning about self-reliance. What does this
quote by Emerson mean: "Who so should be a man, must be a nonconformist"? How does the
quote relate to self-reliance? From their diary entries, list examples of how the students are
becoming more self-reliant. How is Gruwell helping the students become more self-reliant?
How are the circumstances in their daily lives making the students more self-reliant?
Essay Topic 2
In Diary 119, a student asks journalist Peter Maass how he can "simply sit and watch people
die." Write about Mr. Maass's answer. Do you agree with his answer? Why or why not?
Essay Topic 3
In the foreword to the book, Zlata mentions that good comes out of something bad. Several
students, also mention in their diary entries how something bad turns into something positive.
Write about what Zlata means that good comes from bad. What examples does Zlata give that
shows good comes from bad circumstances? What do students say about difficult
circumstances providing positive results? Provide examples from the book when something
seems negative, but leads to positive results.
220
Short Answer Key
spring of 1997?
They join hands and retrace the steps Martin Luther King Jr. walked.
Nancy Wride.
Tu offers the student a job.
He is a professional alcoholic.
Some parents cannot help complete applications and others cannot afford the application fee.
221

The Freedom Writers Diary Lesson Plans

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originalbeschreibung:

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

The Freedom Writers Diary Lesson Plans

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

The Freedom Writers Diary Lesson Plans

The Freedom Writers Diary by Freedom Writers

Target Grade: 7th-12th (Middle School and High School)

Browse The Freedom Writers Diary Lesson Plan:

Introduction Essay Topics

Lesson Plan Calendars

Character and Object Descriptions

Short Essay Questions

Essay Questions/Writing Assignments

These 20 Essay Questions/Writing Assignments can be used as essay questions on a test, or as

One Week Lesson Calendar

Before the unit begins:

Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Chapter Test

Two Week Lesson Calendar

Before the unit begins:

Homework Assignment: Read through Chapter 1, Freshman Year - Fall 1994

1 Lesson from 1 Lesson from 1 Lesson from 1 Lesson from Quiz

Four Week Lesson Calendar

Before the unit begins:

Homework Assignment: Read through Foreword

Review Chapter Review Chapter Review Review Chapter Quiz

Review Chapter Review Review Chapter Review Review Chapter

Review Chapter 1 Lesson from Review Chapter Review Review Chapter

Review Review Chapter Review Daily Lesson 30 Test

Eight Week Lesson Calendar

Before the unit begins:

Homework Assignment: Read through Foreword

Review Chapter Daily Lesson 1 Review Review Chapter Quiz

Daily Lesson 4 Review Review Chapter Review Fun Activity 5

Review Chapter Quiz Review Review Review Chapter

Daily Lesson 12 Review Review Chapter Review Test

Daily Lesson 15 Daily Lesson 16 Review Review Chapter Quiz

Review Review Chapter Review Review Quiz

Review Chapter Daily Lesson 24 Review Review Chapter Quiz

Review 1 In-Class Collect essay Review Test

Daily Lesson 28 Homework Daily Lesson 29 Daily Lesson 30

Filipovic is a major inspiration to the students on an intellectual and emotional level.

Chapter 1, Freshman Year - Fall 1994

Chapter II, Freshman Year - Spring 1995

Chapter III, Sophomore Year - Fall 1995

A student from the Distinguished Scholars program requests to be transferred to Gruwell's

Chapter IV, Sophomore Year - Spring 1996

The students are turning into "scholars with a conscience."

Zlata Filipovic is able to come to speak to the class.

Chapter V, Junior Year - Fall 1996

Self-reliance becomes a theme of the diary entries.

Chapter VI, Junior Year - Spring 1997

Chapter VII, Senior Year - Fall 1997

Gruwell's focus this year is to prepare the Freedom Writers to go on to college.

Chapter VIII, Senior Year - Spring 1998

Zlata Filipovic - This author's diary chronicled the Bosnian war.

Bosnian War - Zlata Filipovic wrote a book about this event.

2. When does Zlata meet the students of Wilson High School?

3. Who goes with Zlata to meet the students?

4. Where is Zlata's homeland?

5. What does Zlata have in common with the students?

6. Who is the teacher of the students at Wilson High School?

8. What are the students inspired to do after reading the diaries?

9. When did Zlata begin writing her diary?

10. Why did Zlata start writing a diary?

11. What did Zlata's diary become?

15. What good came out of Zlata's bad situation?

17. According to Zlata, what is important about what happens to people?