Teaching Materials
Joseph Schwartz's Story
by Carolyn Reeder

Before assigning the book:

1. Read the Historical Notes so you'll be prepared to answer students' questions.
2. Acquaint students with Joseph's world by showing 1860s photos of Baltimore: Joseph Schwartz's Baltimore (PowerPoint® file).

After the book is assigned:

On a blank outline map* of Maryland, have students:

1. Locate and label places referred to in the book: Baltimore, Annapolis, Chesapeake Bay, Potomac River, Frederick, Cockeysville, and Washington, DC.
2. Write in the names of states bordering Maryland. (Remind students that today's West Virginia was at this time part of Virginia.)
3. Locate Harpers Ferry (now WV).

For extra credit: Find where the 1861 railroad lines were and put them in.

*(Print maps from www.netstate.com/states/maps/md_maps.htm.)

After finishing the book:

Suggested Writing Assignments:

1. Choose one of the following for the subject of a character sketch: Joseph, Harold, Alex, Pa, Ma, Anneliese, or Franz. (For this assignment, students might find page 2 of www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/twisters_character_sketch_help.pdf useful.
2. Write an essay discussing the lack of opportunities for nineteenth-century women and girls, based on the lives of Ma and her daughters.
3. Imagine that Anneliese kept a secret diary that she wrote in by candlelight after her little sisters were asleep. Write four or five entries that might have appeared in this diary.
4. Imagine what might happen when Franz discovers the money he'd been saving replaced by his mother's note. Write the scene, making sure that your characters act in character.

Suggested Discussion Questions:

1. What are some of the reasons Joseph felt that he didn't fit in anywhere—not at home, at school, or in the neighborhood? To what extent to you think these were real issues, and to what extent was he worrying for no reason?
2. What were some of the rumors circulating in Baltimore at the beginning of the Civil War? How widespread are rumors today?
3. Flags were very important symbols at this time. What are some examples of the part flags played in the story?
4. What do you think Joseph's life at school would have been like if the other boys had known all along that he was a Unionist? What do you think next year will be like for him?
5. There are some things a person can't be taught but has to learn for themselves. What important life-lessons do you think Joseph learned "the hard way"?