Refugee Novel Study | Refugee, Migrant or Asylum Seeker? Background Knowledge

Refugee Novel Study | Refugee, Migrant or Asylum Seeker? Background Knowledge

Help students better understand Refugee by Alan Gratz while learning the important differences between the terms refugee, migrant, asylum seeker, and internally displaced person.

This no-prep Refugee novel study background knowledge activity helps students move beyond using these terms interchangeably. Students research their specific meanings, examine how a person’s circumstances and status can change during a journey, and practice selecting the most accurate terminology based on evidence.
Students then apply their understanding directly to Josef, Isabel, or Mahmoud, analyzing a specific point in the character’s journey before collaborating to create a Refugee Context Gallery Exhibit.

Students Will:
- Distinguish between refugee, migrant, asylum seeker, and internally displaced person
- Apply terminology to realistic scenarios
- Identify the details that determine which term is most accurate
- Examine how circumstances and status can change during a journey
- Apply terminology to Josef, Isabel, or Mahmoud
- Support classifications with evidence
- Explain why accurate terminology matters
- Evaluate the reliability of research sources
- Collaborate to create a Gallery Walk presentation

What’s Included:
- Teacher Directions & lesson overview
- Mini research questions & reliable resources
- Group Gallery Walk activity
- 3 student research, application & planning pages
- Novel connection activities
- Gallery Exhibit planner & checklist
- Color and black-and-white student pages
Group Activity: Refugee Context Gallery Exhibit
Students work in groups to become experts on refugee, migrant, asylum seeker, and internally displaced person. They research the terminology using authoritative sources and create a Gallery Walk display that clearly distinguishes the four terms using specific examples.
As an added challenge, students identify which term applies to one of the novel’s three protagonists at a specific point in the story and explain their reasoning using evidence.

Perfect For:
- Refugee by Alan Gratz novel studies
- Pre-reading & background knowledge
- Middle school ELA
- Social Studies & Humanities
- Refugee and migration studies
- Cross-curricular ELA & Social Studies
- Sub plans

Why Teachers Love It:
- No prep and ready to use
- Builds important background knowledge for Refugee
- Goes beyond memorizing definitions
- Gives students practice applying terminology to real situations
- Encourages evidence-based reasoning
- Helps students understand that circumstances can change during a journey
- Makes meaningful connections to Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud
- Reinforces respectful and precise language when discussing displaced people
- Develops research, collaboration, analysis, and presentation skills

Students finish the lesson understanding not only what these commonly confused terms mean, but also why choosing the right word matters when discussing the experiences of real people and the characters in Refugee.