Refugee: Three Stories, One NovelThree Encounters With Strangers | Help or Harm

Refugee: Three Stories, One NovelThree Encounters With Strangers | Help or Harm Evidence Gallery

Not every stranger is a threat—and not every stranger is safe.
Help students dig deeper into Refugee by Alan Gratz by investigating the strangers whose choices change Josef's, Isabel's, and Mahmoud's journeys. In this engaging no-prep lesson, students examine moments of kindness, indifference, exploitation, and cruelty to determine how the actions of people outside each family can influence a refugee's chance of survival.

As students compare all three storylines, they discover an important pattern: kindness and cruelty can exist side by side in every era and every crisis, and seemingly small choices can have life-changing consequences for someone fleeing danger.

Designed for Grades 5–8 and 1–2 class periods of 45–60 minutes, this lesson blends literary analysis, character study, evidence-based reasoning, research, collaboration, and real-world connections.

Students Will
- Identify significant strangers who help or harm each family
- Analyze specific actions and their immediate and long-term consequences
- Use evidence from the novel to support conclusions
- Explore possible motivations behind acts of kindness and harm
- Trace how one person's choice can affect an entire journey
- Compare encounters across Josef's, Isabel's, and Mahmoud's storylines
- Evaluate which encounters have the greatest impact on survival
- Recognize that some encounters may be more complex than simply "helpful" or "harmful"
- Connect an encounter in the novel to refugee experiences today
- Make and defend an evidence-based judgment about which stranger's action matters most

What's Included
- Teacher Directions & Lesson Flow
- Student Overview + Mini Research Questions
- Help or Harm Group Activity
- 3 Student Research & Analysis Pages
- Color + Black-and-White Versions
- Resources, Differentiation & Assessment Ideas

What Teachers Love About This Lesson
- No prep and ready to use
- Moves beyond plot recall into deeper analysis
- Builds evidence-based reasoning
- Examines motivation, choices, and consequences
- Encourages comparison across all three storylines
- Creates meaningful real-world connections
- Supports collaborative discussion and critical thinking
- Flexible for individuals, partners, or groups
- Includes printer-friendly black-and-white versions

Perfect For
Refugee Novel Studies • Middle School ELA • Historical Fiction • Literary Analysis • Character Analysis • Cause & Effect • Evidence-Based Writing • Research • Group Work • Sub Plans • Grades 5–8

Disclaimer:
This resource is an independently created educational product designed to accompany the novel Refugee by Alan Gratz. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by, or sponsored by Alan Gratz, the publisher of Refugee, or any related copyright or rights holder.
The novel Refugee is NOT included with this resource. No portion of the novel's text is reproduced, provided, or distributed as part of this product. This resource is designed to supplement classroom reading and instruction and is not a substitute for the novel.
Teachers and students should use legally obtained copies of Refugee when completing activities that require reading, rereading, locating evidence, quoting, or otherwise referring to the text. Purchase of this resource does not provide a copy of the novel or permission to copy, scan, reproduce, upload, distribute, or otherwise share the book.
Refugee, its characters, storylines, settings, and other original elements remain the intellectual property of their respective copyright holders. References to the novel are included solely to support classroom instruction, literary analysis, research, discussion, comparison, and educational activities.