Refugee Novel Study Bundle | 10 Background Knowledge Lessons + Projects

Refugee Novel Study Bundle | 10 Background Knowledge Lessons + Gallery Walk Projects

Build the historical and real-world background students need to better understand Refugee by Alan Gratz with this 10-lesson, no-prep Refugee Novel Study Bundle for Grades 6–8.

This comprehensive resource takes students beyond the events of the novel to investigate the real people, places, historical events, cultures, policies, and global issues connected to the journeys of Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud. Students explore Nazi Germany, Jewish life before WWII, Cuba and the 1994 Rafter Crisis, Syria and the Civil War, refugee terminology, government policies, childhood displacement, and the worldwide refugee crisis today.

Each lesson combines focused background research with critical thinking, analysis, novel connections, and a collaborative Gallery Walk project. Rather than simply answering comprehension questions, students investigate meaningful questions, evaluate information, make connections, and teach their classmates what they have learned.

10 Lessons Included
- Josef — Germany 1939: Life Under Nazi Rule
Explore the historical conditions surrounding Josef’s story and life under Nazi rule.
- Jewish Life in Europe Before WWII
Examine Jewish communities, traditions, culture, and everyday life before the Holocaust.
- Cuba 1994 — The Cuban Rafter Crisis
Investigate Cuba’s Special Period, economic hardship, the 1994 migration crisis, and the dangerous journeys made by Cuban rafters.
- Cuba After the Revolution & Fidel Castro
Explore the political and social changes that shaped Cuba following the Cuban Revolution.
- Syria 2015 — Civil War & Displacement
Investigate the Syrian Civil War and the circumstances that forced millions of people from their homes.
- Syria Before the Civil War: People, Culture & Daily Life
Discover Syria beyond the conflict by exploring its people, communities, traditions, culture, and everyday life.
- Refugee, Migrant or Asylum Seeker?
Build understanding of important displacement terminology, including refugee, migrant, asylum seeker, and internally displaced person.
- Borders, Governments & Refugees
Examine how borders, asylum policies, international agreements, and government decisions can affect displaced people.
- Children & Displacement: Growing Up as a Refugee
Explore how displacement can affect education, family, safety, identity, belonging, and childhood while also examining resilience and adaptation.
- The Worldwide Refugee Crisis: Refugees Today
Investigate a current refugee or displacement crisis and connect the themes of the novel to real people and events around the world today.

What’s Included
- Teacher Directions
- Student-friendly topic overview
- Mini research questions
- Suggested research resources
- Collaborative Gallery Walk Project
- Research, analysis & planning pages
- Deeper-thinking activities
- Connections to Refugee
- Gallery Exhibit planning
- Color + printer-friendly black-and-white student pages

More Than Background Research
These lessons are designed to move students beyond simply finding facts.
Throughout the bundle, students:
- Analyze cause and effect
- Interpret historical and current information
- Examine multiple perspectives
- Distinguish between facts, statistics, and broader human experiences
- Evaluate sources and evidence
- Make connections between history and literature
- Consider how government decisions and historical events affect individuals
- Explore both the challenges and resilience of displaced people
- Synthesize research into meaningful conclusions
- Communicate their learning through collaborative Gallery Walk exhibits

Refugee Context Gallery Exhibits
Each lesson culminates in a Gallery Walk Presentation.
Small groups research a specific topic, select their strongest evidence, determine what classmates need to understand, and create an exhibit that communicates their findings clearly.

Instead of having every group research the same background information, teachers can also assign different lessons/topics to different groups and create a larger Refugee Background Knowledge Gallery Walk. Students become the experts on one topic while learning from the research of their classmates.
This makes the bundle especially useful as a pre-reading experience, novel launch, ongoing companion to the novel, or cross-curricular ELA/Humanities project.

Perfect For
- Refugee by Alan Gratz Novel Studies
- Middle School ELA
- Social Studies & Humanities
- Historical Fiction Units
- Background Knowledge
- Pre-Reading Activities
- WWII & Holocaust Context
- Cuba & the Cuban Rafter Crisis
- Syria & the Syrian Civil War
- Refugee & Migration Studies
- Global Studies
- Current Events
- Research & Inquiry
- Gallery Walks
- Project-Based Learning

Why Teachers Love This Bundle
- 10 complete background knowledge lessons
- No prep and ready to use
- Provides context for all three storylines in Refugee
- Combines history, geography, culture, government, and current global issues
- Helps students understand the world behind the novel
- Moves beyond basic comprehension worksheets
- Encourages meaningful research and deeper thinking
- Makes complex topics accessible to middle school students
- Builds connections between literature and real-world history
- Develops research, analysis, collaboration, and presentation skills
- Flexible enough to use lessons individually or as a complete unit
- Gallery Walk format allows students to learn from one another

Give students the context they need to understand not only what happens to Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud, but the historical events, cultures, policies, and real-world experiences behind their stories.