I fell in love with Salt to the Sea a while before I decided to create a unit for it. Sixth graders love reading about World War II and this book was another in a long line of good books about that time period. Plus, it was written by Ruta Sepetys, an author who has a good grasp of middle grade historical fiction. This book is told from four points of view, which adds to the attraction: Florian carries secrets, Joana carries guilt, Emilia shame, and Alfred carries a version of himself that isn't real. You don't understand all the connections until you're close to the end of the book.
I also had no idea about what was happening in the Baltic countries: Prussia, Lithuania, Poland, caught between Russia pushing in from the east and Germany collapsing on the west. I don't remember learning that history and I'd guess many of your students haven't either.
And here's the thing that gets me. Your students know something about the Titanic, right? How much do they know about the Wilhelm Gustloff? I'd never heard of it before reading this book. And yet its destruction killed six times more people than died on the Titanic. Maybe that's reason enough to learn about this ship on that fateful day in January, 1945.
What's Included in the Salt to the Sea unit?
I try to build units that are flexible so you can adapt them to your pace. This unit can run from 4 - 8 weeks, and can work as a whole-class read aloud or for use in lit circles. Here's what you get:
- A pre-reading piece about why Ruta Sepetys wrote the book, and a background knowledge web on the Baltic countries during World War II (it's okay if your students know very little)
- Maps of the region showing how much Europe has changed since World War I to today
- Text dependent questions organized by narrator and broken into natural chunks by page range
- Figurative language practice pulled directly from the text
- Many reading comprehension skills, again, from the text
- Extension projects like researching the Amber Room, creating a Google Earth tour, or making a movie trailer, among others, if you want a summative evaluation (or if your students are just curious to learn more!)
- A full answer key and an open-ended rubric for the extension project so that you can assign your own point values
Where Does Salt to the Sea Fit Best?
It's listed for 6th - 8th graders and I've had many 6th graders who read it independently, but I think the sweet spot for this book is 7th or 8th grade.
What Teachers Are Saying:
💡 "My students loved using this resource it was highly engaging. Questions require critical thinking and require students to demonstrate their understanding of the text." — Hanover Middle School H.
💡 "My 8th graders really connected with this resource! The activities sparked great discussions... perfect for both whole-class and small-group work." — Erica B.
💡 "This was the perfect companion to the novel Salt to the Sea. There were just enough questions to assess my students' understanding without begin overwhelming and I was impressed with the different skills that this product focuses on." — Kristy C.
FAQs:
What grade level is this best for?
- It can work for students from 6th - 8th grade, but the sweet spot is probably 7th or 8th grade. The content deals with wartime loss (in a very respectful way), but please preview it if you have more sensitive students.
Do I need to read the whole book to use this unit?
- No. Although it was written to be read completely, the sections are broken out by page ranges, so you can pick and choose how much you use.
Does this work better for Lit Circles or whole-class reading?
- Both. That's entirely your call. Great discussions come out of each.
Is there a final assessment?
- There is no final test, but there are extension projects that may be used as summative evaluations.
👍 Want the novel study guide so you still have your prep time to do other things? Click here.
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