Students will launch a whole-novel investigation into how words shape understanding during conflict by examining The Book Thief alongside accessible historical sources, analyzing vocabulary, generating questions, and creating a revised baseline response with a personal connection.

Students will refine an investigable question about the power of words during conflict, begin supported whole-class and independent reading of The Book Thief, and develop a peer-reviewed plan for gathering literary and historical evidence.

Students will continue supported and independent reading of The Book Thief while systematically collecting literary, vocabulary, and historical evidence. They will examine evidence that supports, complicates, or challenges their hypotheses and complete a graded midpoint quality check before advancing to analysis and essay development.

Students will analyze evidence gathered across The Book Thief and WWII-era nonfiction, test competing interpretations, and develop a warranted conclusion about how words shape understanding during conflict. They will draft and revise an evidence-based essay, construct a team exhibit prototype, and complete a rubric-based readiness assessment before the showcase phase.

Students will refine, present, and defend their conclusions about how words shape understanding during conflict, then reflect on their connections to The Book Thief and their growth as readers and researchers.