20 pounds...
A Writing Assignment
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| A photo, taken circa 1937, of Gerda's father, Julius Weissmann, which Gerda kept in her ski boot during her years in Nazi slave-labor camps. Remember, Julius helped save Gerda's life by insisting that she wear her ski boots when the Nazis took her away. She had boots on the forced death march while others were barefoot or wearing sandals in the snow. |
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| A photo, taken circa 1939, of Gerda's mother, Helene Weissmann, which Gerda kept in her ski boot during her years in Nazi slave-labor camps. |
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| A photo, taken circa 1937, of Gerda's brother, Artur Weissmann, which Gerda kept in her boot with the other photos. Artur was the first in Gerda's immediate family to be taken away by the Nazis. Sixty-seven of Gerda's relatives, including her mother, father, and brother, died in the Holocaust. Only Gerda and her Uncle Leo, who had moved to Turkey, survived. |
Imagine you are forced to leave your home. You are allowed only 20 pounds of your most precious possessions. What would you take? What would you be forced to leave behind? How would this make you feel? On what would you base your choices? Would monetary value (how much something cost) mean less or more than emotional/personal value? Why?
If you'd like, you may write your short response (around 100 words) in the comment section. If this assignment is too personal for you to publish on the blog, feel free to word process your "20 pounds" response and either attach it in an email, or print it and hand it in Monday.
*Lesson plan courtesy of Teaching Tolerance, One Survivor Remembers teacher's guide, pg 21.
If i was forced out of my home and was only allowed to take 20 pounds of my precious possessions i would take. My warmest clothes,phone,Food to snack on and some money.It would make me feel sad to leave my home because i would wanna take more then 20 pounds.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone want to take ownership of this answer?
DeleteIf I was forced to leave me home and only take 20 pounds of my most prized possessions I would take my phone and my phone charger, as much clothes as I could, a toothbrush and tooth paste, shampoo, and all of my money. I would be forced to leave behind a lot of pictures, and books to read. I wouldn't have blankets, pillows, or anything to entertain myself. I would be very miserable to leave my home with my 20 pound bag of items because I would miss my house and my room a lot and I didn't want to leave. I would try to bring things more of monetary value so that I could sell it if I had to for something else because if I had more personal items no one would want them besides myself.
ReplyDeleteIf I were forced to leave my home and only take 20 pounds worth of stuff with me, I would take my phone,some small food items (so I don't get too hungry), a lot of warm clothing,as much money as i could carry, and maybe a notebook and pencil to pass the time. I think it would be very hard to choose what to take and what to leave. It would be terrible to be forced to make that choice. It would be sad to leave certain things behind. If it goes bad enough, i would sell some of the things I brought with me in order to get necessary things like food and other stuff. But mainly, i would take things important to me.
ReplyDeleteIf I was forced to leave, it would be hard for me to decide. I would for sure bring some food so I don't go hungry. I would also bring some warm clothing and a few blankets so I don't get cold. I would bring a notebook or something like that so I don't get bored. I would either write down my thoughts or draw or something like that. If I had room for anything else I would either bring my phone to stay in touch with my friends or I would bring my kindle so I could read or entertain myself with some games.
ReplyDeleteif I was forced to leave. This would be a very hard choice for me to make. I would say that I would take some clothing and blankets to keep me warm during the really cold freezing nights. I would also bring all my drawing things that I have, because i love to draw it really blocks the mind of things. Then lastly I would have to agree with Emily my phone just to keep in touch with everyone that i would like to keep in touch with.
ReplyDeleteIf had to take 20 pounds of my stuff i would take a backpack to carry all the stuff i bring, a knife for protection and to hunt, some extra close, strike anywhere matches to start a fire,a notebook and pen to keep myself busy, and some first aid/medical stuff if I get hurt or sick. This would make me feel a little sad because I couldn't bring the stuff I use to keep in touch with my friends. I would base my choices in more of a survival standpoint. I chose stuff more on a personal value because some emotional stuff will hold you back from taking more important stuff.
ReplyDeleteIf I was forced to leave my home and bring 20 pounds of my things I would bring blankets and hats and boots, warm clothes, my phone, my pocket knife for protection, and a book so I could read. I would have to leave behind my TV, my bed, couches, my basketball hoops, my car. I would literally be leaving my life behind me. I would feel sad about leaving behind most of my important things. I would base my choices on survival but also things that are special to me. How much something cost would me less value than personal value I would rather have something that I care about and is very special to me than have something that costs a lot and wouldn't do any good. If I brought something that costs a lot it wouldn't have any value and would just be useless.
ReplyDeleteIf I was forced to leave my house and bring only 20 pounds of my stuff I would probably bring my phone, some warm clothes, a sleeping bag, a couple of books so I wouldn't get bored, and some some food so I don't starve. I would have to leave behind a lot of other stuff like my bed, my TV, my computer, and pretty much everything in my room. It would be sad to leave everything behind, but if I could only bring 20 pounds of stuff, I would like it to be good stuff. I would try to sell somethings so I could bring some money with me if I needed it. The money would help me buy things that I really need, like food.
ReplyDeleteI would take my stuffed beagle puppy that I was given when I was born, a blanket, a pillow, my fadora that I bought in Chicago, some books that I read that I enjoyed reading and some books that I want to read, and a family photo to remind me of my family, too. I would hate to be forced out of my home, because I probably would never see my cat Max and the rest of family ever again.
ReplyDeleteIf i was forced out of my house and only let to take 20 pounds of stuff i would take my phone(so i could play games on it to pass some time)some very thick and warm clothes and some snacks and dry foods so it would not get rotten, also pillow and a blanket to stay warm. This would be so hard to leave behind my pets and my faimly and have to go somewhere where you barley know nobody.
ReplyDeleteIf I was forced out of my house and was only aloud to take 20 pounds worth of stuff I would take a bunch of food, I would wear a lot of clothes, I would bring pictures of my family and I for a memory. I would bring a blanket and a pillow also.
ReplyDeleteIf i had to leave my house with only 20 pounds of stuff, I would bring photos of my mom, dad, brother, dog, and grandparents because those people mean a lot to me. I would also bring some clothes and a blanket in case it got cold. I would wear winter boots to keep my feet warm. I would be forced to leave all of my large belongings and it would make me sad, but i can live without those things.
ReplyDeleteI would bring my like 5 or 6 sweatshirts/jackets for me and my family, i would bring like 2 or 3 duffel bags to put blankets and pillows in and finally i would bring a large first aid kit. I would bring those things because those are things that can keep you warm and the first aid kit can save your life.
ReplyDeleteIf I would leave with 20 pounds then I would bring my Phone, warm clothes, food like doritos, and blankets. I would bring these because it would keep me entertained/warm and healthy, it may save my life. I would feel bad leaving my house because I would never see my family ever again and I love them so much. I would bring something that would mean more to me than something that I would not care about worth a lot.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to leave with 20 pounds I would bring my phone and charger, clothing both warm and cool and some food. I think that I would also bring some stuff that means a lot to me like pictures and things from relatives who have passed. The sad thing that I would have to leave behind would be my pets and obviously my house.
ReplyDeleteIf I could only take 20 pounds of my belongings, I would bring pictures of all my family members, a pair of boots, clothes for both warm and cool weather, and food. I would bring the pictures so that if something bad happened to my family, I would have their photographs, boots for walking and storing other objects in like Gerda, clothes for staying cool/ warm in, and food to eat.
ReplyDeleteIf i could only bring twenty pounds of my possessions and leave everything else behind. I would probably take a pair of clothes, a hat, a couple bottles of water, and some food in a bag. I think these thing are the most relilable, Because you need food and water to survive and i think clothes would just be nice to have
ReplyDeleteIf I could only bring 20 pounds of my possessions and leave my house and everything else behind. I would bring a few pairs of clothes (warm), I would bring my phone, charger, some food to eat, and as much money as I can cary. I would also bring a few personal things like photos and some things that remind me of my childhood.
ReplyDeleteIf i had to leave home and only be able to take 20 pounds of stuff i would probity take warm clothes,a picture of all of my family members,my phone,my iPod,some money, and some light food like bread or chips.
ReplyDeleteIf I was forced to leave my home with only 20 puods of my belongings i would bring warm clothes photos and clothes for the summer pictures water food and a pet.
ReplyDeleteIf I was forced to leave my home with only 20 pounds of my stuff I would bring I family photo cloths that are big so I can grow into as I get bigger and I would bring money and a sleeping bag and the last thing I would bring is my phone and the charger because if things went bad music would always help me.
ReplyDelete