Stepping on the Cracks

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. World War II was the largest and deadliest war in history. How do you think the war affected peoples’ everyday lives? How would your life be changed if the country was currently engaged in a global conflict? How do you think a war today is different from WWII, which took place in the 1940s?

Teaching Suggestion and Helpful Links: World War II informs the lives of all the characters in Stepping on the Cracks, from home to school. Take the students on a virtual field trip and explore historical images and videos of World War II to give them a sense of the magnitude of the conflict, and its impact on daily life.

• Snapshot: The Decades: 1940s from PBS Western Reserve features footage from the era and gives a concise and engaging look at the war’s impact abroad and at home.
• America’s Call to Arms  and The Civilian Services are actual newsreels from Periscope Film that depict the nation’s attitude toward the war.

2. Stepping on the Cracks is set during 1944-1945. What are some ways you think life then may have been different from your everyday life today?

Teaching Suggestion and Helpful Links: To help understand the novel and relate to Margaret’s life, students should understand how things we take for granted today—from technology like the internet, cell phones, and television, to civil rights and equal rights for women—were not available.

• Introduce students to movies, songs, fashion, cars, and sports from the 1940s with this site: The 1940s: A World at War. Discuss each of these parts of 1940s American culture in terms of how it is different today.
• The US Homefront During WWII video focuses on life at home in America during the war.

Short Activity

Think about what you know about WWII and life in the 1940s. Brainstorm as a class to create a mind map or KWL chart (What I Know [K], What I Want to Know [W], What I Learned [L]) to share and connect your background knowledge of WWII and the 1940s.

Teaching Suggestion and Helpful Links: Mind maps and other graphic organizers will give you a sense of what your students know about the novel’s historical time and what additional information they may benefit from having. A mind map will also visually help the students organize their knowledge and learning. If using a KWL map, refer to it during the novel study, making sure to address what students wanted to learn, and culminating with a class session spent filling out the “What I Learned” section.

Try free mind map software like Mindmup, or Read Write Think’s online K-W-L Creator.