IT'S YOUR TURN: RECORDING HISTORY AS IT HAPPENS

Hello Friends!

Much like Hattie lived through the 1967 Detroit Riots, you are living a profound part of history right now. Our country hasn’t had a pandemic for over a hundred years, yet you’re experiencing one at this very moment. This is a great time to record your thoughts, feelings, and the changes you are seeing in the world around you. When Between the Lines begins, Hattie goes outside on her tenth birthday, and within a few short minutes, realizes the world is different. Think about this pandemic and write down when you first realized something important was happening. Below are a list of questions to start you thinking.

  1. Did you realize life would change all at once, or did it take time to sink in?

  2. What events made you understand the changes we would soon experience?

  3. How does the world seem different and how are things changing on a daily basis?

  4. What things are the same as always?

  5. What’s it like to be at home full-time? Spending time with just your family?

  6. Are you thinking about things differently?

  7. Do you think the world will change as a result of the pandemic? If so, how?

  8. How will you change?

I encourage you to step outside.

  1. How does the world seem now? What’s the same as always? What’s still normal? What are the noticeable differences?

Head back inside.

  1. How has conversation changed in your house?

  2. How do you keep connected with friends?

  3. What are you doing to pass the time?

  4. Do you miss school? If so, what do you miss most/least?

Record all this in whatever form you like, a first-person narrative, a historical fiction perspective, a fantasy come true. Don’t forget to include photographs, drawings, poetry, or lyrics if you like. Like Hattie, you don’t want to miss an opportunity to record history. Your kids will want to know all about your childhood.

Claudia WhitsittComment