pooh bear Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 My ds has been reading about Russian history and he would like to know more about Communism. Why it took hold in Russia, what the lives of the people were like, why did end. Also what countries still are communist. What are some resources for teaching kids about Communism? I know some Russian history, but not enough to be an authority on what Communism is. I don't mind reading adult books and then telling what I read to ds. I'm sure that are no childrens biographies on Stalin or Lenin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 (edited) My 10th grader is doing a unit on communism next yr and I have been reading the books to get ready. I highly recommend The Naked Communist. http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Communist-W-Cleon-Skousen/dp/1568493673 If you do a search through this book (the link under the cover which is blank for some reason), you can see the table of contents and all that it covers. I have several other titles, but since you are posting this on the K-8 board, I think this title is the best single source I have read. (ETA: this book was written in the late 50s, so it is missing the last 40-50 yrs. However, it would be easier to supplement the missing yrs than trying to put together something on all the info contained in this book.) Edited June 5, 2009 by 8FillTheHeart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 I'd recommend 4. Two from each camp. "The Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx and Friedrick Engles is a foundational work in Communist theory. And is short. As a precursor to the Communist Manifesto, Marx for Beginners by Rius is a comic book-style intro to Marxism, And is quite good. The author is a leftist. http://www.amazon.com/Marx-Beginners-Rius/dp/0375714618 Then there is Richard Pipes book that our own Elizabeth brought up in another thread that is a very good critique of Communism. Pipes is sometimes blind to some of the negative things that were done in the name of anti-Communism. But nothing is perfect. And his book has great merit in it's critique. http://www.amazon.com/Communism-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/0812968646 And I'd have them read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's short novella, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , which captures the cruel reality of Soviet Communism. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.MacGyver Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 You might also want to try We the Living by Ayn Rand. I won't have my daughter read it yet...she's 10, but it gave me a nice glimpse into the "day to day" life of the people in Russia during that time. Also, I just finished watching Dr. Zhivago, and that was quite interesting...have to read the book now. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 There are picture book biographies of Stalin. I'd be very surprised if your local library didn't have one. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 How old is your child? For a strong 7th grade up reader, Albert Marrin has a biography of Stalin. Marrin's books we have generally found to be excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooh bear Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 My son is 9 and he is a very strong reader. I have looked in our library, but apart from a couple of books on Russia, they have nothing else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Stalin: Russia's Man of Steel by Albert Marrin (Beautiful Feet books) Also The Soviet Union in Literature for Children and Young Adults An Annotated Bibliography of English-Language Books, ISBN 0-313-25175-4. Maybe these are relevant; you might also see if you can obtain the full text of this article, if it's not too out of date (from 1984), as it sounds interesting [this is from the ERIC database, which many libraries have]: Soviet Children's Books: Expanding Children's Views of the Soviet Union. Journal of Reading, v27 n5 p418-22 Feb 1984 and ERIC ID#: ED397970 Growing Up in Europe: Contemporary Horizons in Childhood and Youth Studies ISBN-3-11-014475-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 (edited) Another way to examine Communism is to study how it was turned against innocent people. Any Christian family interested in how Communism directly affected Christian believers in Russia will be moved (to tears, often) by reading the lives of those people who, collectively, are referred to as "The New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia". Here is a web page with links to biographies of many of these people: http://www.orthodox.net/russiannm/index.html Students of British history may be interested in St. Elizabeth the New Martyr, who was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was murdered by the Communists because of her connection to the Royal Family (St. Elizabeth was sister to the Tsarina Alexandra). With several others, Grand Duchess Elizabeth was thrown (alive) down an abandoned mineshaft, and explosive grenades tossed in afterward. http://orthodoxwiki.org/Elizabeth_the_New_Martyr A fascinating book about life in the Stalinist prison camps is this: http://www.amazon.com/Father-Arseny-1893-1973-Narratives-Concerning/dp/0881411809/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244299673&sr=8-1 A follow-up book about the same man is this: http://www.amazon.com/Father-Arseny-Witnesses-Vera-Bouteneff/dp/0881412325/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244299673&sr=8-2 Edited June 6, 2009 by Orthodox6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 And I'd have them read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's short novella, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , which captures the cruel reality of Soviet Communism. Bill And of "camp" life in general. Also a good introduction to Russian novels, with their many names. :) I often think of Solzhenitsyn's line in The Gulag A: A serial killer may kill 20, but an ideology can kill millions. Or what a beloved Bulgarian friend of mine said: Stalin made Hitler look like boy scout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Great thread. When I took government, my class made communism sound wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 When we did modern history a few years ago we watched an animated movie of George Orwell's Animal Farm. DS was in 4th grade and it helped make sense of the abstract ideas we had been reading about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.MacGyver Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Ok, I just found the book I wanted to tell you about... The Russian Revolution by Ira Peck. Scholastic Book Services. It is really great. There are TONZ of actual pictures of the actual people and demonstrations. The book describes the lead-up to the revolution, the key players, the events, and all of the "hows and whys". It also has a glossary and a biography section. It is a short book (about 120 pages) and IMO written at a middle school level...I think that my 10 yo could easily read it, and understand much of it (with a little help with the philosophies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Great thread. When I took government, my class made communism sound wonderful. well sure!! communism can be great --- if you could enter it voluntarily and leave at any time. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 As a precursor to the Communist Manifesto, Marx for Beginners by Rius is a comic book-style intro to Marxism, And is quite good. The author is a leftist. The Amazon sample is from before the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. I could still give it to Calvin as a historical document, I suppose.. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 The Amazon sample is from before the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. I could still give it to Calvin as a historical document, I suppose.. Laura Yes, it's an older book. I read it more than 30 years ago. Still it is a surprisingly good introduction to Marx and Marxism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Yes, it's an older book. I read it more than 30 years ago. Still it is a surprisingly good introduction to Marx and Marxism. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwka Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Study Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, Dzerzhinsky, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Castro. I grew up in a Communist Poland. Any questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 well sure!! communism can be great --- if you could enter it voluntarily and leave at any time. ;) And if men were truly pure in heart and altruistic and not corrupted by greed and power. :rolleyes: My best friend defected from a Communist East Germany, it's amazing the stories I've heard from her and her mother. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone that she watched Sesame street! :eek: Who would have thought Bert and Ernie could be so threatening! And that Big Bird must be a metaphor for Big Brother, right?? :rolleyes: hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I know this thread is a few days old, but I missed it earlier and have a few suggestions about Communism in non-Russian areas of the former Soviet Union. Islam after Communism by Adeeb Khalid discusses Islam in Central Asia (Uzbekistan mostly, but also in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan). This is a fascinating and often overlooked topic in both communist and Islamic studies. Another excellent book about the after-effects of communism is The Reindeer People by Piers Vitebsky. This one is about the native Even people of Siberia. Here is a link to an interview with Vitebsky. I think it's very important to look at different post-Soviet countries' attitudes towards communism because they vary greatly. Many Central Asians lived easier lives under communism, in many ways, and look back on Soviet years fondly. Even though China isn't really communist anymore, it's interesting to look at the various ethnic minorities in China and see their reactions to their government. A new book on this topic called Invisible China by Colin Legerton and Jacob Rawson is excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping In Puddles Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Great thread. When I took government, my class made communism sound wonderful. :eek: Just out of curiousity, did you take government in the 80's? In my school (I graduated in 1990), communism was feared and the Soviet Union was the enemy. I also read The Gulag Archipelago in college and that book was chilling. Stalin was pure evil and so many innocent people were murdered and tortured for nothing (supposedly political crimes but most of those imprisoned did nothing and actually had no political agenda!), that is a hard book to forget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I almost had the chance to go the USSR on some sort of cultural thawing mission. I remember being asked if I would eat things like reindeer. Fortunately or unfortunately, events caused that trip to be cancelled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 (edited) YouTube can be amazingly educational, ;). We did moderns last year, and watching video of Tiananmen Square was very powerful. I'm sure you could find many similar things - - the 'tear down this wall' speech, what else? Edited to add that, if you want to explore why communism looked so attractive even to many Americans, then you should look into the stories of African Americans who were involved in or curious about the movement. Russia was promising a nation with no racial barriers, surely very compelling to smart, talented people who were being discriminated against. I'm typing off the top of my head, but there were reasons so many people (speaking mostly of the US right now) supported communism in its infancy, or at least investigated it as a possible alternative. Discrimination is the first one that springs to mind. Edited June 19, 2009 by katilac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Brainpop! If you have access to Brainpop, they do a quick (4 mins) explanation that is perfect for younger kids. My son is in 5th grade, and it was just right. (Not much in United Streaming appropriate for that age. We did find a few clips, but not an entire video that laid it all out like BrainPop did.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makita Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 You might consider reading the book The Klipfish Code by Mary Casanova. It is set in Norway during WWII and gives a Norwegian perspective on the German occupation of Norway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez J Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 We are studying modern history this year. I am having my dd write a paper comparing the various forms of government and am looking for good logic-level books on socialism, communism and fascism. I am very conservative, in case that helps in making a recommendation. Thanks for insight. Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoSylvia Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 My ds has been reading about Russian history and he would like to know more about Communism. Why it took hold in Russia, what the lives of the people were like, why did end. Also what countries still are communist. What are some resources for teaching kids about Communism? I know some Russian history, but not enough to be an authority on what Communism is. I don't mind reading adult books and then telling what I read to ds. I'm sure that are no childrens biographies on Stalin or Lenin. I would highly recommend The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis. It is a Caldecott Honor book. The author grew up in Czechoslovakia and just happened to be friends with some of the youth who were instrumental in the Prague Spring of '68. Sis is an artist and this is written as an artists journal of his youth. I thought it was fabulous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 My son is 9 and he is a very strong reader. I have looked in our library, but apart from a couple of books on Russia, they have nothing else. I would preread anything you give your son to read about Stalin and be sure to discuss it with him as he is reading it. Alternatively, you could read it to him and discuss as you go along. Anything that is going to be truthful about Stalin is going to be extremely disturbing. The Marrin book is good, but I wouldn't recommend it for a 9yo no matter how strong a reader. There is a historical fiction series targeted to ages 10-13 or so by Gloria Whelan that follows a Russian family from before the Russian Revolution to the fall of the Soviet Union. We really liked the series. Angel on the Square The Impossible Journey Burying the Sun The Turning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 If you want a movie, Reds, is about two Americans who go over to Russia during the revolution and in fact the person that Robert Redford plays is buried over there someplace special. It does romanticize the socialist movement in both America and Russia but gives a nice glimpse into the events of the time. By the way I used to own all the Ruis books but have lost my copy of Einstein. That book really helped me to understand the theory of relativity. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 I second Beautiful Feet's Book: Stalin Man of Steel. Also, a good movie my older three handled fine is The Boy in Striped Pajamas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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