Peacebound Trains in the Classroom

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US Government banner featuring Peacebound Trains

"A serious, even sorrowful book - but an important one - is Peacebound Trains... I predict [the book] will be seen in classrooms everywhere this year." - Jane Kurtz, The Book Connection

"The story and illustrations are beyond my ability to describe in words. This is a must book for all veterans of that war to teach our grandchildren why we feel our efforts to keep South Korea free was worth all costs. A great 'Tell America' tool." - Vincent Krepps, The Graybeards (Official Publication of the Korean War Veterans Association)

Read what other reviewers are saying about Peacebound Trains.

Peacebound Trains in the Classroom
~ Essay, Discussion, and Assignment Ideas ~
(click here for a printable version)

Language Arts - Fiction vs. Nonfiction

Explain that the author was inspired by the real-life experiences of her own mother and grandparents. Emphasize that the book is categorized as historical fiction - that the story is based on actual history, but the characters were invented by the author. Then...

Have students interview a parent, grandparent, or other relative about a significant time period or experience in his/her life. Ask students to write a nonfiction article based on the interview.
Have students write a fictional story based on the relative's experience. Encourage them to invent new characters and subplots.
Ask students to guess why Sumi's grandmother decided to move to the United States. Have them write a new chapter for Peacebound Trains, explaining the events that brought Harmuny and her children to America. Ask the students to think about the sacrifices Harmuny must have made in making that decision (leaving behind her native country, customs, society, and language).

Geography / Social Studies

Have students find Seoul and Pusan on the map. Ask students to imagine their families taking the southbound journey that the family in Peacebound Trains took from Seoul to Pusan. If they could only carry a few bundles, what would they take? What would they have to leave behind? Remind them that the journey takes place in harsh winter.
Explain that many South Korean farmers had to give up their farms to escape to safer parts of the country. What would be the consequences of so many farms being deserted? (Explain the loss of crops and farm animals, the resulting shortage of food, etc.)
Have students list possible reasons why the military chose to base in Pusan during the war (port city, distance from North Korean border).
Explain that North Korea and South Korea used to be one country. Have students research geographical differences between the two halves of the Korean peninsula. What did each side lose when the country was divided? (South lost valuable mineral resources; North lost the peninsula's most fertile farm land.)
Show students the illustration on pages 18 and 19 of Peacebound Trains, depicting a Seoul neighborhood in 1950. Have them research what Seoul looks like in present day. What is the major difference? (Seoul was largely rural before the War; present-day Seoul is a thriving metropolis, one of the major cities in the modern world.)
Ask students to list present-day Seoul's major manufacturing output (electronic & electrical equipment, textiles, clothing, metal products, machinery, printed materials, chemicals, processed food).
Ask students to list the potential consequences of a second Korean War.
How would North Korea's victory affect North and South Koreans? (South Koreans would lose their freedom to communism; famine will no longer be a threat to the new communist Korea.)
How would North Korea's victory affect the world? (South Korean financial investments around the globe may be withdrawn or confiscated by the new communist government - global economic balance would be threatened.)
What if South Korea won? (Communism would be eradicated from the Korean Peninsula; families divided for decades by the 38th parallel may be reunited; the North's valuable mineral resources will be accessible to the South; famine will no longer be a threat to Koreans living in the northern half of the peninsula.)

Remind students that the United States had its own Civil War. Ask them to imagine what would have happened if the Confederate South won, and the United States was divided into two separate countries.
Divide the students into two groups - have one group write an essay of what life would be like as a present-day citizen of "South United States." Have the second group write an essay describing the life of a present-day citizen of "North United States."

Korean War soldier photo Remember the "Forgotten War."
Visit the
U.s. National Park Service
Korean War Veterans Memorial

Peacebound Trains mural created by the
students of Streiber School, Chicopee, MA.
In memory of Kellie Larivee,
one of the talented artists of this mural.
Kellie passed away January 8, 2000.
She was 13 years old.

Go to a printer-friendly version of the lesson ideas on this page

Read the family history behind Peacebound Trains

Read what reviewers are saying about Peacebound Trains

Order Peacebound Trains from your local bookstore

Go to a lesson on stereotypes

Go to a lesson on character traits

Go to the author's current events page

Learn about Tae's Sonata, a middle grade novel by Haemi Balgassi

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Please send an email to peacebound [at] gmail [dot] com.

A recommendation - a powerful novel about children experiencing war...

Children's author Jane Kurtz has written "an original, powerful story of two Ethiopian girls who become refugees in the 1980s" (Kirkus). Go to Jane's page to learn more.

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