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EDUCATOR RESOURCE GUIDE
Presents
The Edge of Peace
Table of Contents
Synopsis .....................................................................................................................................................
What Came Before .................................................................................................................................
Curriculum Connections & EALRs ..................................................................................................
Suzan Zeder, Playwright .....................................................................................................................
A Chat with Billy Seago, Actor ..........................................................................................................
About the Set ...........................................................................................................................................
About the Costumes .............................................................................................................................
American Sign Language in Theater ..............................................................................................
World War II: An Overview ...............................................................................................................
The Edge of War: The American Home Front During World War II ................................
Being Heard – Communication in Wartime ................................................................................
Words & Phrases That Might Be New to You .............................................................................
Activity Pages ..........................................................................................................................................
Booklist ......................................................................................................................................................
Evaluation Form .....................................................................................................................................
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3-4
5-6
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9-10
11-12
13-14
15-16
17-18
19-21
22-25
26-27
28-30
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SYNOPSIS
It is April 1945, during the last desperate days of World War II, and all the “able bodied” men
have gone to war. Tuc, a Deaf man in his 40s, has lived his whole life in the tiny town of Ware,
Illinois. As a boy and young man he was isolated and somewhat
ostracized by his deafness, but now he has become the very
center of the community, as a mechanic who can “fix anything
that moves” and the town postman who delivers the letters and
telegrams with the news of loved ones far away.
One young infantry soldier, Ricky Ricks, sends letters home to
his wife, June, and his Mother, Izzy, and to his eleven-year-old
brother, Buddy. Buddy idolizes his brother and dreams of the
excitement of wartime as he shoots down imaginary enemy
planes while manning the spotters’ post above the town store.
When Tuc delivers a telegram from the War Department saying
that Ricky is missing in action, Buddy refuses to believe that his
brother is lost.
Above the town, a mysterious older woman, Nell Hicks, lives in a tar-paper shack. She
rarely comes to town, preferring to live as a recluse. There have always been rumors about
her. During the Depression people called her “Mother Hicks,” thought she was a witch
and blamed her for everything bad that
happened in the town. Now she listens day
and night to shortwave radio broadcasts of
people speaking German, the language of
the enemy.
Just out of town lies a Prisoner of War
(POW) camp. Captured German soldiers
have been shipped to the U.S. and are
helping with the fall harvests. When a
prisoner escapes, the town is outraged. To
make matters worse, someone is sneaking around town late at night, someone has broken into
the store and stolen some food, and someone has been peeping in people’s windows. Everyone
is sure it is the POW.
Continued on the next page...
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A woman named Margaret arrives in town asking all sorts of
questions about Tuc. She is a recruiter from the Goodyear
Plant in Akron over 500 miles away and she has come to
offer Tuc a job as a mechanic. Akron has a vibrant
Deaf community and skilled Deaf workers are in
great demand.
A German dive-bomber airplane buzzes the town.
Someone jumps out and parachutes down.
Everyone is alarmed, thinking it has something
to do with the escaped prisoner. But the person
whips off a helmet and it’s Girl, an orphan girl who
was raised in the town and left to join the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots. A telegram arrives
which contains the painful news that Ricky’s status has
been changed from missing to killed in action. Everyone
is devastated. Even Buddy finally accepts that Ricky will
not be coming home.
As tensions rise, more and more suspicion gathers
around Nell Hicks who has been seen going into the POW
camp. Tuc has been acting strangely as well, leaving
food and blankets in the woods. Finally the townspeople confront Nell Hicks and accuse her
of being a German sympathizer. But Buddy reveals evidence that Nell has been listening to
German broadcasts in hopes of finding out information about Ricky.
Margaret finally tracks Tuc down and offers him the chance to leave Ware to
join a Deaf community. She also reveals her true identity, as the grown-up
Maizie, Girl’s real mother. She has come back to town to thank Tuc for the
loving care he has shown to her daughter for all these years.
As Nell Hicks sits by the fire and listens to a speech by President Roosevelt
on her radio, the true identity of the POW is revealed, as another wounded
soul comes to Dug Hill seeking comfort and healing. Buddy’s faith in his
brother is rewarded at last.
4
WHAT CAME BEFORE
The Edge of Peace is the final play in a trilogy of plays set in the town of Ware, Illinois. It is
written as a stand-alone piece, which means you don’t need to know the first two plays to
appreciate and understand it. But if you’re curious about the whole story, here are synopses
of those plays in the order they were written.
MOTHER HICKS
Set in the 1930s, this play introduces three outsiders: an orphan girl, known only as Girl,
a young Deaf man, Tuc, and a mysterious woman, Mother Hicks, whom the townspeople
suspect is a witch. When the crops burn up, it’s a spell. When a cow goes
dry, it’s a hex. At midnight, they say, Mother Hicks does strange things in
the graveyard with devil dolls and tiny little shoes. A writer comes to town
collecting witch stories. Girl becomes fascinated with Mother Hicks, even
believing her to be the mother Girl longs to find. Girl steals the writer’s
notebook and secretly acts out the witch work he describes.
Girl injures herself badly in the course of her witch rituals and Tuc appears out of nowhere
and carries her up to Dug Hill. In the days that follow, everything Girl sees confirms her
belief that Mother Hicks is indeed a witch. Girl finds that a foul smelling poultice has been
placed on her leg. She is forced to drink a brew of “rattlesnake yarb.” She hears rabbits
scream in the night as Mother Hicks brandishes a knife over them. Tuc seems to be her
helper, making strange gestures and signs.
As time goes on, Girl discovers that nothing is as it first appeared. Animals come to Mother
Hicks when they are hurt, injured or need help with a “birthing.” Tuc’s “air pictures” are a
language with beauty and meaning.
When the townspeople discover Girl is up on Dug Hill, they storm up the path with guns to
rescue her. Girl reveals to Mother Hicks that she believes Mother Hicks to be her mother, and
suggests that they work together to “witch ‘em and let them slide all the way back down to
Main Street.” Furious, Mother Hicks tells Girl that she is neither a witch nor Girl’s mother—
Girl is the orphan child of an orphan child who came to Mother Hicks for help. Girl runs
away before the townspeople arrive. After a tense standoff the townspeople back down.
Days later, Girl finds Mother Hicks in the cemetery at the grave of her own child who died
the same year Girl was born. Mother Hicks has kept her daughter’s dolls and shoes to
remember her by. Girl asks Mother Hicks for help to find what she really needs: a name.
Mother Hicks holds out her hand, and Girl reaches for it as the play ends.
Continued on the next page...
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THE TASTE OF SUNRISE
This prequel to Mother Hicks begins as thunder cracks and a storm rages. Tuc, who is just a baby,
burns up with scarlet fever. Nell Hicks, a mid-wife, comes to the door and offers to help. Tuc’s
frantic father, Jonas, lets her in but the housekeeper warns him that other
children she has nursed have died. Thanks to Nell, Tuc survives the night but
the next morning Jonas discovers his son is deaf.
Tuc and his father live together very happily for 10 years. Tuc is a born
farmer. He understands the soil, the seasons and the language of bees. The
silent bond between father and son is deep and beautiful. “Father talk has no
need of words.”
A teacher comes to the farm in a shiny model-T Ford. She tells Jonas that if he will let her take
his son to the Deaf School many miles away they will teach him to speak and to read lips. Jonas
reluctantly agrees and Tuc goes off to school. School is a terrifying place for Tuc but the other
Deaf children in the dormitory teach him the secret and forbidden sign language that the adults
have banished for fear that it will ruin the Deaf students’ oral skills. Tuc meets Maizie, a teenager
who works at the Deaf School. Even though Maizie can hear, she joins the other kids and teaches
them how to act out silent movies in sign language.
Tuc goes home for a vacation and discovers that he has lost his ability to communicate with his
father. Both are in despair. Tuc goes back to school and while he is away Jonas is stricken with
influenza and dies, but not before granting Nell Hicks a small parcel of his land on Dug Hill and
asking her to keep an eye out for his son.
After his father’s funeral, Tuc refuses to go back to the Deaf school and stays with Nell. Gradually,
they help each other deal with their losses and heal their grief: Tuc for his father, Nell for her
own child. Through a misunderstanding Tuc is badly stung by bees and is taken to the Illinois
State Home. There he is reunited with Maizie who is nine months pregnant. They escape from
the State Home and Tuc takes her to Dug Hill where Nell helps her with the birth.
Thinking her child will have a better life, Maizie takes the baby to town late one night and leaves
her on a doorstep. Tuc is heartbroken but promises Maizie that he will look after her from afar.
Maizie leaves as Nell asks Tuc to teach her sign language so they can build themselves a “talking
way.” Together they watch the sun rise.
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CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS & EALRs
The Edge of Peace touches on many themes and ideas. Here are a few we believe would make
good Curriculum Connections: WWII, Families during Wartime, Soldiers, Deafness, Career,
Community, Radio Communication, Prisoners of War, Empathy, American Sign Language.
We believe that seeing the show and using our Educator Resource Guide can help you meet the
following EALRs:
State Standards
Theatre
Reading
Social Studies
1. The student understands and applies arts knowledge and skills.
1.1 Understand arts concepts and vocabulary, specifically, identifies and describes
characters, setting, actions, conflict, sounds.
1.2 Develops theatre skills and techniques.
1.3 Understands and applies theatre genres and styles of various artists, cultures, and times.
1.4 Understands and applies audience conventions in a variety of settings and
performances of theatre.
2. The student demonstrates thinking skills using artistic processes.
2.1 Apply a creative process in the arts: Conceptualize; Gather; Develop; Organize; Reflect;
Refine; Present.
3. Theatre: The student communicates through the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts).
3.1 Uses theatre to express feelings and present ideas.
1. The student understands and uses different skills and strategies to read.
1.1 Use word recognition skills and strategies to read and comprehend text.
1.2 Use vocabulary (word meaning) strategies to comprehend text.
1.3 Build vocabulary through wide reading.
1.4 Apply word recognition skills and strategies to read fluently.
2. The student understands the meaning of what is read.
2.1 Demonstrate evidence of reading comprehension.
2.2 Understand and apply knowledge of text components to comprehend text.
2.3 Expand comprehension by analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing information and
ideas in literary and informational text.
2.4 Think critically and analyze author’s use of language, style, purpose, and perspective
in literary and informational text.
3. The student reads different materials for a variety of purposes.
3.1 Read to learn new information.
3.2 Read to perform a task.
4.1 Understands historical chronology.
4.2 Understands and analyzes the causal factors that have shaped major events in history.
4.3 Understands that there are multiple perspectives and interpretations of historical events.
1. The student uses listening and observation skills and strategies to gain understanding.
Communication
1.1 Uses listening and observation skills and strategies to focus attention and interpret
information.
1.2 Understands, analyzes, synthesizes, or evaluates information from a variety of sources.
Science
1.2 Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.
4.1 Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of
the language studied and their own.
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SUZAN ZEDER, PLAYWRIGHT
When I was five years old my mother gave me a choice. I could either
go to New York to see a Broadway musical, or have a birthday party.
New York was a 45-minute train ride away and the cost of a ticket was
about $7.20, (only $2.00 to sit in the balcony). I chose the play over the
party and my life was never the same. For days and weeks and years
afterward, I remembered every moment of that show. I saw every
scene over and over again in my imagination. And to this day, I can still
sing every song word for word.
I am proud to say that I have written more than twenty plays that have
been performed to young people very much like that little girl who sat
in the darkened theater waiting for the overture to start. My plays have been produced in all fifty
states, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, Germany, Israel and New Zealand; they have been
published in Great Britain, Germany, Japan and Korea. I have won some awards, including three
Distinguished Play Awards from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, and the Corey
Medallion from the Children’s Theatre Foundation. I’ve also been inducted into the College of
Fellows of the American Theatre and the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at the University of
Texas in Austin, where I am a professor of Theatre for Youth and Playwriting.
In 1982 SCT commissioned me to write a play called Mother Hicks. The original production in
1983 was directed by Rita Giomi. The response to Mother Hicks was remarkable, due in no small
part to the powerful presence of the Deaf character, Tuc, and to the artistry of Deaf actors who
have played him over the years. Thirteen years after I wrote Mother Hicks, I gave Tuc his own
play, The Taste of Sunrise. Once again SCT commissioned the play, and the original production in
1996 was directed by Linda Hartzell and featured Billy Seago as Tuc. Now, seventeen years later I
return to Ware to finish the stories of characters who are as real to me as my own family.
Although each play tells its own complete story, taken together the trilogy leads us through three
pivotal eras of American history as reflected in the lives of the families who live in Ware. At the
core of each play is an issue important in the interaction of Deaf and hearing cultures. Each play
also tells the story of a child facing as tough a time as he or she will ever face, with courage, with
humor, with imagination, with grace. The young characters who inhabit these plays have taught
me by their example. They have inspired me. I am not sure if I have created them or if they have
created me.
These plays span thirty years of my writing life and thirty years of artistic partnership with
Seattle Children’s Theatre. We have all grown up and grown older together, characters and
collaborators alike. But now the stories are told and all that remains is for you who will see this
play to allow these characters to live in your imagination. Welcome to Ware!
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A CHAT WITH BILLY SEAGO, ACTOR
Billy has collaborated with playwright Suzan Zeder
on the development of the character Tuc in the
plays Mother Hicks, The Taste of Sunrise and The
Edge of Peace. He is not able to be a part of this
production, but he kindly took the time to answer
a few questions about his work and what went into
creating Tuc’s language.
Please tell us a little bit about your working
process.
As a general rule, for any character, I approach a role as a series of decisions that help me to
portray my character as believably as possible. The decisions cover areas such as gesture,
movement, body language and facial expression. All physical, vocal, and emotional expressions
should work together to heighten the believability of the character. One of the first things
I need to do is understand the character I’m portraying. I identify all the decisions that my
character makes in the course of the play. This helps me to find my “throughline of action,”
to see how my character develops from the beginning to the end of the play. I then explore
the reasons for his behavior, why he made those decisions. I do research to understand the
setting that my character is in: the time period, where it is happening, the cultures at play, the
values and customs of that time period, and the relationships between the play’s characters.
I then am prepared to jump into the rehearsal process, which brings on another round of
decision-making. During rehearsals I look at what my character says about himself and what
information he is sending to others, as well as what information he is receiving from others,
and how that happens. These are all connected to the character’s background (both what
is written in the script and what I imagine): his family, past, education; his personal, family,
and cultural values; his beliefs, traits, biases, intelligence level, etc. Through the process of
rehearsal the dynamics and intricacies of character are created, relationships are established
and everything is polished up to the opening show.
What is a particularly interesting or unusual challenge on this project, and how are you
setting out to solve it?
As a Deaf actor, I normally translate my lines of the script from the English text into American
Sign Language for all the plays I am involved with. The Edge of Peace—as well as Mother Hicks
and The Taste of Sunrise—were particularly challenging. American Sign Language (ASL) is a
unique visual language with its own distinct structure, syntax and grammar. Information is
Continued on the next page...
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conveyed not in sounds, but with the shape and movement of the hands and other parts of the
body, and with facial expressions, including mouthing (making mouth movements without
making any sound). ASL has dialects, with variations in signs and movements depending
on region, where the signer went to school, who taught him/her ASL, at what age the signer
learned ASL and how active the signer is in the Deaf community. So one of my challenges was
to ensure that Tuc’s sign choices were based on the region around Ware, Illinois, the 1930s
and 1940s time period, the lack of fluent signers in Tuc’s early developmental years, the
development of his “home signs” (personally invented signs) and his subsequent exposure
to ASL at the State School for the Deaf. The sign choices also needed to reflect the natural
progression of his sign development as he gained more education.
What in your childhood got you to where you are today?
I was the youngest of five children. My father was a Baptist preacher and my mother taught
English and Journalism. We were exposed to literature from early childhood and we all
frequently enacted biblical stories. My two brothers and I are all deaf. Growing up in the
‘60s and early ‘70s before the advent of television captions, we would watch our favorite
physical comedy shows such as The Red Skelton Hour and Get Smart, and silent comedy stars
like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. We would often mimic the antics on these shows and
create our own dialogue. One of my first exposures
to professional theater was in the late ‘60s when the
National Theatre of the Deaf came to Seattle on tour. The
deaf kids in my elementary school were taken there. It
was somewhat ironic that we were educated in the “oral
method” (focused on teaching students to speak and
understand the English speech of hearing people) but
taken to a full-blown American Sign Language theatrical
production. All of these experiences gradually led me
to take acting classes in college. Since then theater has
been a life-long passion.
Billy performing as Tuc in a reading of The Edge
of Peace at University of Texas at Austin
Billy Seago is a professional actor, director, theater
interpreter/sign coach, master storyteller and Deaf
culture consultant. He has acted, directed, performed and
conducted classes, workshops, and residencies nationally
and internationally for more than 35 years.
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ABOUT THE SET
From Jeff Kurihara, Set Designer
One of the major challenges in working on the design for The Edge of Peace was designing a show
that will be performed first at University of Texas at Austin’s Theatre Department and then move
to SCT. The set had to be able to work in two different spaces, as well as be able to be transported
and re-installed effectively. This meant that communication between the production teams of the
two organizations was very important.
Communication was an important challenge in another way as well. Because the director, Linda
Hartzell, lives in Seattle and I live in Austin, it was not easy for us to meet on a regular basis as
we worked on the design. This long-distance collaboration owed a lot to the Internet as a way
to share research and design ideas. The use of digital technology and communication is a very
efficient way to share design concepts halfway across the country. I used software to create all
of the drafting (technical drawings) and renderings (artistic drawings) in digital format, which
made it easier to adapt design elements to fit the needs of the show. It also made it simple to
share my work via email.
Research photo of a General Store
Poster encouraging citizens to grow
their own food
As for the design itself, I had to do research to understand more about the culture of homefront
America during World War II. The Edge of Peace brings us into the lives of those at home in
a small Midwestern town while family and loved ones are far away at war. One of the most
touching aspects of life on the home front was the level of sacrifice for the war effort by the
American people. Rationing and material conservation was a way of life that people took pride
in, hoping their efforts would help win the war and bring their families home. That hope and
pride is portrayed primarily in the General Store set, in the form of war bond and rationing
posters, for example. My hope is that the store helps not only to establish time and place, but
captures the way of life in the town of Ware, Illinois during the Second World War.
Continued on the next page...
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Designer’s rendering (drawing) of the General Store. Note how posters
are used to help show the time period of the play.
Model of the set showing the General Store on the side stage
These sections of the ground plans for the two theaters The Edge of Peace will perform in show one of the adjustments necessary to
make the set work in both spaces. Part of the General Store is designed to be on a section of the stage that extends out towards the
audience – what is called the “side stage” in the Charlotte Martin Theatre at SCT. The drawing of SCT’s theater on the left shows that
area inside a circle. The theater in Austin doesn’t have that space, so they will be building platforms over the seating area to mimic
SCT’s theater. You can see the outline of the platforms in the circle in the drawing of the Austin theater on the right.
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ABOUT THE COSTUMES
From Hope Bennett, Costume Designer
In a historical show like The Edge of Peace, the costumes need to describe not only what year it is
(1945) and where the play takes place (Ware, Illinois), but also who the characters are and what their
own personal histories have been. I looked at a lot of clothing from that time and really enjoyed looking
at sewing patterns from the early 1940s.
To help shape what the costumes would look like, I began
to define characters by things like how much wear and tear
each garment would have. For example, Alma has a job and is
working during the war, but like her neighbors she cannot afford
anything new and mends her old clothes. Although her dress
is a pattern from 1939 and very clean and neat, she has added
accents to it to make it look newer.
Reduce, Recycle, Reuse isn’t a new idea to
anyone who lived during WWII
In contrast, Margaret has a great job working for the Goodyear
plant, so her suit is new and neat. She’s come looking for Tuc and
is dressed for traveling. Everyone used to dress up for traveling.
1943 McCall Needlework patterns for
makeovers to spruce up an old dress
Sketch of Alma’s “made-over” outfit
Vogue pattern from 1944 that
influenced Margaret’s costume design
Continued on the next page...
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Margaret’s traveling suit
Group of children in 1942
Buddy’s costume sketch
Buddy is a growing kid, so he gets newer
clothes. His jeans are based on the catalogs
from 1944, but they have many scuffs and
tears since he is very active. Even the way he
combs (or doesn’t comb!) his hair is important
to the way we understand how he’s feeling and
thinking.
Getting inside the heads of
the characters and defining
them by what they choose to
wear when they get up in the
morning helps paint a story
that the audience should
easily understand. Although
soldiers don’t choose what
they are wearing, having the
WWII 1945 infantry uniform
look right is important
for expressing Ricky’s
character—just as much
as it is for the clothes the
townspeople are wearing.
American G.I.s crossing an English field in 1944 and a sketch of the Soldier’s costume
14
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE IN THEATER
American Sign Language (ASL) appeals to both Deaf and hearing people when it is performed
on stage and screen, but not always for the same reasons. Hearing people can find sign language
exotic and expressive, even miraculous—it can seem amazing that ASL conveys complex meanings
without voice or hearing. For the Deaf culture, on the other hand, the language seems natural, but
performance is essential—American Sign Language has no widely used written form. ASL literature
must be performed to survive.
American Sign Language grammar is completely unrelated to
English; sentence structure, vocabulary and word order are all
different. Many ASL performance traditions do not translate
well, like “ABC stories,” in which performers use letters in the
signed alphabet to represent objects or actions. ABC stories
were developed in Deaf clubs, which used to flourish all over
the United States. They provided a place for Deaf comedians to
perform, as well as for skits, plays and lectures in ASL. These
clubs were the first public spaces owned by Deaf people,
spaces carved out of a hearing wilderness where Deaf people
could express themselves without reservation. Traditional Deaf clubs are almost extinct today—they
began to decline as new technology allowed Deaf people to communicate with each other and the
hearing world through text.
About the time Deaf clubs began their decline, the hearing world began to see the potential of
American Sign Language in the theater. In 1960, Anne Bancroft learned some sign to prepare for her
role in The Miracle Worker, a play about the famous deaf-blind woman Helen Keller. Ms. Bancroft
saw theater productions in ASL at Gallaudet, the college for the Deaf, and convinced others involved
in The Miracle Worker to see shows there as well. One of those people, the set designer David Hays,
went on to found the National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD), working along with the Deaf performer
Bernard Bragg. The National Theatre of the Deaf, as well as other professional ASL theaters that have
emerged since, like Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles and New York Deaf Theatre, try to present work
that bridges the gap between the hearing and Deaf worlds. Deaf West Theatre often collaborates with
hearing theaters—they produced a successful revival of the musical Big River with the Roundabout
Theatre which featured Deaf and hearing actors performing together.
The use of ASL onstage has spread far beyond Deaf theater companies. In 1980 the hearing
playwright Mark Medoff wrote Children of a Lesser God for the Deaf actress Phyllis Frelich. It
premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Using both ASL and English dialogue, the play
portrays the conflicted romantic relationship between a Deaf woman and her former teacher.
The characters embody the struggle between sign language and “oralism”—the idea that Deaf
people should be taught to use vocal speech. Phyllis Frelich went on to win a Tony Award for her
performance in the Broadway production of the play. She was the first Deaf performer to win a Tony.
Continued on the next page...
15
Integrating American Sign Language and Deaf performers into performances for mixed Deaf and
hearing audiences presents challenges and opportunities. Howie Seago (brother of the Seattle Deaf
actor Billy Seago) is the only Deaf actor in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He performs in ASL. For
one recent production of Henry V, his character was provided with a Royal Interpreter, who followed
him about onstage. In To Kill a Mockingbird he played Bob Ewell, an abusive alcoholic who forces
his daughter Mayella to interpret his lies in court. Seago and his on-stage daughter created a “white
trash” sign language, which expressed the rage of a man who could not communicate effectively with
the wider world. In The Music Man, Seago played a con man who communicates with his partner in
sign language to keep their schemes secret.
The potential uses of ASL in performance are endless. Deaf people use ASL in performance to
celebrate, understand, preserve and deepen their common culture; hearing artists and audiences
often see ASL as a metaphor for language itself—the ways in which it can express our feelings and
thoughts, the ways it can both unite and divide us.
Some Prominent Deaf Actors Who Perform in ASL
Sean Berdy currently stars in Switched at Birth, playing the role of
Emmett Bledsoe. He is one of the two main Deaf characters in the
show. He was nominated for TV Breakout Star for the 2011 Teen
Choice Awards.
Marlee Beth Matlin is the youngest actress, and the only Deaf
Audiences applaud for Deaf performers by
performer, to win an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She
shaking their hands in the air
won for the film version of Children of a Lesser God. She has also
been nominated three times for a Golden Globe award and won once, and been nominated four times
for an Emmy Award. A member of the National Association of the Deaf, she plays Emmet Bledsoe’s
mother in Switched at Birth.
Linda Bove played the Deaf character Linda the Librarian on Sesame Street for over thirty years. Like
many prominent Deaf actors, she studied at Gallaudet College (now known as Gallaudet University).
She and her husband, the Deaf actor Ed Waterstreet, founded the Deaf West Theatre company in Los
Angeles.
T.L. Forsberg is the lead singer for the avant-garde rock band KRIYA which has opened for Alanis
Morissette and Tori Amos. She was profiled in the 2010 documentary See What I’m Saying. She plays
Olivia on Switched at Birth.
Tyrone Giordano played Huckleberry Finn in the long-running stage musical Big River. He also
played the brother of Ashton Kutcher’s character in the romantic comedy A Lot Like Love.
Bernard Bragg, an actor, writer, director, poet and artist, trained with the French mime Marcel
Marceau. He has performed on stage, in television and in films, toured his one-man shows around
the world, and helped found the National Theatre of the Deaf. He was one of the first performers to
perform in ASL on national television, in 1967.
16
WORLD WAR II: AN OVERVIEW
World War II was the bloodiest, deadliest,
most destructive war the world had ever
seen. More than 38 million people died,
many of them innocent civilians. Fighting
raged in many parts of the world. More
than 50 nations took part in the war,
which changed the world forever.
For Americans, World War II had a clearcut purpose. People knew why they
were fighting: to defeat tyranny. Most
of Europe had been conquered by Nazi
Germany, which was under the iron
grip of dictator Adolf Hitler. The war in Europe began with Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939.
Wherever the Nazis went, they waged a campaign of terror against Jews and other minorities.
In Asia and the Pacific, Japanese armies invaded country after country, island after island. On
December 7, 1941, Japanese planes bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The next day,
the U.S. Congress declared war, taking the U.S. into World War II.
What Caused World War II?
Americans had fought in World War I (1914-1918) to “make the world safe for democracy.” Those
were the words and goals of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. But the peace treaties that ended World
War I did not make the world safe for democracy. Instead, they caused bitterness and anger that led
to World War II.
Germany and its allies had been the losers in World War I. Germany was stripped of one sixth of its
territory and forced to pay huge reparations (payments by a defeated country for the destruction
it caused in a war). After World War I, Germany suffered from high unemployment and runaway
inflation. German money became almost worthless. Many Germans seethed in anger at the peace
treaty.
A League of Nations was set up after World War I to keep the peace. But the U.S. did not join and other
countries were too busy with their own problems to worry about Germany and other trouble spots.
Then, in the early 1930s, economic depression hit all over the world. Workers lost their jobs, trade fell
off and times were hard. People looked for leaders who could bring about change.
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Rise of Dictatorships
Germany, Italy and Japan all came under the rule of dictators or military leaders. A dictator named
Mussolini took power in Italy in 1922. Military leaders took control of Japan in the early 1930s.
In Germany, Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, gained power in 1933. These leaders promised
to restore their countries to greatness. But they set up totalitarian governments. (A totalitarian
government is controlled by a single political party that allows no opposition and tightly controls
people’s lives.)
Hitler began to arm Germany for war. Japan invaded China. Mussolini sent Italian troops to conquer
Ethiopia, in Africa. None of the world’s democracies did anything to stop them.
A World at War
Hitler had a plan to conquer Europe. He began by taking Austria, then Czechoslovakia. Again, no
one tried to stop him. As Winston Churchill, who became Britain’s wartime leader, said, “Britain and
France had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They will have war.”
Churchill’s words came true. In 1939, German troops invaded Poland. World War II in Europe had
begun. The U.S. did not enter the war until December 1941, when Japanese forces attacked Pearl
Harbor. U.S. troops fought in North Africa, Europe, Asia and throughout the Pacific Ocean. At home,
Americans rolled up their sleeves to produce more warplanes, battleships and guns than the Axis
powers (Germany, Italy and Japan). Everyone contributed to the war effort.
A Changed World
Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe and Africa. The war in Asia and
the Pacific did not end until after the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan—the only time such
bombs have been used in war. Japan surrendered on
August 14, 1945.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had led the U.S. in
wartime, did not live to see peace. He died a month before
Germany surrendered. But in a speech written but never
delivered, he spoke of the need to preserve peace: “Today
we are faced with the preeminent [above all other] fact
that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the
science of human relationships—the ability of all peoples,
of all kinds, to live together and work together in the same
world, at peace.”
Excerpted from:
Scholastic – http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/
world-war-ii-overview
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THE EDGE OF WAR: THE AMERICAN
HOME FRONT DURING WORLD WAR II
During the Second World War, more than sixteen million Americans served in the military.
Almost three hundred thousand were killed in action. But the war also changed the lives of the
Americans who stayed home. They worried about people they loved
fighting far away. They also worried that America and her allies would
lose; that evil dictators would enslave the world. They worked and
sacrificed to help America win. Sometimes they volunteered; sometimes
they had no choice.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in
December, 1941 threw Americans into Civil Defense air-raid warden’s
helmet
panic. What would happen next? Would
the Japanese hit San Francisco or Seattle? Would the Germans
bombard New York City? But as the war spread across the
whole world, America’s leaders didn’t want to use the military
to guard against an attack on American neighborhoods. Instead,
they established the Civilian Defense program to free the
military to fight overseas and make people at home feel safer
and more involved in the war effort.
Playing cards with silhouettes of military
planes were used to train civilian spotters
to identify them. Each suit showed a
different country’s planes: spades were
American, hearts were British, diamonds
were German and clubs were Japanese.
Air-raid wardens supervised blackout drills. When an air raid
siren went off, people had to turn off all lights. Enemy planes
couldn’t target what they couldn’t see. Any light visible from
above could attract bombs and gunfire. Spotters scanned
the skies for enemy aircraft, sometimes from specially built
towers. By 1943, six million volunteers were working to protect
America from attack. But no plane spotter ever saw an enemy
plane. Mainland America was never bombed.
Women found new opportunities on the home front during the war. The
Women Airforce Service Pilots program (WASP) began training over one
thousand women pilots. In February 1943, Avenger Field, near Sweetwater,
Texas, became an all-female airport. For the first time in U.S. history, women
flew all types of military aircraft, though only on non-combat missions.
Even people who weren’t actively working in defense saw reminders of the
war all around them. Many families hung “service banners” in their windows.
These flags contained a blue star for each son or daughter serving in the
military. If a son or daughter died while serving, the star was changed to gold.
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Elizabeth L. Gardner,
WASP, at the controls of
a B-26 Marauder
The war came home in another way: nearly four hundred thousand
captured German soldiers came to the United States as prisoners.
Many actually enjoyed their time in America, working for wages
on farms, forests and factories all around the country. Officials
recorded over two thousand escape attempts, but most escapes
were more like frolics. According to historian Irving Kellman, “They
wanted to go to a bar and have a beer. They wanted to meet some
women.” Most turned themselves in or were captured after a few
days. None made it back to Germany.
This 1943 poster reminded citizens
that they could compromise national
security and soldiers’ safety with
careless talk. It shows a gold star
banner, which means that the soldier it
honors has been killed in action.
America needed those POW workers. The U.S. economy during
World War II was very good and very bad at the same time.
Unemployment dropped to an all-time low. Personal income
reached an all-time high. But there weren’t many ways for people
to spend their money. Factories were busy turning out planes,
tanks, guns and ammunition; nobody made cars or appliances.
The government controlled how much people were allowed to
buy. Coffee, sugar, gasoline, bicycles, clothing, fuel oil, silk, nylon,
stoves, shoes, meat, cheese, butter, lard, margarine, canned foods,
dried fruit, jam, tires and typewriters were
all rationed. Without much to buy, people
saved most of their money. Encouraged
by Hollywood stars in huge propaganda
campaigns, many bought “War Bonds.” You
could buy a War Bond for as little as $18.75. In
return, the government would promise to pay
you back $25 after ten years.
And the government wanted a lot of the things
you already had. Constant “scrap drives”
encouraged people to donate an amazing
variety of materials for the war effort. Women
collected fat from cooking, which would be
used to make soap. Metal and rubber were
especially prized; children contributed balls
of rubber bands as well as balls of aluminum
foil they peeled from chewing gum wrappers.
Children also harvested five thousand tons of
milkweed fluff to fill lifejackets.
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Wartime factories needed workers and so many adult men were in the military that factories
had to turn to new sources of labor. The patriotic symbol “Rosie the Riveter” encouraged
many women to go to work in industry. Teenagers, both female and
male, dropped out of high school in huge numbers to go to work in
defense jobs.
The wartime demand for workers brought opportunities to Deaf
people, who weren’t (and still aren’t) allowed to serve in the U.S.
military. During World War I, Goodyear had hired many Deaf people
to work in Akron, Ohio. They created clubs, church groups and
sports teams. The “Goodyear Silents,” a semiprofessional football
team that won several league championships, became a particular
source of pride, demonstrating that Deaf people could compete
on the football field as well as the factory floor. But after the First
World War ended, most Deaf people in Akron lost their jobs, as the
soldiers returned home. The Silents football team finally disbanded
in 1927. World War II revived Akron’s Deaf community as Goodyear
again hired Deaf workers from all over the country to build Corsair
gull-wing fighter jets and other aircraft. The popular Akron Club
for the Deaf stayed open seven days a week, twenty-four hours a
day. Goodyear encouraged the use of American Sign Language in
factories and hired sign language interpreters. The Akron Deaf
community even nicknamed the language, “Akron Sign Language.”
Historians call the Second World War a “total war.” It affected
every single person in the nations that fought, often completely
transforming their lives. Though America was spared the
devastation that fell on many other nations, the war brought home
plenty of loss, hardship, and even government oppression. But the
home front experience also provided opportunities for women,
Deaf people and other groups to find new jobs, gain wealth, have
new experiences, and make human connections that had seemed
impossible before the war.
Rosie the Riveter
The Wingfoot Clan was a
publication of Goodyear Tire
and Rubber Company. The May
1918 special issue focusing on
deaf workers became a cherished
memento of deaf employees.
Resources:
Civil Defense – http://www.americainwwii.com/articles/busy-with-the-blitz-proofing/
First-person recollection of a WWII aircraft spotter – http://jamisonwildlife.com/spotter.html
History through Deaf Eyes – http://my.gallaudet.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/Deaf%20
Eyes%20Exhibit/community-01wartime.htm
Rationing – http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/events/rationing.htm
German POWS in America – http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/GermanPOWs-on-the-American-Homefront.html
21
BEING HEARD – COMMUNICATION IN WARTIME
During World War II there were no personal computers or cell phones, and television sets were
rare. There was no Internet, texting, email, fax, video chat or voice mail. But there were a variety
of other ways that people communicated with each other, whether they were friends and family,
or troops waiting for instructions from their commanders.
CIVILIAN LIFE
Letters
Today we jokingly call it snail mail. But during the 1940s, communicating with loved ones at war
was truly a slow process. Because of the large volume of mail to be processed (and sometimes
censored), and because it took time for ships carrying the mail to get to Europe, it could take weeks
to arrive. Of course it took just as long for letters from the front to make it to the U.S. And there was
no way to know how long it would take—letters would sometimes
arrive in a few days, sometimes not for weeks or even months.
Advertisement showing the microfilm
used to record V-Mail
Telegraph
Mail also took up a lot of shipping space that was needed for war
materials. The U.S. adopted a procedure called “V-Mail” or “Victory
Mail.” Letters to and from servicemen abroad were photographed
on microfilm and transported on film by air to the destination, then
re-enlarged and printed on the receiving end and delivered. One roll
of film weighing about 7 ounces could hold over 1,500 letters, saving
precious space and weight on planes transporting supplies to the
troops. Two pounds of microfilm could replace 114 pounds of letters.
Over a billion letters were sent via V-Mail between 1942 and 1945.
The only way to deliver written communication more quickly was by
telegraph. Telegraph machines were used to transmit messages over radio
waves in the form of electrical impulses which were then converted into
data. Because the machine does not relay spoken words, it requires the
use of a code. Samuel F. B. Morse, one of the pioneers of the technology,
developed the Morse code, a series of short and long tones, lights, or clicks
which represent the letters, numerals and punctuation of a message. Sending
telegraph messages was expensive. Especially in wartime, people usually
reserved telegraph communication for the most important messages.
Telephone
Morse code
While many American homes did have a telephone, it was too expensive for each home to have
its own line. The majority of home telephone lines were “party lines,” shared with two or more
other homes. Calls were routed through telephone operators at switchboards. Operators used
a ring pattern to notify the telephone owner that a caller was on the line. For example, one ring
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would let the first home know the call was for them, two rings would be for their neighbor. The
system allowed more people to have telephones, but it also meant that your neighbor could pick
up their line and listen to your conversation.
Newspaper and Radio
Most people received news of the war from a newspaper.
Every American city and most towns had at least one daily
newspaper. But radio was an equally important connection
to the world. Families would gather around the radio in the
evening. Live broadcasts of music, baseball games and shows like
The Adventures of Superman kept people entertained. When it
came to getting the latest news, there was nothing like radio for
immediacy. The first news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
came via radio. The next day President Roosevelt’s address to
Congress announcing the U.S. war with Japan was broadcast to the
nation on the radio. In the years that followed, radio broadcasts
of Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats” helped unite the country in their
understanding of the war.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the Oval
Office at the White House delivering a
fireside chat about the progress of the
Second World War
Ham Radio
Amateur radio broadcasting, also known as ham radio, is two-way
transmission in which messages are sent by Morse code or by
voice. Ham radio operators use shortwave
radios to communicate all over the world.
But during World War I and World War II,
Family listening to news on the radio
the United States Congress suspended all
amateur radio broadcasting. Radio operators were, as a group, banned
from transmitting but they often kept their listening gear in operation.
1943 cover of QST, a monthly
magazine published by
the American Radio Relay
League for ham radio
operators. QST is radio code
for “calling all stations.”
Newsreels
During World War II, short messages from prisoners of war were often
read by studio announcers at stations in Germany, Japan and other Axis
powers countries. A number of shortwave listeners, including citizens
who discovered they were able to hear the shortwave bands on their
home radios, copied the prisoner names and addresses and notified
families by mail or telephone. The practice became known as “Prisoner
of War relay” or “POW monitoring.” Although the Allied government
provided similar services, the families usually heard from shortwave
listeners first, sometimes as many as 100 at a time.
Moviegoers were kept up to date with events at home and on the war fronts by newsreels that
were run before the feature film. A newsreel was a short documentary film averaging 10 minutes
long, which provided news, usually featuring recent wartime footage, and entertainment for
millions of moviegoers.
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Television
Very few homes had television sets at the time. In 1945 there were fewer than 10,000 working TVs
in the country and only nine stations on the air. At the start of World War II, worldwide television
broadcasting was reduced or stopped completely. The country most drastically affected was England,
whose TV broadcasting was shut down from September 1, 1939 until June 7, 1946.
In the United States, commercial broadcasting was unaffected until 1942. At that time, virtually all
stations went dark. Those stations remaining broadcast with a reduced schedule throughout the war.
TV was used (among other things) to entertain the troops, provide updates on the war, and to teach
the public civil defense and demonstrate emergency first-aid procedures.
MILITARY LIFE
Radio, Telegraph and Telephone
In WWII wired and wireless communication was very important for directing
military forces spread all over the world. These methods of communication allowed
information to be relayed immediately. Wired systems provided telephone and
telegraph service, including the printing telegraph. Countless miles of wire were
laid throughout the war zones to allow troops to talk to each other. Troops also used
wireless technology. High-powered mobile radio sets were distributed throughout
the military as widely as possible. With these sets, telegraph communication could
be conducted at distances of more than 100 miles with vehicles on the road.
“Field telephones” are the great-grandfathers of the cell phone. They are mobile
telephones intended for military use, designed to withstand wartime conditions.
They can draw power from their own battery or from an external power source.
Field telephones were first used in the First World War to direct troops. The first
field telephones had a wind-up generator, used to power the telephone’s ringer and
batteries to send the call.
Military field
telephone
Navajo Code Talkers
Wireless communication during World War II allowed troops to send messages
to their comrades, but it allowed enemy troops to hear those messages as well.
Portable military
American and Allied troops would speak in code in an effort to prevent Englishtelegraph unit
speaking Japanese soldiers from discovering their tactics, but the Japanese were
skilled at breaking codes. Codes became so elaborate that a three line message
might take 30 minutes to decipher, which made communication difficult.
Philip Johnston, a civilian whose missionary parents raised him on a Navajo
reservation, pitched the idea of using the difficult-to-master Navajo language
to confound the enemy and allow efficient communication between allied
troops. No Japanese and only about thirty non-Navajos could understand the
Navajo language when World War II began. Johnston’s idea to create a code
Navajo Code Talkers at work based on the Navajo language offered a simple, effective way for troops to
communicate quickly without allowing the Japanese to understand. Those three-line codes that had
taken 30 minutes to decipher could now be communicated in 20 seconds.
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An elite unit was formed in early 1942 when Johnston recruited the first 29 Navajo “Code Talkers.”
Although the code was modified and expanded throughout the war, this first group was the one to
conceive it. Many of these enlistees were just boys; most had never been away from home before.
Navajo Code Talkers played an important role in creating and communicating in a code that the
Japanese could not break.
Visuals
Armed forces used hand signals, signal lamps, rockets and flares to communicate visually on the
battlefield. For example, troops would often go into action when they saw the pre-arranged
visual cue.
In the Navy, signalmen are specially trained
visual communicators. One of the more common
methods used by signalmen is “semaphore.”
Signalmen on a ship use hand-held flags to send
messages to nearby ships. The signalman holds a
flag in each hand and rotates the flags into certain
positions to represent a letter in the alphabet.
Newspapers
Cards used for semaphore training
Stars and Stripes is a newspaper established by soldiers during the American Civil War. It is still
in existence today and reports on matters that affect the members of our Armed Forces. During
World War II, both young soldiers and experienced newspapermen in uniform filled the staffs.
Some of the editions were assembled and printed very close to the front in order to get the latest
information to the most troops.
Messengers
Radios made giving orders easier, but messengers had to be ready to deliver important data
that could not be sent over the air. An Army messenger’s job in World War II was primarily to
deliver important documents and orders to and from units and
higher command. Using a motorcycle or jeep, a soldier would carry
documents such as maps, detailed orders and other information to
troops. Dogs were also used as messengers and, in the German army,
reached a high degree of efficiency.
Homing pigeons were used extensively as one-way messengers.
Sending messages with homing pigeons is one of the oldest methods
of long-distance communication; Roman armies used them more
This pigeon, named G.I. Joe, completed
than 2,000 years ago. In WWII pigeons were the only means of
the most outstanding flight made by an
Army Pigeon in WWII. Flying 20 miles
communication for some posts where rough terrain or close
from British 10th Army Headquarters
proximity to enemy lines made it impossible to string wire or use a
in 20 minutes, the message he carried
radio. Carried in baskets, in a sling under the arm or in a shirtfront,
arrived just in time to save the lives of
at least 100 Allied soldiers. Because of
the birds were released under fire and most succeeded in getting
his actions, G.I. Joe received the Dickin
through. Pigeons originally carried their message in a tiny capsule
Medal for gallantry.
fastened to one leg until handlers started attaching a larger capsule,
the size of a cigar tube, to the pigeon’s back; this could carry a bigger load, including maps, photos
and detailed reports. Very few of these messages were coded, because pigeons were so dependable
at reaching their destinations.
25
WORDS & PHRASES THAT MIGHT BE NEW TO YOU
Bastogne. – town in southeast Belgium near the Luxembourg border
Battle of the Bulge. – German attack on Allied forces in Belgium toward the end of World War
II which caught the Allies by surprise. The name came from the way the Allied front line bulged
inward on wartime news maps.
We’re taking flack from the ack ack!
flack – bursting explosive shells
ack ack – anti-aircraft artillery. In WWI, to avoid confusion from letters which sound alike,
the British Army used a phonetic alphabet where letters were pronounced as distinctive
words. Anti-aircraft artillery was abbreviated as AA, and pronounced “ack ack.”
You gave me a key, remember, in case I needed to take a night shift in the spotters’ post. – high
place where a lookout watches for enemy aircraft
But the bluegills and crappies is running!
Bluegills and crappies are both freshwater fish in the sunfish family. The bluegill is the
state fish of Illinois.
I brought you my ration coupon. – ticket allowing the purchase of a certain amount of a product
each month. Food and other materials needed for the war effort, like rubber tires, leather shoes,
clothing and gasoline were all rationed during World War II.
That for a shortwave, Mz Hicks? – radio that transmits and receives on a high frequency range.
Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than
those used for medium and low frequency bands first used for radio communications.
Shortwave radios have an extremely long range, and can broadcast and receive signals
from anywhere on earth.
I don’t cotton to people knowing my business, specially not this business! – like, take kindly to
It’s just like Terry and the Pirates, when Terry was sneaking up on a nest of Nazis.
Terry and the Pirates was a popular radio show set in the Far East, featuring action, high
adventure and foreign intrigue. The show was adapted from a comic strip created by
Milton Caniff. It aired 15-minute segments five times a week during WWII. After 1945,
with no wartime villains for Terry and his pals to fight, ratings dropped. The final episode
aired on June 30, 1948.
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That’s what Bogie smoked in Casablanca.
Bogie – actor Humphrey Bogart
Casablanca – a 1942 American film set in Africa during World War II
It’s just like the forest of the Ardennes, it could be crawling with Nazis. – wooded area that covers
parts of Belgium, Luxembourg and France. It was the site of the Battle of the Bulge.
They’re so close I can smell the creosote and gunpowder! – dark flammable tar
He made me listen to the ground to see if it wanted a garden here. Now I’m listening to see if it
wants to go fallow. – idle during the growing season
NELL: Opossum.
GIRL: A possum?
NELL: Opossum. He’s mighty particular about the O.
opossum – any of over 100 species of marsupial mammals of North, South and Central
America. Opossums are usually active at night. They have tails that can wrap around and
grasp objects (such as tree branches), and are expert climbers.
possum – any of about 69 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to
Australia, New Guinea and Sulawesi (and introduced to New Zealand and China)
Tuc named him Delano after the President. – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
You know my name sign! – special sign in sign language that is used to uniquely identify a
person, just like a name
On behalf of the United States Government... and the Geneva Conversation.... I hereby inform you
that you are a Prisoner of War...
Buddy confuses the word “conversation” for “convention.” The Geneva Convention refers
to a set of standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of
war. The establishment of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland in 1863 led to the First
Geneva Convention.
Where’s Ricky’s duffle? – large cylindrical bag made of cloth with a drawstring closure at the top
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Cracking the Code
Keeping information away from the enemy is a vital task during wartime. During World War II, personal letters
to and from the armed forces were often censored to assure that they did not contain sensitive information, like
a soldier’s location. Codes also played an important role in WWII, keeping knowledge about troop movement
and strategy secret from enemy forces. There were many kinds of code used, some involving the use of little
known languages, like Navajo, to translate messages.
Though it was not used as a code by the military, the language that Tuc, the Deaf mailman uses in The Edge of
Peace is one that very few of his fellow townspeople understand—American Sign Language (ASL). Part of the
language is the manual alphabet, used to spell words for which there are no other signs.
The message below has been coded using the ASL alphabet. Using the key at the bottom of the page, translate
the message. Then use the key to learn to spell your own name in ASL.
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m a ny
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ho m e
t he i r
d u r i n
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ol d i
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a b c d e f ghi j k l m
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What does that mean? It’s a slang term for “talking.” Slang is an informal vocabulary made of
invented words, changed words and exaggerated or humorous figures of speech. For example:
dough, greenbacks, bucks, moolah, C-note and Benjamins are all slang terms for money.
Different kinds of slang are often used by different groups. Your friends and family may have
slang terms that only you and they use. Even if you don’t know the exact definition of a slang
term, you can often guess its meaning by the way it’s used.
Try to define the underlined slang terms in these lines from The Edge of Peace:
A soldier sits in a foxhole all alone, waiting for the battle to begin.
Don’t that just chap you? I am sure Ralph Sitter would rather be picking his own apples himself.
I saw you get off the bus and walk into that German POW camp big as life!
They hear some kind of foreign talk, mumbo jumbo coming from her house.
You scared the liver out of me!
I don’t mind giving you store credit if you don’t have cash money, but I will not tolerate you
snitching things.
I saw something that made me turn right around and hightail it back here.
Well I can’t hear a thing with you jaw-jacking.
List as many slang terms as you can that you use.
Choose a word, create a slang term for it and write a sentence using the slang.
Original word:
Slang word:
Sentence:
See if your friends can guess the meaning of the slang by reading your sentence.
BOOKLIST
For Children & Young Adults:
Fiction:
Caleb’s Wars
David L. Dudley
On the Wings of Heroes
Richard Peck
Life is happy and peaceful in young Davy
Bowman’s Illinois neighborhood until
America enters World War II and his older
brother enlists in the Air Force. His daily
adventures and hijinks are now clouded with
worry over his brother’s safety and waiting
for his return. A coming of age story that
remembers what life was like on the home
front while honoring America’s military
heroes.
The Impossible Patriotism Project
Linda Skeers
Love You, Soldier
Amy Hest
The Quilt
Gary Paulsen
Shooting the Moon
Frances O’Roark Dowell
Nonfiction:
The Good Fight: How WWII Was Won
Stephen E. Ambrose
Sunrise Over Fallujah
Walter Dean Myers
Sign Language for Kids: A Fun & Easy Guide to
American Sign Language
Lora Heller
Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and
Betrayal
Mal Peet
World War II Days: Discover the Past with
Exciting Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes
David C. King
Travel back to 1942 and experience firsthand
what life was like for kids in America during
World War II. Make cool toys and crafts, cook
up delicious recipes, and play exciting games
like Sea Battle.
Weedflower
Cynthia Kadohata
Wonderstruck
Brian Selznick
Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts About Peace
Anna Grossnickle Hines
Love, Lizzie: Letters to a Military Mom
Lisa Tucker McElroy
Booklist prepared by Meghan Sullivan,
Pierce County Library System
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We’d love to know what was helpful to you as you read and used this guide. Please fill out and
return this short survey to us. We appreciate your feedback.
1. For which play/plays did you use the Educator Resource Guide?
□ Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat
□ The Edge of Peace
□ Danny, King of the Basement
□ Adventures with Spot
□ The Wizard of Oz
□ Crash
□ Dot & Ziggy
2. Was it easy for you to find and download the Educator Resource Guide?
□ Very □ Somewhat □ Not very
□ Not at all
3. On a scale of 1 – 5 (5 being the highest), how useful was the Educator Resource Guide?
□ 1
□ 2
□ 3
□ 4
□ 5
4. What did you use from the Educator Resource Guide?
5. Is there something you would like to see included in the Educator Resource Guide that wasn’t here?
6. Which of the following best describes you? I teach:
□ Preschool
□ High school
Other Comments:
□ Elementary school
□ Home school
THANK YOU!
MAIL to: or EMAIL: Seattle Children’s Theatre
[email protected]
201 Thomas Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Attention: School Shows
32
□ Middle school or FAX:
206.443.0442