Teacher's Guide to The Secret RoomGrades 4 to 6, Grades 7 to 9, and Advanced
High School and Adult Readers THE BOOK
The Secret Room is a young-adult suspense story, where risks are worthwhile for the sake of friendship. Teachers have encouraged students to also explore the math and history issues that the protagonists savor. This guide provides three levels of classroom processes to make the most of student enjoyment and learning within an exciting and enjoyable experience. STORY SUMMARY In The Secret Room, eighth graders Shawna and Thea discover a hiding place in a former Vermont inn. When the girls challenge community assumptions that the room is romantically attached to Underground Railroad history, their research opens secrets in the village, while another secret emerges from Shawna’s family life. Can they still be best friends across the differences and challenges? THE AUTHOR Living on a mountain in Vermont, surrounded by New England adventures, Beth Kanell discovered her favorite route into writing a novel: braid one strand of a teen discovering that “it’s complicated,” with one strand of local “real” events, and one strand of demanding justice. Watch the characters work out the solution. About The Secret Room, she says, “Shawna Lee needed real courage, not just to crawl through the dark, but to take risks for her friend Thea. She keeps giving me hope. With a good friend at your side, you can do almost anything.” |
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