Add rigor to your students' explorations of complex literature with this instructional guide that covers this heart-wrenching story set in a German concentration camp. This modern classic will engage both avid and reluctant readers as students learn to analyze the boys' growing friendship, their family relationships, and the dangers they unknowingly face. The challenging cross-curricular lessons and interesting activities work in conjunction with the text to teach students text-based vocabulary and research-based literacy skills through close reading. Text-dependent questions challenge students to analyze and comprehend story elements in multiple ways.