The Wednesday Wars

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What was the Vietnam War? How does it fit into the social unrest that rocked the United States and the world during the 1960s (and beyond)?

Teaching Suggestion: The subject of the Vietnam War was, and still is, steeped in controversy. It is an important topic. Educators can help students approach the topic with nuance, balance, and sensitivity, perhaps by helping students understand the context that influenced policy, perceptions, and public opinion. Teachers can utilize these or similar resources to connect to the novel’s major themes of Coming of Age and Unrest in the 1960s.

• The History Channel has several pages of material dedicated to the Vietnam War including a detailed timeline.
• PBS American Experience features documentary films, trailers, clips, and articles that might provide more context.
• John Green’s CrashCourse: US History #38 video, “The Cold War in Asia,” provides historical and philosophical background on the Vietnam War (13 minutes).
• The Vietnam War is also a popular topic for children participating in National History Day projects (via Leslie Robinson and Andrew Jeong) (10 minutes) or presenting student-friendly content on history (five minutes via A Kid Explains History).
• Geo History provides a visual, 8-minute “Summary on a Map” that details the major events of the Cold War, which might also spur student research topics for this short answer question. It will also help students understand the atomic bomb drills that take place in “May.”
• Bonus for educators: Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast episode “Saigon 1965” discusses three very different perspectives on why the United States forces lost the Vietnam War.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students with limited background knowledge, it might be helpful to create work groups and assign specific topics that address the gaps in knowledge that are integral to understanding the novel, e.g., “major figures,” “previous wars,” “communism,” “colonial independence movements around the world,” “the role of television and journalism,” and “The Cold War.”

2. Who was William Shakespeare? What were his major works? What are his contributions and legacy to English language and literature?

Teaching Suggestion: Students will not need to be familiar with Shakespeare’s works to connect with Schmidt’s novel, but some background knowledge is helpful. Throughout the novel, Shakespeare’s works are used as a vehicle to help the main character and readers grapple with two themes: Coming of Age and Unrest in the 1960s.

• Both Poets.org and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust feature accessible biographies, along with this 4-minute video from Biography. Poets.org also includes links to Shakespeare’s poems—both sonnets and excerpts from plays.
• This article from The Guardian gives a more comprehensive examination of his legacy and influence in the Western world.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Throughout the first half of the novel, the main character Holling Hoodhood considers the Shakespearean quote, “the quality of mercy is not strained.” It is an opening to a speech given by Portia, disguised as a lawyer, trying to convince the principal antagonist to have mercy on another character. Here is a longer excerpt:

The quality of mercy is not strained;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:

’T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown:

His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

But mercy is above this sceptred sway;

It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,

It is an attribute to God himself;

And earthly power doth then show likest God's

When mercy seasons justice.

What is mercy? How do you define it? Do you agree with the speaker’s idea that mercy is a noble virtue? Are there times when mercy is not a virtue?

Teaching Suggestion: This reflection prompt will help students to grapple with two of the novel’s major themes (Coming of Age and Unrest in the 1960s). There are times when Holling sees that mercy is sometimes strained (hard to come by) in the context of his tumultuous times, and these reflections lead to maturity. Consider having a class discussion on the dictionary definitions and classical usage of the word “mercy” before having students reflect on the prompt on their own.

• Poets.org hosts the entire speech, which, like all of Shakespeare’s works, is in the public domain. 
• This 90-second video is an excerpt from a BBC production of The Merchant of Venice, from which the speech comes.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who have trouble accessing Shakespeare’s language, consider breaking the above text into smaller chunks and/or reviewing the video of the language being read aloud.