Pedro+and+Me+Themes

**Themes**

 * Disease
 * Cancer
 * Confronting mortality (Kathy Kepulis)
 * Friendship (Sarah Babler)
 * AIDS (Susan Steffen)
 * Homosexuality (Susan Steffen)
 * Romantic Relationships (Nick Schreiber)
 * Loss (Sarah Babler)
 * Self-Identity (Kathryn Love)
 * Compassion (Mary Qualls)
 * Immigration (Susan Steffen)
 * Tolerance (EH)
 * Coping with a terminal illness (Danielle Cesare)
 * Tenacity and Determination (Kaite Sweval)
 * Sex education in schools (Megan Deutschman)
 * Media Literacy (AH)
 * Finding Purpose (TRH)
 * Growth out of loss (MarkD)
 * Stereotypes (Georgia Wagner)
 * Interracial Couples (SM)
 * Death (SN)

**Suggested Paired Texts (Contemporary or Classic)**

 * Staring Down the Dragon by Dorothea N. Buckingham (Kathy Kepulis)
 * Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson (Sarah Babler)
 * __A Culture of Risk__ by Daniel J. Kevles (Nick Schreiber)
 * My Girl by Laurice Elehwany (Sarah Babler)
 * __Black Hole__ by Charles Burns (Kathryn Love)
 * __Stuck Rubber Baby__ by Howard Cruse (Kathryn Love)
 * __A Prayer For Owe__n Meany by John Irving (Susan Steffen)
 * __Its your world--if you don't like, change it : activism for teenagers__, Mikki Halpin (EH)
 * __Before I Die__ By: Jenny Downham (Danielle Cesare)
 * __1 World Manga__ by Annette Roman (Kaite Sweval)
 * //Alex, the Kid with AIDS// by Linda Walvoord Girard (Megan Deutschman)
 * Angels in America by Tony Kushner (play/movie)--excerpts for an older class
 * Red Ribbons Are Not Enough: Health Caregivers' Stories About AIDS ** Meredith E. Drench ** (SN)
 * Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse (MQ)
 * __Weeping Under This Same Moon__ by Jana Laiz (TRH)
 * __I am Third__ by Gale Sayers [The inspiration for __Brian's Song__] (MarkD)
 * Millennial Manifesto by Abeer Abdalla (Georgia Wagner)
 * __AIDS in the Twenty-First Century: Disease and Globalization__, Tony Barnett (SM)
 * AM I BLUE? By: Marion Dane Bauer

**Projects and Activity Ideas**
Write this letter as if you were Pedro, using details from the book. (Kathy Kepulis)
 * If Pedro could write a letter to his mother, what would he tell her?
 * Write about a time that you had a deep friendship with someone and if there was something in life that made you lose that friendship. (Sarah Babler)
 * Students could film their own mock "Real World" in how they would deal with a housemate who has HIV. Each student group would assign roles to their members and have different scenes where they respond with compassion and are informed about HIV (this would allow students to do research on HIV and they could discuss their findings in the video) and where they are not informed about HIV and are very fearful (students could present research findings on how certain groups-particularly from the 1980s and early 1990s when there was much misinformation about HIV/AIDs-view AIDS as punishment for homosexuality and act as those people would act towards a homosexual with HIV). The goal would be for students to learn about HIV and that groups have existed and continue to exist that are not compassionate towards gays with HIV. Nick Schreiber
 * Students could write about a time that they lost someone and how they honored their memory. (Sarah Babler)
 * The theme I chose is tolerance. Students could write and act out skits on ways to deal with peer pressure associated with bullying and hatred of certain groups (such as homosexuals). (EH)
 * Make a list of things that you would want to accomplish or do before you die and explain why they are important to you. (Danielle Cesare)
 * Research the history of AIDS in the media and discover how coverage and acceptance of this disease has changed throughout time. (Megan Deutschman)
 * In pairs, students could record an interview similar to those shown on the Real World. The students would have to choose to be either a housemate described in the novel, or Pedro himself. The interview would include discussion of living with someone with HIV or if they chose to be Pedro, how he feels about the living situation. Students would have to come up with 10 relevant questions and responses consistent with views portrayed throughout the novel. (Kathryn Love)
 * To focus on Pedro's culture, students could write a two-page research report on the country of Cuba. The culture, government, traditions, etc. would be explored through the student's research. This report would also include information, links, and photos. (Kathryn Love)
 * Using the graphic novel as a base students could create their own comic strip that educated people about HIV/AIDS. (Kaite Sweval)
 * Service Learning--volunteering at an HIV/AIDS activism site (such as FXB International) and giving a school-wide presentation (iMovie?) on the experience of working with individuals living with the disease/educating other classes/encouraging participation. I just took my class to FXB International (more info on my blog) and it was transformative for them--they didn't know that people with HIV/AIDS look and talk and act like everyone else--that it's not visible and not uncomfortable. On-site learning--and service learning--is a powerful thing. (Andrea)
 * Have students create their own comic strip about issues and subject matter that is relevant to them. Then have them present it to the class. (Mary)
 * Students could research a few organizations, and then choose one they like. They could then share with the class why they chose that cause, how it is important, and ways to help. (TRH)
 * Students will spend time contemplating their own legacy. What it would say about them now...What they would like it to say years from now after their lives have run theirn course. Students could even take time experiencing mock funerals where they are eulogized by their peers...learning about "legacy". (MarkD)
 * Students could work in groups to select a public health or social issue. Conduct research, put together informational flyers, blog about their findings, develop wikis to contribute, and publish their works to share with their peers. (Georgia Wagner)
 * Develop and perform a production focusing on at least one theme from this book. (Georgia Wagner)
 * Have the students campaign at the school to create awareness of aids and hiv through announcements, ads, posters etc (SN)