The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them

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

How might stress and anxiety from students' home lives impact students in the classroom? What factors can contribute to student stress? What strategies might teachers use in the classroom to alleviate anxiety that is caused outside of the classroom?

Teaching Suggestion: The Freedom Writers is a nonfiction book about a group of at-risk students who write diary entries with the help of their teacher, Ms. Gruwell. The students have diverse backgrounds and learn to confront difficult problems at home and at school under Ms. Gruwell’s guidance. Consider discussing the effects of stress in the classroom, stress associated with socioeconomic status and racial issues, and how teachers might strive to create a community that alleviates stress.

• The first few sections of this scholarly article explore the impact of student, academic, and familial stress on education; the graphic might be used to spur discussion in the classroom.
• This article describes the rise of stress among children and teens and provides strategies for adults to help children cope with stress.

Short Activity

Consider Ms. Gruwell’s reading list below. What do you know about the literature pieces Ms. Gruwell reads with her class? How would you summarize some of her materials? In what ways might the books explore Ms. Gruwell’s thematic units on tolerance, teens in crisis, nonconformism, and change?

• Durango Street by Frank Bonham
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• The Wave by Todd Strasser
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipović
• Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose
• Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• Animal Farm by George Orwell

Teaching Suggestion: Ms. Gruwell teaches her students to make connections through literature and writing. She draws comparisons to the students’ day-to-day experiences and the events that occur in her assigned reading. Students may find it beneficial to explore the books that Ms. Gruwell reads in the classroom, discuss plot summaries, and make predictions about the books and their connections to Ms. Gruwell’s themes.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Think back to a time when you felt as though you were disregarded or considered less important than others. How did that experience make you feel? What factors may have impacted your feelings of isolation? What might someone do to create an environment of inclusion?  

Teaching Suggestion: Ms. Gruwell is moved to a classroom of at-risk freshmen after her controversial year as a student teacher. The students in her classroom feel as though they have been disregarded by the school system due to their diverse and underprivileged backgrounds. To help students connect to this content, consider discussing feelings of social isolation and the various factors that may contribute to cultures and people being overlooked in society.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who require an additional challenge may find it beneficial to explore wealth inequalities across school populations and the impact of those inequalities on students from diverse backgrounds. Infographics or simple charts and tables might be designed to share information learned with peers.