Use this discussion guide to integrate Mal Peet's young adult novel Beck into classroom learning and independent activities. Many of the Common Core-aligned discussion questions are suitable for outside assignments, reflective writing, or journaling.
Beck Discussion Guide
Excerpted from
Beck
Born of a brief encounter between a Liverpool prostitute and an African soldier in 1907, Beck finds himself orphaned as a young boy and sent overseas to the Catholic Brothers in Canada. At age fifteen he is sent to work on a farm, from which he eventually escapes. Finally in charge of his own destiny, Beck starts westward, crossing the border into America and back, all while the Great Depression rages on. What will it take for Beck to understand the agonies of his childhood and realize that love is possible?
