Welcome to students in Sweden. My class of 25 grade 6/7 students is excited to share thoughts on Kareem Between with you. Here is the first set of discussion questions we wrote about after reading the first 55 pages of the book:

1. What does Kareem agree to do in order to be recommended to the coach for the Spring Squad? How does it make him feel? Do you agree with the decision? Provide some reasons for your decision.

2. At the end of this section, Kareem explains how it feels "being from two places." How does being from two places impact his life? Write about anyone else in real life or from another piece of media that also has this experience as part of their life and how you think it might impact them.

By Sophia.v 

Kareem agreed to help Austin to do his winter break essay and Austin will help get him on the football team. But then Austin texted Kareem and asked him to just do the whole essay and Kareem agreed. 

It probably made Kareem feel not great because who wants to do someone’s essay for not even a 100% chance of getting on the football team.  

I don’t think that I would agree with doing someone’s essay, I would rather try and make the team totally on my own. And I especially wouldn’t because  
I still might not make the team. 

          Kareem being from 2 places makes him feel invisible. And that he’s not great at both cultures because he mixes up both languages. It impacts his life because if he shows his culture people don’t like that. And people kind of push him to the side, unless they are the same culture. 

I’m writing about someone who moved here last year to Canada from India. and I feel like everyone is rude to her and doesn’t like how she is younger. I think they are just jealous that she is in the same grade as us but younger. People don’t hang out with her or want to be her partner in gym. I try to hang out with her and all of that but if I’m not hanging out with her no one else is. 

1.Kareem agrees to help Austin with his essay, because Austin said if Kareem helped him, he would put a good word in for him to his dad. But Austin texted that he just wanted Kareem to do it for him. 

It makes Kareem feel anxious about getting in trouble, but he still said yes because he really wants to be on that football team. 

I disagree with his decision because I would not do a project for anyone, but I know how he feels when he wants to be on the team, that is a very hard decision.  

I don’t think Kareem shouldn’t have said yes to Austin because I think Kareem is going to do it, then give it to Austin, and Austin will not do anything to get him on the team. I don’t think Kareem should trust him. 

2. Kareem got mixed up with Arabic and English when he was calling his grandparents and it made him feel frustrated because it made him feel like he had to choose between them. My experience with having to choose is when I was little you know when your walking and everyone is like ‘ come to mee’’ no come to meeeee! And your brain just gets confuzzled. 

The coach’s son said he would tell his dad to put him on the team if he did the coaches kids homework, which is the essay over winter break. 

He feels mad at him because he called him K, and because he didn’t agree to the essay, but he really wants to make the team. 

I do not agree with him that he probably thinks he’s so cool because he made the team but probably just because his dad is the coach. He just wants him to do his homework because he’s too lazy to do it. 

It impacts Kareem’s life because You must learn a new language and meet new friends. It’s hard because no one knows who you are, and you don’t know who anyone else is. While you must learn everything, you still do stuff with your culture. Kareem also must learn new sports and activities. Although he likes football, he didn’t even make the team. And now he wants to make the team by doing Austin essay and he literally calls him k. 

Vienn is like that because he had to move from the Philippines. 

He only knew a little bit of English, so he had to learn that, and he had to make new friends. He still does stuff with his parents in his culture. 

The only sport there was in the Philippines for Vienn was basketball. So its hard to change your normal life. 

Two Questions 

1.  What does Kareem agree to do to be recommended for the Spring Squad?  

Kareem agrees to do Austins Winter break essay. He does this so he can be part of the Spring Squad for football.  

2. How does it make Kareem feel?  

It probably makes Kareem feel used and not good at first because Austin said that he would help Kareem work on it and then Austin just told Kareem to do it for him.  

3. Do you agree with Kareem’s decision? Why and why not? 

I do not agree with his decision because you should not be doing someone else’s work just so then you can get into a sports team that you really want to get into too. Because if someone is making you do stuff for them, they will do it repeatedly. 

Part two:  

At the end of this part, Kareem explains how it feels “being from two places” How does being from two places impact his life? Write about anyone else you know that has a similar experience, and how it impacts them. 

How does it impact his life?  

I think it would have a pretty bad impact on his life because he would get made fun of by trying to fit in with his culture and trying to wear stuff that his culture would wear. 

Write about anyone else you know that has a similar experience, and how it impacts them: 

My friend Liyan has lived in two different countries. She has lived in Saudi Arabia from when she was born to when she was 7. Then she moved to Canada, and she’s lived here ever since. She misses Saudi Arabia a lot because she still has family there but she really likes Canada because she made many more friends here than she did in Saudi Arabia.  

By: VIENN 

1. Kareem agrees to do Austins Winter work\homework and essay, to join the spring football team. And if he doesn’t agree we won’t be able to join the spring football team, and I kind of don’t agree cause Austin is just letting Kareem do his work and Kareem doesn’t have any fun. 

2. Kareem feels embarrassed cause he is from 2 places Saudi Arabia and United States of America, and I think I know someone with that same experience is me, because we first went here it was hard to speak English but I’m fluent in Filipino. 

By Molly  

Kareem agreed to help Austin to do his winter break essay. But then Austin texted Kareem and asked him to just do the assay by himself. Kareem didn’t feel great about this, so he got mad. I defiantly wouldn’t do someone else’s essay just to get on the football team, but I don’t even like football. And that kind of thing just sounds like something that would happen in a movie, that’s my reason like why I wouldn’t do someone else’s homework. And Kareem didn’t want to lie to the teacher.    

Kareem being from two places made a difference in his life and it makes him feel like if he does something apart from his culture, people make fun of him and that doesn’t make him feel great. I am writing about jasveen she moved to Canada from India. I feel like people are rude to her because she is younger than us but she stared school in India, and they start school younger than Canadian school starts. I think that it makes an impact on her life that people are kind of rude to her. 

1. Kareem agrees to write Austin’s essay for him. It makes Kareem feel a little bit mad and sad because he thinks Austin only wants him to do the essay and not for him on the team. I agree with Kareem’s decision because if you like a sport and you have the option to join the team I would take it. Also, maybe he is smart and it’s not that hard for him to do it 

2.It impacts Kareem because when he wants to be like the Americans he can’t and they are racist to him, but he can’t fit in with his other life because he doesn’t know the language and so he feels like he can’t fit in with anyone. My brother Henry went on a rotary exchange to Austria, and it was hard for him to fit in there because he didn’t know German and that would affect him at school. But now he came home, and they didn’t give him credits for his school there so now he might have to do grade 12 again and he won’t fit in. 

By Priya  

When Austin said if he could help do his winter break essay would ask his dad about the spring football team. I think that when he said yes, he was happy then after a while he thought about it and got the message if he could just do it alone, he felt like he was just using him and would not ask his dad about it. But I think it was not a good deal because he is probably a mean kid and is using him to do his work.  

Part 2  

I the end he says that being from two places makes him feel like he doesn’t have his own language. And he feels like he’s two people. I have one friend named Anna and she struggles with some English because she is from Ukraine. 

Austin asks Kareem to do the winter break essay and if he does, he will tell his dad to put Kareem on the spring squad football team. 

Kareem agrees to do Austin’s winter break essay to make the spring squad. Kareem at first was kind of shocked because he wanted him to do the whole thing and then he got mad because Austin called him k. if I was Kareem I would do it if it was hockey but I think Austin is going to scam him and not put on the team so if it was someone I trust then I would do it. 

Gra Kareem Between Question 2 

I think Kareem feels embarrassed two be from two different places because he wants to fit in America, but he also wants to keep his Arabic culture, and he sometimes mixes English with Arabic when he’s talking. I think my grandparents moved to Canada from India  and they didn’t know how to speak English so that was hard. 

By Olivia  

 Kareen agreed to do Austin’s winter break essay so Austin said that he would recommend asking his dad to put Kareen on the Spring Squad. I think when he agreed to do his homework, he was happy to maybe have a chance to be on the team. But when he got the text, he was mad that he just diched him. I do not agree with his decision because why would he do his homework? Did Austin think that he was good at it. How would he do both projects with different ideas that are not the same. 

In the book Kareem said that it is hard to be from two places. He also said that he thinks that he has no language at all. It’s hard for Kareen to talk in Arabic and it is even harder for him because his sister is hard on him because she is a bully to him. As what he thinks. Anna said that she struggles with English and Ukrainian.        

By Audrey  

1. Kareem explains how it feels being from 2 places. There are some things that impact his life… You must get used to it, it’s hard to fit into a new school, and he misses his old friends.  

2. My friend Ryleigh moved to Kamloops for a year. Thees are some ways that impacted her… She was sad living 45 minutes away from her friends and had to get used to living there.  

Kareem agrees to help Austin with his winter break essay and Austin will help him get on the Spring Squad because his dad is the coach of the team so he can ask his dad to put him on the team, and it was a done deal. 

 At first Kareem thought it was a good idea and was practicing so he can be ready but then Austin texted him if he could just do the whole essay, it made Kareem mad and anxious about the essay because it seemed like he was cheating. 

 I don’t think Kareem should have said yes because it seems like Austin is going to trick him into just doing the essay for him and not asking his dad to put him on the team. 

Part two: 

It makes him feel like he isn’t good at each of the languages and It made him feel kind of frustrated like he doesn’t really fit in. since I have to live with Lorenzo it impacts my life because he’s always saying its his turn but its mine it impacts my life a lot and makes me very sad. 

2. It impacts his life because he speaks English and Arabic.

2. Kareem think that it is hard to be from two places and I think that it's because he wants to fit in but he also wants to keep his arabic culture. He also think that it's hard because his sisters are really mean to him because his arabic isn't so good.

2. He feels like he doesn't have a homecountry and a home language. I don`t have anyone who is from another country. All my freinds and family are from Sweden.

2. He want to be like the americans and speak their language. But he doesn't know the language so he feels like he doesn't fit in.

it impacts his life negativly and any thing he dose he feels like he is braking one of his ancestors rouls

2. He speaks two languages, one that he has to speak in school, another at home, which can be problematic, even more since his sister can speak arabic perfectly, and that makes their mom so happy. But when he speaks he doesn't speak as good and he feels like he keeps disappointing her.

2. Kareem feels that he dosen't fit in to his homeland or where he lives now. So he feels like that he is between two diffrente worlds.

I personaly wouldn't like to do his essay because I dont like school and wouldn't wanna spend unnecessery time on it.

2a

So that he dosen't understand his home countries language very well.

2b

I'dont know any one that has has been trough that experience currently so can't answer now.

3He does Austins essay