Teaching One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Instructions for You

Objective: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich isn't just a novel about a man trapped in prison for more than three thousand days. It's far more significant: in fact, it's frequently cited as one of the most important texts from 20th-century Russia.

In this activity, your students will learn about how Solzheitsyn wrote his novel in response to trying times in his country. He was grappling with the people in power (including a not-so-fun guy by the name of Josef Stalin) and how they abused that power to a crazy degree. Your students are going to work in groups to write a piece that focuses on how Russian fiction depicted and impacted life in the USSR in the 20th century.

It won't write itself, so let's get going.

Materials Needed: Dawn.com's article "50 years since Solzhenitsy Gulag story shocked USSR," BBC news magazine's article, "Solzhenitsyn's One Day: The book that shook the USSR," Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty's page "Stalin's Gulag As 'Ivan Denisovich' Would Have Seen It," a copy of the text, and/or our Shmoop summary page

Step 1: First, have the students read through Dawn.com's article on the Gulag. Give them about five minutes to get a grasp on how the novel shook things up majorly in 1962 Russia.

When the students have finished, you can engage in a brief class discussion about the novel and what Solzhenitsyn's goal was in writing it.

Step 2: Your students are going to split into groups of three and compose a piece about how 20th-century Russian fiction depicted and had an impact on life in the USSR, specifically focusing on this novel.

Give the groups the following instructions:

• The first member of the group will write an introduction to the gulag system, describing how these labor camps functioned and what it was like to be trapped there.
• The second member should focus on how the gulag system features in Solzhenitsyn's novel, using various examples. They could mention plot elements such as the cruelty of the wardens, who are harsh and quick to punish.
• The third member of the group should describe the public response to the novel: this should include reference to the text and what parts of the plot would have been of interest to the public and why.
• Each student's section should be approximately 250 words in length.

Step 3: You should allow the groups to plan their piece for the remainder of the class. They may also want to do some supplementary research, so let them loose on Google. Remind them to only use reputable sites.

We're always here to help, so here's some additional material you can share to get them started on their research. Pass out copies of the BBC news magazine's article "Solzhenitsyn's One Day: The book that shook the USSR," as well as Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty's page "Stalin's Gulag As 'Ivan Denisovich' Would Have Seen It." These resources have text and pictures, so there's something for everyone.

Step 4: The group members can compose their pieces at home, or you can give them some time in class to finish up.

Step 5: When the group's finished, they can submit their work to you for evaluation.

Instructions for Your Students

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich isn't just a novel about a man trapped in prison for more than three thousand days. The novel is far more significant: in fact, it's frequently cited as one of the most important texts from 20th-century Russia.

Today you'll learn about how Solzhenitsyn wrote his novel in response to trying times in his country. He was grappling with the people in power (including a not-so-fun guy by the name of Josef Stalin) and how they abused that power.

You'll be working in groups to write a piece that focuses on how Russian fiction depicted and impacted life in the USSR in the 20th century.

It won't write itself, so let's get going.

Step 1: First, read through Dawn.com's article on the Gulag. You have about five minutes to soak it in, learning about how the novel shook things up majorly in 1962 Russia.

When you're finished, teach will lead a brief class discussion about the novel and what Solzhenitsyn's goal was writing it.

Step 2: Split into groups of three to compose a piece about how 20th-century Russian fiction depicted and had an impact on life in the USSR, specifically focusing on this novel.

Your group will need the following instructions:

• The first member of the group should write an introduction to the gulag system, describing how these labor camps functioned and what it was like to be trapped there.
• The second member should focus on how the gulag system features in Solzhenitsyn's novel, using various examples. One could mention plot elements such as the cruelty of the wardens, who are harsh and quick to punish anyone who puts a foot out of line, even if only by a centimeter or so.
• The third member of the group should describe the public response to the novel: this should include reference to the text and what parts of the plot would have been of interest to the public and why. There could be a focus on Ivan's time away from family and friends, which many on the outside would be aware of if they knew of people imprisoned in these gulags.
• Each student's section should be approximately 250 words in length.

Step 3: Work on planning your piece and what each member will focus on for the remainder of the class. You may also want to do some supplementary research, so let loose on Google. Remember to only use reputable sites.

We're always here to help, so here's some additional material to get you started; check out the BBC news magazine's article, "Solzhenitsyn's One Day: The book that shook the USSR," as well as Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty's page "Stalin's Gulag As 'Ivan Denisovich' Would Have Seen It." These resources have text and pictures, so there's something for everyone.

Step 4: Your teacher will let you know whether to finish your piece in class or at home.

Step 5: When your group is finished, you'll submit your work to your teacher for feedback. Hopefully your teacher will be kinder than Stalin.