Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein Unit Study

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This unit study includes lessons and activities based on the book Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein by Don Brown.

When he was born in 1879, Albert was a peculiarly fat baby with an unusually big and misshaped head. When he was older, he hit his sister, frustrated his teachers, and had few friends. But Albert’s strange childhood also included his brilliant capacity for puzzles and problem solving: the mystery of a compass’s swirling needle, the intricacies of Mozart’s music, the secrets of geometry—set his mind spinning with ideas. In fact, Albert Einstein’s ideas were destined to change the way we know and understand the world and our place in the universe.

Thanks to Kristy Seaman and Beth Keesler for preparing this Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein Unit Study.

Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein Unit Study Lessons

Here is a sample of the lessons found in this Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein unit study:

German History: WWII
The events that led up to World War II are complex and may be difficult for younger children to grasp. You may choose to briefly review or go into more depth as you deem fit. Germany was the main aggressor in the first world war, 1914-1918, and was punished severely by the United States, France and England.

The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 caused that Germany pay heavy fines and Germany was prohibited from manufacturing heavy weapons. Germany’s state of affairs spiraled downward afterwards. Its currency lost its value, people were not able to afford their homes or food and were hungry and sick, political parties were severely divided.

In the midst of this chaos, a new political party, the Nazi Party, was formed opposing the current government rule. The Nazi Party was led by Adolf Hitler. The Nazi Party was not the party of government; however, Hitler staged attempts to overthrow the current govt. leaders which led him to a short prison stay, where he wrote Mein Kampf a book of his ideas about German superiority. The Nazi Party slowly grew throughout the 1920’s and by 1933 Hitler became Chancellor.

German people were distraught with high unemployment rates and high cost of living and were eager for new leadership, someone who could change their current situation.

Within months, Hitler’s popularity grew and in 1934 the president died. The German military swore their loyalty to Hitler and the Nazis took complete control of the government. He declared the Nazi Party as the only legal party in Germany. Hitler began to rearm Germany: Service in the German army was mandatory for all men; children were encouraged to join youth loyalty groups; factories were devoted to manufacturing airplanes, weapons, and warships.

Hitler was a fascist, a person who believes in absolute power for the person in charge. He became greedy and wanted to take over Europe. Hitler invaded Austria in March of 1938, Czechoslovakia in 1939, and Poland in September of 1939 despite communications from the USA for peace. Because of Germany’s invasions, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

Nobel Prize
Established in 1901 by Alfred Nobel of Sweden, the Nobel prize is one of the highest universal recognitions an individual can get. It is awarded to most often one person a year who has conferred the greatest benefit to mankind in one of five areas: peace, literature, chemistry, medicine and physics. Since 1902 the King of Sweden has awarded all recipients the prize. Each “Nobel Prize Award” consists of a gold medal, a diploma, and a monetary grant, today the amount is 1.5 million dollars. Albert Einstein was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work in the photoelectric effect. This award is given to one individual who made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics.

You can grab a copy of the entire Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein unit study in an easy-to-print file at the end of this post.

How to Get Started with the Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein Unit Study

Follow these simple instructions to get started with the Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein Unit Study:

Buy a copy of the book, Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein, or grab one from your local library.
Print the Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein unit study.
Choose the lessons you want to use with your student (a highlighter works great for this).
Enjoy a week of book-based learning with your student.