• A copy of the story, "The Christmas Truce"

• Read the story and prepare to share it with the group.
• Review the discussion questions and choose those that will best help the participants share their interpretations of the story and relate it to their own lives.

Read or tell the story to the group.

Invite the group to be silent for a moment to think about the story.

Begin a discussion by asking the participants to recap the story in their own words. What they recall indicates what they found most meaningful or memorable.

Lead a discussion using these questions:

• What do you think made the first person step out into No Man's Land? What do you think he was feeling?
• What do you think happened on that battlefield after the Christmas truce? Why?
• Have you ever stepped up to stop a fight or argument? How did you feel?
• In the story, the soldiers were able, at least for a little while, to think of the other side as human beings, rather than as "the enemy." Do you ever hear friends or adults talk about other people as if they were "the enemy," or not fully human? What do you do in a situation like that? What could you do? What might be frightening about that? What might feel good?