The Wave Lesson Plan

What do we know about Mr. Ross's discipline exercises that the students haven't yet figured out?

Strasser brings us into Mr. Ross's head as he plans his lessons in order to create a clear connection between his discipline exercises and Nazism. Because we have such a clear insight into his thoughts, it's clear to us what his plan is. However, his students haven't figured it out, and most of them don't until the very end. This may be an opportunity to teach your students about dramatic irony - when the reader knows something the characters don't, it creates tension, and The Wave carries this tension through to the final chapter.

Compare Laurie and David's reactions...