Howie Crispers, an eleven year old boy living in Brooklyn during World War II, seems to think his principal is a Nazi spy. Dr. Lomister, or as Howie refers to him as the "drill sergeant with rules," plans to fire Howie's favorite teacher, Miss Gossim. Once Howie learns of this he is determined to save Miss Gossim.
AVI. (2001). Don't You Know There's A War Going On? New York: HarperCollins.
Suggested Delivery: Independent Read
Reading Level: Lexile: 500L; Level S
Vocabulary: fidget, convoy, spy, ally, U-Boat, monitor, pact, nazi.
Vocabulary Activity: Introduce the vocabulary to students, explain that many of the words in the text relate to war and WWII. Ask students to note vocabulary words that are unfamiliar or new to them as they read in their reader's notebooks. After each chapter read go over new vocabulary, providing students (as well as asking students to provide) the definitions of each.
Teaching Strategies:
Pre-reading: Begin by introducing the text to the students and explaining the setting as well as the time (WWII - 1940s). Ask students to create a KWL chart about WWII and the time period. Complete this chart as the story progresses.
During Reading: As students read the novel have them complete a timeline of events in U.S. history that are occurring as the novel progresses. The students will incorporate both events from the story and U.S. history on the timeline to compare. Once students have done this they will work with a partner to discuss and create questions based on the book and what was going on at the time. (ex: How does Howie feel about the war? What does he say that implies this? (Use quotes from the text) How is Howie's family affected by the war? etc.
After Reading: Have students take on the character of Howie after the novel has ended. Where is Howie now? What is going on after the war? Students will write a journal entry from the viewpoint of Howie. Students may also pick another character to write from the viewpoint of and may create a Voki of that character.
Web Resources:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/dont-you-know-theres-war
Student Wiki and Voki created about the book: http://historicalfictionbookreviews3.wikispaces.com/Don't+You+Know+There's+a+War+on-+Austin+C.
http://www.bringinghistoryhome.org/assets/bringinghistoryhome/5th-grade/unit-2/5_WWII_LessonPlans.pdf
http://files.harpercollins.com/PDF/TeachingGuides/0380804905.pdf
Incorporating Reader's Theatre into the Classroom http://www.teachingbooks.net/author_collection.cgi?id=4&a=1
http://fffbookclubs.pbworks.com/w/page/4522641/Guiding%20Questions%20-%20Don't%20You%20Know%20There's%20a%20War%20On
