Kids Wings Activities for Newbery Honor Book, The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

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The War That Saved My Life
Newbery Honor Book
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

It is 1940 in London, England.

To the East, war is breaking out as Hitler's Nazi military begins its deadly march to take over Europe.

Living in a one-room flat with a small window and no bathroom, Ada does not know how old she is. She has never left her one-room flat. Mam, her cruel mother, has thereby managed to hide her daughter's physical handicap that keeps her from being able to walk. Denied food, interaction, experiences, and treatment for her clubfoot, Ada gets around by crawling. Nonetheless, Ada is expected to raise and care for her little six-year-old brother Jamie and to do Mam's bidding. When Jamie disobeys, it is Ada who is punished severely.

English citizens, fearing the inevitible invasion of Nazi military, plan a massive evacuation to hide their children among country families. Jamie gets the order from school and shares it with his big sister. All children are being shipped out of London to escape the war. Ada is not on the list, and Mam will not give Ada permission to leave with them. Nevertheless, she wastes no time sneaking up to go with Jamie and somehow to join the evacuation of the children of London.

So begins a new challenge for the courageous Ada. While most of the evacuees are chosen by country families, skinny and filthy Ada and Jamie are not. Susan Smith, a single woman is forced against her wishes to take the two kids who have never known love. Fortunately, Miss Smith has a pony that Ada is determined to teach herself to ride no matter how difficult and painful it becomes. Throughout the struggle to adapt to a real home, to learn to read, to learn manners, and to manage basic interactions, Ada slowly learns basic language and social stills.

Will Susan's patience and love melt Ada's anger, insecurity, isolation, and fear that has created walls around her?

When the War becomes a reality and Hitler's bombing of London spreads toward countryside refugees, will the bond growing between Ada, Jamie, and Miss Smith become safety enough to allow them survive?

Or will Mam reenter their lives and threaten the children with an insurmountable challenge even more horrible than war?

Internet Extensions for
The War That Saved My Life

Which Countries Did the German Nazi Army Occupy?
Hitler's Germany
Dunkirk
Timeline of World War II in Europe
Eyewitness to History
The Battle of Britain

Song: Words

A unit PLUS interactive Jeopardy-type game, perfect for lesson planning, handouts, or projection on your SmartBoard for The War That Saved My Life is NOW available!
Thumbnail views of the literature guide are below.

The 74-page Activity Guide Contains:
Setting the Stage for World War II
Japan's Part in World War II
Where in the World is England? (map study)
Europe Today (map study)
The United Kingdom (map study)
Building Background About World War II, A 2-page Readers Theater Script
Research Club Foot
World War II Prereading Discussion Cards
Setting the Stage for Ada's Story
Anticipation Guide
Ada's Story, Prereading Discussion Cards
Ada's Plight, A 2-page Readers Theater Script
Ada's Growing Vocabulary
Picturing Word Pairs
Predict/Read/Confirm Chapter Questions in Groups of 5 Chapters
Ada's Wars, Multiple Choice Comprehension, Chapters 1-5
Visualizing the Story: Chapters 1-5
War Approaches
Getting to Know Miss Smith, Crossword Puzzle, Chapters 6-10
The Hitler War Machine Rolls Over Europe
Puzzle: Greatness Expressed in Simple Words
Research: War Posters
Puzzle: A Secret Coded Advice from the Top
War Environment, Multiple Choice Comprehension, Chapters 1-5
Illustrate Your Favorite Events from Chapters 16-20
Butter, Church, and Bovril: Chapters 21-25
Christmas with Susan, Visualizing Chapters 26-30
The Bombing of Britain
Research: The Boer War
Research: Dunkirk
Analyzing Summaries of Chapters 31 and 32 (with projectable versions)
Analyzing Summaries of Chapters 33 and 34 (with projectable versions)
Illustrating and Writing a Summer Chapter 35
Visualizing Chapters 36-40
Writing Prompts
One War Ends, The Next Begins (Write the next chapter)
Showing Respect and Gratitude to Soldiers
A Special Pet
Good Timing
Appendix
Objectives for the 9 Predict-Read-Confirm Pages
Pages enlarged for projection
Word Boxes for Crossword Puzzle
Challenge Versions of Puzzles

Answer Pages

Interactive Jeopardy-Type Game

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World War II Literary Connections:

On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck,
the story of the American Home Front during World War II

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan-homefront during World War II
Odette's Secrets by Maryann Macdonald, the story of the Nazi Invasion of France
Weedflower, A Japanese-American Family's Move to Interment Camps
Someone Named Eva,, A full-length Holocaust novel by Joan M. Wolf
The Yellow Star, The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark by Carmen Agra Deedy
The Greatest Skating Race
Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot, a picture book by Margot Theis Raven

On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck,
the story of the American Home Front during World War II

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin, the story of life in Stalin's Russia
(another evil dictator)

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