The Cats in the Krasinski Square
by Karen Hesse
Genre: Historical Fiction
Interest Level: Grades 3 - 5
Reading Level:
* Grade level Equivalent: 3.5
* Lexile Measure®:990L
* DRA: 38
* Guided Reading: P
Awards:
* Sydney Taylor Book Awards Honor Book Older Readers
* ALA Noteable Book for Children
* Parents’ Choice Gold Award
Description: This book was chosen to be part of the test set because it teaches students about life in the Ghettos during WWII and because of the main characters demonstration of resistance and ingenuity. This book , like many others in the text set shows students the risks people were willing to take to stand up to the Nazis and help those in need. In addition, this book has some very unlikely characters and relationships, which provide a very unique perspective to the study of the Holocaust.
Differentiation: This book is accessible to all readers and pairs nicely with other texts in the set that take place in the Ghettos.
Possible Strategies:
* Research- students will research the source/inspiration of the story. Were there really cats that helped trick the Gestapo?
* Research- the Gestapo hasn't been touched on in our unit, students will research the gestapo and create a visual aid of their choosing to demonstrate their learnings.
*Text-to-Text Connections- how is this story similar/different to other stories in the text set that take place in the Ghetto?
* Pair with Holocaust Museum site- this website includes an animated map that teaches about the Warsaw Ghetto.
Interest Level: Grades 3 - 5
Reading Level:
* Grade level Equivalent: 3.5
* Lexile Measure®:990L
* DRA: 38
* Guided Reading: P
Awards:
* Sydney Taylor Book Awards Honor Book Older Readers
* ALA Noteable Book for Children
* Parents’ Choice Gold Award
Description: This book was chosen to be part of the test set because it teaches students about life in the Ghettos during WWII and because of the main characters demonstration of resistance and ingenuity. This book , like many others in the text set shows students the risks people were willing to take to stand up to the Nazis and help those in need. In addition, this book has some very unlikely characters and relationships, which provide a very unique perspective to the study of the Holocaust.
Differentiation: This book is accessible to all readers and pairs nicely with other texts in the set that take place in the Ghettos.
Possible Strategies:
* Research- students will research the source/inspiration of the story. Were there really cats that helped trick the Gestapo?
* Research- the Gestapo hasn't been touched on in our unit, students will research the gestapo and create a visual aid of their choosing to demonstrate their learnings.
*Text-to-Text Connections- how is this story similar/different to other stories in the text set that take place in the Ghetto?
* Pair with Holocaust Museum site- this website includes an animated map that teaches about the Warsaw Ghetto.