Teaching Plans 

CCSSELA:  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. 

 Suggested Delivery: Independent Read/Read Aloud 

Key Vocabulary: 

• Nazis: A member of a German political party that controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler.  

• Judaism:  A monotheistic religion, believing in one god. It is not a racial group. Individuals may also associate or identify with Judaism primarily through ethnic or cultural characteristics. Jewish communities may differ in belief, practice, politics, geography, language, and autonomy. 

• Espionage: The practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information. 

• Kristallnacht: Kristallnacht refers to a series of anti-Jewish riots that took place on November 9 and 10, 1938 throughout Germany, Nazi-occupied Austria, and in areas of the German-occupied Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Literally translated, Kristallnacht means 'Night of Crystal.' It has also been translated to mean 'Night of Broken Glass.'  

• Third Reich:  the Nazi regime in Germany from January 30, 1933, to May 8, 1945 

• Adolf Hitler: The dictator of Nazi Germany who rose to power with his radical ideas of expansion and racial supremacy. Started World War II. 

• Dybbuks: From Jewish mythology. Thought as evil spirits that take possession of a person and torment them.  

• Kobolds: German word for Goblin in English. Mischievous spirits typically lived in homes or mines under the Earth. 

• Kindertransport: The operation to evacuate Jewish children from Nazi-controlled areas of Europe to the United Kingdom between 1938 and 1940. 

• The Blitz:  A German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term Blitzkrieg, the German word meaning 'lightning war'. 

• Antisemitism: Hostility toward or prejudice against Jews or Judaism. Discrimination against Jews. 

• Communism: A type of government as well as an economic system (a way of creating and sharing wealth). In a Communist system, individual people do not own land, factories, or machinery. Instead, the government or the whole community owns these things. Everyone is supposed to share the wealth that they create. 

Building Schema: 

Before Reading: Have students watch the above video which introduced WWII and The Holocaust. Have then conduct research and produce a timeline for the events that led to World War II, make sure to include the Kindertransport that Max rode on. Have students work together to produce a large timeline that will support their comprehension as they read Max in the House of Spies. 

 During Reading: As students are reading have them stop and create a book snap. Have students take a picture of the passage they are reading, then use the social media app Snapchat, have them annotate the page using emojis, highlighting quotes, and even creating bitmojis for the characters. 

After Reading: This book is the first in a series, so it ends on a cliffhanger. After finishing the book and learning where we leave Max have students pretend that they are going to join the characters in the story. What things will you need to pack? Think carefully, for you don't know how long your mission will be and there is no going back home to get something! 

 Writing Activity: This story is classified as historical fiction. Thus Max's story is not true, however many of the characters and places are real. The Montagu family was real and they did foster a child from Kindertransport and their uncle did work for Naval Intelligence. After reading this book have students choose a historical event that they are interested in and create a story. Make sure that they include elements of fantasy like Gidwitz did with the kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein. 

Extend The Text