Using Literature to Teach Middle Grades about War

Studying historical wars through literature offers an effective, interesting way for students to understand the issues surrounding the conflicts and gain insight into the drastic changes that wars cause in the lives of individuals and nations. Useful for both teachers and librarians, "Using Literature to Teach Middle Grades About War" covers major wars that have generated a suitable variety of materials and resources that are readily available for student use - the Revolutionary War; the Civil War; World War 1; World II; the Vietnam War; and the Gulf War. The wars are categorised into individual literature units. Each unit features a selected chronology; recommended books (picture books, factual books, biographies and fiction); a sample lesson plan; suggested questions and activities; and a glossary. Covering a wide range of viewpoints, the books were selected for their readability, recent copyright dates and point of view. Appendix A contains two planning guides for teachers and librarians that help to effectively organise the units. The first provides suggested guidelines and questions to consider in advance to help effectively organise the units for classes. The second provides help in designing units for special interest groups.