Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam Novel Study Unit

Need materials to teach the novel, Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata? This novel study is jammed packed with pre-reading activities to help build background information on the Vietnam War and military working dogs and assessments for each chapter reading.

This novel study includes
→ several pre-reading activities
• including a Vietnam War draft activity
• student-friendly informational packet on the Vietnam War
• webquest to gain background information on the Vietnam War and military working dogs
• student-friendly informational packet on military working dogs
→ eight assessments included allowing you to gauge knowledge of your students' understanding of the novel. Assessments include multiple choice questions, figurative language questions, literal and inferential reading questions, short and extended writing responses. You will truly be able to assess their reading and writing skills.
→ Humane Education Service Learning lessons and ideas for the picture books
- Nubs: The Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle
- Buddy Unchained
- Before You Were Mine

This literature unit coincided with a service learning unit. Students were involved with a humane education service learning curriculum and partnered with a local animal shelter and VET Dogs.

This product was designed and used with my grade 8 small group and inclusion language arts students.

Amazon summary of Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam:
CRACKER IS ONE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY'S MOST VALUABLE WEAPONS: a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. She's a Big Deal, and she likes it that way. Sometimes Cracker remembers when she was younger, and her previous owner would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. That was nice, too.

Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. There, he's going to whip the world and prove to his family and his sergeant -- and everyone else who didn't think he was cut out for war -- wrong. But sometimes Rick can't help but wonder that maybe everyone else is right. Maybe he should have just stayed at home and worked in his dad's hardware store.

When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn't so sure about this new owner. He's going to have to prove himself to her before she's going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they have to be a team if they want to get home alive.

Told in part through the uncanny point of view of a German shepherd, Cracker! is an action-packed glimpse into the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a dog and her handler. It's an utterly unique powerhouse of a book by the Newbery Medal-winning author of Kira-Kira.
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Resources to support this unit:
• Military Working Dogs Worksheet
• Service Learning Story and Activity
• Webquest Activity
• Vietnam War Activity Draft Discussion for Social Studies and ELA
• Vietnam War Article and Activity
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