原版英语RAZ 教案(Z1) The Blitz.pdf
Visit www.readinga- for thousands of books and materials.Writing and ArtTwo types of fighter planes are mentioned in the story:Hawker Hurricanes and Spitfires.Research these planes and compare them using a Venn diagram.Social StudiesResearch to learn more about how people in the London area prepared for air raids during the Blitz.Create an informational brochure on how to prepare for an air raid.ConnectionsThe BlitzA Reading AZ Level Z1 Leveled BookWord Count:2,450www.readinga-Written by Sean McCollum Illustrated by Wesley LoweThe BlitzLEVELED BOOK Z1www.readinga-How does the historical setting of the story affect Reggie and his family?Focus QuestionWritten by Sean McCollumIllustrated by Wesley LoweThe BlitzWords to Knowair raidbarrage balloonschaperoneevacueesflakgingerlyinterceptlieutenantlooLuftwaffeNazisobliteratedPOWRoyal Air ForcesquadronsurrealtelegramwardenCorrelationLEVEL Z1WXN/A60Fountas&PinnellReading RecoveryDRAThe BlitzLevel Z1 Leveled Book Learning AZWritten by Sean McCollumIllustrated by Wesley LoweAll rights reserved.www.readinga-3Reggie waved to his mum through the train window.She held her black leather medical satchel over her right shoulder.These days she carried the kit everywhere.“Be prepared,”shed say with an impish grin.“Theres a war on,you know.”Gazing at him from the platform,she used her thumb to push up her jaw.“Keep your chin up,”she was saying with that gesturestay brave.She did this whenever Reggie was frightened,which had happened often since the Germans conquered most of Europe five months ago.She was a nurse in wartime and had seen awful things,but she was tough.When the telegram about Dad arrived,though,she closed herself in the loo for what felt like hours.Now she was sending Reggie out of London,away from the German bombs that fell most nights.By late afternoon he would be among the apple orchards of Somerset,where he would stay with Gran and Grandpa Oxnam on their farm.The Blitz Level Z14The train jerked,then slowly began moving.Reggie returned his mums“chin up”gesture.He fought back tears as the train left the station.The train car was filled with kids like him dressed in jackets and caps against Novembers damp chill.Most were younger,and many of them had notes safety-pinned to their coats.He didnt.At thirteen,Reggie refused to have a label stuck on him as if he were a tin of biscuits.Next to him sat Clive Bibby,his friend and classmate,who had family outside Bristol.A matronly woman in a blue uniform walked the aisle,counting heads.When the woman counted Reggie,his throat tightened.I dont belong here,he thought.Reggies mum wanted to send him away as soon as the bombs started raining down on London back in September.The Germans werent just bombing the army bases and airfields anymore.Reggie dug his heels in,promising to make himself useful around the house and always tell his mum where he was going.Everything would be okay as long as they were together.Then came the telegram about his father.“I wont lose you,too,Reginald,”Mum had said,her voice hard as cast iron.5The train rocked gently on its way out of London.Reggie pulled the wrinkled telegram from his pocket and read it again.AIR MINISTRY 11.11.1940 REGRET TO ADVISE THAT REPORTS INDICATE THE PLANE OF YOUR HUSBAND CAPT.NEIL OXNAM LOST ON 21.10.1940 DURING OPERATIONS OVER FRANCE STOP HIS CURRENT STATUS IS MISSING IN ACTION STOPSince the war started,Reggie had always been able to picture his dad strapped into his Spitfire plane and leading a squadron into the fight.Day after day,night after night,the Royal Air Force rose to intercept the Luftwaffethe Germans fighters and bombers.The RAF was Britains last line of defense.Now his dad was missing in action.Reading those words for the hundredth time,his heart still sank into his stomach.Had he bailed out?Had he been captured?Was he.?The Blitz Level Z16Clive interrupted Reggies thoughts.“You think the Nazis are going to invade?”he asked.Clives dad was older and served as an Air Raid Precautions warden.He made sure people in the neighborhood had their blackout curtains closed so the German bombers couldnt target the lights of their houses at night.He helped guide people to the shelters during raids,too.“Dunno,”Reggie replied.“They wouldve come across the Channel in summer,dont you think?”“I reckon,”Clive replied.They were nearing the western outskirts of London.Reggie spotted two dots in the sky growing larger as they approached.“Spitfires?”Clive asked.Reggie leaned forward.“A bit slow,”he decided.The planes passed overhead,engines roaring.“Hurricanes.Out of Northolt.”7Reggies dad was based in Northolt.He had taken Reggie for a tour there once.Reggie had met some of his dads mates and even got to sit in his plane.There was a small duck painted on the nose.“Lucky Duck.Thats what we call your dad,”one of the men explained to Reggie.“Best and luckiest pilot here.”He had shaken Reggies hand.“Im his wingman,Lieutenant Warren.”After reading the telegram,Reggie had tracked down Lieutenant Warrens address and written him,asking for any information,but he had not heard back.His mum didnt know about the letter,and now she would be alone to face the news,whatever it might be.He wouldnt be there to help.After some time,the train seemed to be slowing,and suddenly Reggies mind was clear.He stood up as the chaperone patrolled past.“Are we stopping,maam?”he asked.She patted him on the shoulder.“Just briefly at Reading Station,son,to pick up some more evacuees.”EnglandATLANTIC OCEANLondonNortholtGerman-occupied territoriesSomersetEUROPEThe Blitz Level Z18Reggie waited for her to pass,then pulled his suitcase down from the rack above.He flopped into his seat,pulled a pen from his shirt pocket,and began writing furiously on the back of the telegram.“What are you up to,Reg?”Clive asked.“Huge favor to ask,Clive,”he said,still writing.“My Gran and Gramps Oxnam will be waiting at the station in Bristol.They already know about Dad,but tell them Im sorry and please give them this note.Ive got to go back.”Reggie hid in the loo with his suitcase.When the train came to a stop and the doors clattered open,he popped out,rushed through the incoming mob of kids,and jumped out onto the platform.9Another blue-suited chaperone took a step toward him,but Reggie was ready.He picked out a stranger at the far end of the platform.“Gran!”he called,striding toward her and waving wildly.Satisfied,the chaperone turned away,and Reggie disappeared into the crowd.Reggie made his way to the bus station and bought a ticket back to London,then noticed a man with scraggly teeth selling preserves.“Homemade raspberry jam?Two shillings,”he offered.Reggies mum loved raspberry jam,but it was hard to come by in the city.He withdrew his last coins and handed them to the man.“Ta,”the man said as he pocketed the coins.Reggie stowed the jar in his pocket.“Peace offering for my mum,”he said.“Good luck with that,lad,”the man chuckled.The Sun was all but down when the bus reached the stop nearest the hospital.It was surreal to approach the city as daylight faded.Barrage balloons floated like huge swollen pigs high above the city.They kept German dive bombers from coming in low,his dad had explained,which made their bomb runs less accurate.The Blitz Level Z110Reggies suitcase swung awkwardly as he hiked the ten blocks to the hospital.Evening fell,but no lights came on.It was as though the great city of London were trying to hide in the dark of night.Reggie was sweaty and panting when he reached the nurses station.He dropped his suitcase with a clunk.“What are you doing here,Reg?”Nurse Flynn asked.“Youre supposed to be on your way to the country.”“Is Mum here,please?”he asked,ignoring her question.“Her shift ended about an hour ago,”she replied.Reggie winced.“Sokay if I leave the suitcase here?Ill get it tomorrow.”“If youre still alive,you rascal,”she answered,shaking her head.Your mum isnt going to be happy to see you,I imagine,”she called after him as he raced out the hospital doors.11Reggie ran,the leather of his shoes slapping on the sidewalks.Dark shapes of people came out of nowhere and disappeared as quickly.He reached the shadows of Alexandra Park,where hed played many a football match before the war.Now its grassy patches had been turned into gardens for the war effort.He scanned the park,still running,and then he felt his foot jerk back as it tangled in the strings of a trellis for beans.He fell forward and hit the ground,barely catching himself.The air raid sirens went off.Reggie thought hed gotten used to the rise and fall of their howls,but hed always been safe underground by the time they warned that German aircraft had been spotted.He rolled on his back to catch his breath.Then he noticed a dark figure squat down beside him.“Headed to the shelter,are we?”a familiar voice shouted over the sirens.The man was wearing the bowl-shaped helmet of an Air Raid Precautions warden.The Blitz Level Z112“Mr.Bibby,”Reggie gasped.Mr.Bibby pulled Reggie up by his arm,looking closely at his face.“Reggie?!What are you doing here?”“Do you know where my mum is?”Reggie cried.Mr.Bibby helped him to his feet.“First,lets get to the shelterseems the Jerries are a smidge early tonight!”Reggie and Mr.Bibby darted from street to street till they reached Bounds Green Station and descended the 169 stairsReggie had counted themto the underground shelter.They were halfway down when Reggie heard the first crumpthe sound of a bomb hitting up above.Crump.Crump,crump.Crump,crump,crump!The distant crackle of antiaircraft guns firing.They got to the bottom.Reggie leaned over to catch his breath.“Ill go find your mum,”Mr.Bibby said.He wandered into the dozens of nests of quilts and pillows where people had settled in.13Reggie waited,trying to think of the right words that could defuse his mums anger.Mr.Bibby came hurrying back,pink in the face from exertion.“Cant find her,”he said apologetically.Reggie felt instant panic run cold down his legs.“She always comes here,”he said.“Where could she.?”Crump.Crump.PHOOM!Concrete dust floated down from the ceiling.“Thats close,”Mr.Bibby said with a shudder.CRUMP.PHOOM!Phuh-BOOM!Reggie ducked out of instinct when he heard bombs that seemed to land right above them,the ceilings shuddering violently.All grew quiet.Then,without another thought,he was dashing up the stairs two at a time.He could barely hear Mr.Bibby yelling his name over the ringing in his ears.The Blitz Level Z114Reggie emerged into a world transformed by smoke and dust.The explosions seemed to be moving farther away.He sprinted the four blocks toward home,dodging parked cars and the smashed bones of buildings.When he rounded the corner onto their street,he saw that the houses at the far end were burning.By the firelight,he could see that a bomb had obliterated the house three doors down from their own.He raced to the front of what had been their two-story flat.The right half had toppled forward onto the street,burying their small front yard in rubble.The left half still stood,leaning precariously.There was no time to wait for a rescue crew.Reggie scrambled forward,catching himself as the rubble shifted under his feet.15“Mum!”he called,unsure if she was even there.Then he spotted it in the wreckageher medical kit.Wherever it was,she was nearby.“MUM!”he called louder,his mind muddled with fear.He began grabbing bricks and tossing them aside,scraping up his hands.Reggie heard something and paused,listening intently.He recognized her voice,even if he couldnt make out the words.He redoubled his efforts,digging toward the sound.“Boy!”A shout came from behind Reggie.“Get out of there!Its not bloody safe!That building could go at any moment!”Reggie didnt bother to turn around.“Keep talking,Mum!”A hand came down hard on Reggies shoulder.Reggie turned and popped the man in the chest.Mr.Bibby stumbled backwards,onto his bottom.His glare could have cut steel.Reggie almost apologized,but there was no time.“Mums under there!”he explained,trying not to panic.He heard his mums voice again,clearer now.“George Bibby?!Is that you?”In an instant,Mr.Bibby was shoulder to shoulder with Reggie,pulling away the rubble.The Blitz Level Z116They reached a flattened red door,worked it free,and there she was,covered in plaster dust.Mr.Bibby shined his flashlight where she lay.Reggie gasped at the sight of the blood coating her left leg.“Its fine,”she said.She reached up her arms for their help.“Legs broken,but it hurts worse than it looks,”she joked.“Lets get to the hospital,shall we?”Reggie and Mr.Bibby gingerly helped her to the street.“I fell dead asleep after work,”she said groggily.“Didnt hear the sirens till.”By Mr.Bibbys light,she looked at Reggie a bit vacantly as if seeing him for the first time.“Youre supposed to be in.Oh dear,youre hurt!”Confused,Reggie looked down and saw that his pocket was smeared with sticky red gunk.He couldnt help laughing.“Its just raspberry jam,Mum.”17“Reginald.”Reggie felt a gentle shake on his shoulder.He opened his eyes,saw the white tile walls of the hospital,and remembered hed fallen asleep on a bench in the hallway.His mum sat before him in a wheelchair.The white cast on her leg jutted out like a battering ram.Her face and hands were freckled with nicks and cuts.Reggie sat up.He gently rubbed his eyes with his bandaged hands.“Theres someone here to see us,”she said softly.Only then did Reggie notice the man standing behind her in the gray RAF uniform.Reggie blinked.“Lieutenant Warren?”Lieutenant Warren gave a quick salute with his right hand.His left was in a sling.He pulled Reggies letter from a pocket.“Sorry for the delay.Caught some flak before I could write you.”“Dad?”Reggie asked,a lump forming in his throat.Lieutenant Warren sat down beside him,and Reggies heart dropped.Thats what people did before delivering bad news.The Blitz Level Z118“He took ground fire and went down,bellied into a field in France.I made another pass overhead,and he signaled that he was okay.But there was nothing I could do with the Germans on my tail.”“So they got him?Hes a POW?”Reggie asked frantically.Warren shook his head and smiled.“French Resistance got to him first.They sneaked him onto one of our subs two nights ago.Hell be here this afternoon.”Reggie buried his face in his hands,tears of relief welling in his eyes.His mum reached out and squeezed his shoulder.Reggie looked up.“Lucky Duck?”he said,drying his eyes on his shirtsleeve.A smile cracked across Lieutenant Warrens weathered face.“Luckier than ever,I should say.”19Glossaryair raid(n.)an attack in which military planes drop bombs on a target on the ground(p.6)barrage large balloons tied to the balloons(n.)ground with attached nets or wires that block low-flying enemy aircraft(p.9)chaperone(n.)a person who looks after or is responsible for others,often during a trip or social event(p.7)evacuees(n.)people who are being moved away from danger(p.7)flak(n.)guns,gunfire,or bursting shells used to attack aircraft(p
