5.2.2

A Safe Haven
SUMMARY

This informational text describes
how the United States set up a shelter at a
former army base in Oswego, New York, for
more than 900 World War II refugees. The
information extends the lesson concept of
the risks people took to help others during
World War II.

LESSON VOCABULARY

concentration camps customs agents
Holocaust
kosher
quarantine
quotas
tours of duty
translator

INTRODUCE THE BOOK
INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR

Discuss with
students the title and the author of A Safe
Haven. Talk about the meaning of the word
haven as a shelter or refuge, and draw their
attention to the pictures on the cover. Based

SET PURPOSE Guide

students to set their own
purposes for reading the book. Review students’
predictions about what they will learn and what
they believe is the author’s purpose.

STRATEGY SUPPORT: MONITOR AND FIX UP

Have students monitor and fix up their
understanding as they read. At the end of
each section, have students write a sentence
summarizing the facts from that section.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGE 3

What is the purpose of the time line
on this page? (to help the reader recognize the
progression of events in the book by putting
them in chronological order)
PAGE 6

What did Ruth Gruber do for the
refugees onboard the Henry Gibbins? (Gruber
acted as a translator for the refugees and
wrote down their stories.)
PAGES 12–13

How did the townspeople of

document what happened to the Henry
Gibbins refugees. Page 21, paragraph 2
2. Possible responses: Learned: how the
refugees interacted with the soldiers, were
well-fed, and experienced mild discomforts
aboard the Henry Gibbins. Want to Know:
Answers will vary.
3. Possible response: The grocery store sold
kosher meats.
4. Possible response: Hitler taking power was
the most important event since none of
the other events that followed would have
occurred if he had not been in power.
EXTEND UNDERSTANDING

Have students skim
the headings in the book and discuss how the
titles helped them understand the information
in each section. Ask students to talk about
the purpose of the sections’ headings.

RESPONSE OPTIONS
WRITING

Have students imagine that they are
refugees living in the Oswego shelter in 1944.
Ask them to write diary entries in which they
describe what life is like at the shelter. Tell
them to explain the benefits of living in the
shelter, as well as the problems with living

conclusions.
MONITOR AND FIX UP Remind students
to monitor, or check, whether or not they
understand what they read. Tell them that if
they find they do not understand something,
one way to fix up their comprehension is
to quickly summarize the details they have
just read. Suggest that understanding what
they read will help students determine the
author’s purpose in writing all or part of the
selection. For example, students may want
to ask themselves at the end of a section,
“What is the author trying to tell me here?”
Students should then make a quick mental
summary of the facts they just read.

ADDITIONAL SKILL INSTRUCTION

GRAPHIC SOURCES Point out to students
that graphic sources, such as time lines,
pictures, and captions, can help them
understand the information presented in
the text. When students stop to make a
mental summary at the end of each section,
have them also think about how the graphic
sources add to their understanding of the
section.

A Safe Haven


Henry Gibbins and at the Oswego shelter?

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A Safe Haven

Name

Vocabulary
Directions Use the vocabulary words to complete the crossword puzzle below.

Check the Words You Know
concentration camps
kosher
tours of duty

customs agents
quarantine
translator

Down
1. places used by the Nazis to imprison and
kill people they thought were inferior,
especially Jewish people
2. the term given to the Nazis’ systematic
killing of six million Jews during


6

7

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