Long Walk to Water Long Walk to Water Easy Drwings
Unit Plan: A Long Walk to Water
Aligning Fictional Reading Incorporating Cross-Curricula Association
Introduction
Linda Sue Park's book entitled A Long Walk to Water (Lexile Measure: 720L) chronicles the factual story of Salva, a Sudanese boy coming of age in various refugee camps, with Nya, a young girl living in Sudan nearly twenty years later. Both tales are told congruently and are woven together in such a fashion that it becomes challenging, at times, to determine which story is historical and which is fiction.
Park's book is an enlightening introduction into the world of Africa, specifically Sudan, highlighting the problems and the perils of the region as well as the human-interest connection common to our existence. For this reason, A Long Walk to Water lends itself well to the sensibilities of middle school students. The issues of economics, governance, and race do not yet encumber this age group. They can relate to the story despite the far-off and foreign setting of Africa because Park's writing style is warm and captivating. Students, irrespective of socioeconomic or racial/ethnic background, can relate to the concepts of dislocation and death and lighter themes of sense of community and traditions. A Long Walk to Water is packed with topics in which the students can relate, even if the book is only 115 pages.
The true power of the book comes by way of its strong connection to social studies, specifically seventh grade. Africa is part of the seventh grade curriculum where the students learn about the economics, government, history, and geography of the continent. Of the fifty plus countries in Africa, only seven are emphasized and that number is reduced even more as Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa consume most of the discussion. However, the Republics of North and South Sudan, respectively, are discussed and this dovetails rather seamlessly with Park's book. Infusing the sub-disciplines of social studies –geography, government economics, and history- with developing strong writers becomes the overarching theme of this unit plan. As Common Core takes shape, students will be required to develop analytical skills and compare texts across the curriculum; strengthening one's critical writing ability is paramount.
Unit Rationale
The main goal of this unit plan is to incorporate the literary aspects of language arts and fuse them with social studies. In other words, I will use GPS based on social studies while using elements more often associated with the classroom of language arts. As mentioned earlier, Common Core attempts to incorporate a similar ideology and I want to follow suit as my two areas of certification will be social studies and language arts, while acquiring my reading endorsement by the end of 2013. A Long Walk to Water specifically lends itself to the GPS of seventh grade social studies. The following GPS will be addressed throughout the unit:
SS7G1-The student will locate selected features of Africa
SS7G2-The student will discuss environmental issues across the continent of Africa.
SS7G3-The student will explain the impact of location, climate, and physical characteristics on population distribution in Africa.
SS7G4-The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Africa.
SS7H1-The student will analyze continuity and change in Africa leading to the 21st century.
SS7CG3-The student will analyze how politics in Africa impacts the standard of living.
Day 1 (Chapter 1 & 2)
Literature circles will be implemented in this class of twenty-four. The roles have already been assigned to each group of six and the teacher will act as the facilitator moving from group to group to monitor progress and offer scaffolding when necessary. Students of varying talent and functioning levels will be assigned to groups as to provide parity. Students will be given assignment/role sheets where they can jot down notes based on their specific role for that day. These sheets will be kept in a color-coded binder for the creation of a portfolio for students to reference throughout the unit. This folder will be accessed by the instructor to determine individual contributions to the group in determining a final grade. Here is a listing and description of the specific roles and accompanying responsibilities:
Summarizer: Prepares a brief summary of the chapters and begins the discussion
Questioner: Creates a list of questions focusing on the "big ideas" and central themes
Connector: Finds connections between the book and the students' lives
Illustrator: Draws illustrations and gives the words a graphic representation (differentiation)
Travel Tracer: Keeps group updated about where action is taking place in a specific chapter
Vocabulary Enricher: Updates groups about unfamiliar or troublesome vocabulary words
Students will be assigned a role and rotate every two to three days. The purpose is to get students familiar with their designated responsibility, while not creating complacency or discomfort by leaving students in a role for too long a period. Students will read Chapters 1 and 2 from the book today and focus on the enduring understanding: Water scarcity impacts the social, cultural, and economic decisions in one's community. In order to establish the backdrop of A Long Walk to Water, students will be introduced to Sheppard Software –an interactive aid that allows students to learn more about geography. This software can be used with the Promethean Board, and it is essential to spend five minutes to develop an understanding where Sudan –now the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan- is located. The instructor is to briefly discuss the ethnic/religious differences of Sudan to shed light on tomorrow's writing assignment.
Questions to start discussion:
1. How would you react if you had to walk miles to get water or food?
2. If you were Salva, would you have gone back to check on your family or fled the community?
3. What country(s) that we have previously studied does Sudan resemble?
During the last five minutes of class, students will be asked to think about what might happen in the following chapters that will be discussed tomorrow. They can write down ideas on their paper to see how their thoughts/predictions compare with the actual text.
Day 2 (Chapters 3 & 4)
Students will resume their roles from yesterday and continue reading within their groups. After they have completed their reading, students will be asked to write a brief (50 words) about a time when they encountered someone they had differences with. Much of the reading deals with differences between ethnic groups -Salva is Dinka and Nya is Nuer. Differentiating between an ethnic group and a religious group is a major theme throughout seventh grade social studies. Each student is encouraged to write about conflicts they have had and a solution to how it could be solved. It is easier for students to write about the conflict, but writing a solution provides more analysis and critical insight.
As a formative assessment, each group will be required to draw a map of Sudan and include specific geographic features (Nile River and desert and savanna regions) as well as the neighboring countries of Ethiopia and Kenya. They are encouraged to add personality and their individual style to their drawings. The purpose for this assessment is to gauge the students' geographic understanding and use this point in the unit to clarify any misnomers/misconceptions/misperceptions about the geography of the region.
Day 3 (Chapters 5 & 6)
Students will assume different roles and responsibilities today. The purpose of this is to get students to think about the story from a different perspective. For example, if a student who believes they are otherwise incapable of drawing, he/she now will be asked to draw illustrations. Implementing this adds to the differentiation in learning, even if it requires students to step outside of their comfort zone.
The teacher is to implement a "mini-lesson" today discussing Nya, the fictional character in the story. The reason behind this is to highlight how the fictional character offers perspectives and range not realized by factual characters. Many students may have questions about her role and may be unclear about her not being a factual character like Salva. Students will be encouraged to think of a movie they have seen where the protagonist sees a character(s) that no one else can see in the movie (i.e. The Legend of Bagger Vance or A Beautiful Mind). This is a critical point in the story to enact a mini-lesson because Nya is essential and the conclusion of the story centers on the dovetailing of Salva and Nya in South Sudan.
After reading in the literature circles today, students will be asked to present some of their work to the class. Each group will have 3-5 minutes where they can display the artwork and give a brief synopsis of the progress up to this point. The group will appoint a spokesperson to represent them. The purpose of these mini-presentations is to share with the class respective viewpoints that may shed light and offer differing perspectives to the class, clearing up ambiguities.
Day 4 (Chapters 7 & 8)
Students will remain in the same roles as yesterday. Chapters 7 & 8 are the focus for today, specifically the content concerning Nya and her sister, Akeer. Akeer has become sick from drinking unclean water, a common issue in their community and throughout Africa. Akeer requires medical assistance to remedy her sickness or it could result in prolonged diarrhea and possible death.
Day 5 (Chapters 9 & 10)
The students will remain in the roles from the previous day and all classes will meet in the computer lab. The content of Chapter 10 is fairly heavy as Salva encounters several corpses en route to Ethiopia. During this chapter, Salva's uncle is murdered by bandits from the Nuer ethnic group. Many students have probably watched movies or videos that have shown reenactments of death, but this account is personalized as the deceased are more than likely in a similar predicament as Salva –fleeing war-torn Sudan in search of safety, food, and water.
After students complete their chapters for the day, they will access a website to help them formulate some ideas for their final project –a poem chronicling the events in the book and infusing social studies terminology pertinent to the study of Africa. The poem will also have an accompanying visual –free hand drawings, paintings, or cartoons/comic strips- highlighting a specific event from the story. The website (http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/poetry_engine.htm) they will use comes by way of Scholastic and it interactively enables them to write poems based on the formats ("haikus, free verse, limericks," etc.). Groups will be allowed to choose their format.
You Can't Write a
Poem about McDonald's
Noon. Hunger is the only thing
singing in my belly.
I walk through the blossoming cherry trees
on the library mall,
past the young couples coupling,
by the crazy fanatic
screaming doom and salvation
at a sensation-hungry crowd,
to the Lake Street McDonald's.
It is crowded, the lines long and sluggish.
I wait in the greasy air.
All around me people are eating —
the sizzle of conversation,
the salty odor of sweat,
the warm flesh pressing out of
hip huggers and halter tops.
When I finally reach the cash register,
the counter girl is crisp as a pickle,
her fingers thin as french fries,
her face brown as a bun.
Suddenly I understand cannibalism.
As I reach for her,
she breaks into pieces
wrapped neat and packaged for take-out.
I'm thinking, how amazing it is
to live in this country, how easy
it is to be filled.
We leave together, her warm aroma
close at my side.
I walk back.. through the cherry trees
blossoming up into pies,
the young couple frying in
the hot, oily sun,
the crowd eating up the fanatic,
singing, my ear, my eye, my tongue
fat with the wonder
of this hungry world.
-Ronald Wallace
The rationale for providing this poem is for students to see how poetry can be applied to seemingly mundane or "everyday" situations. This prepares them for writing about poetry and being more descriptive and colorful in their detail.
Day 6 (Chapters 11 & 12)
After the weekend, the students are back in class. In an effort to alleviate any of the content being forgotten during their time away from A Long Walk to Water, it is suggested to show video (http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity/god-grew-tired-of-us-the-lost-boys-of-sudan/?ar_a=1) from National Geographic entitled "The Lost Boys of Sudan." This video is effective in that it gives students a broad overview of what they have already read with a brief glimpse of what they are about to encounter in the book. Approximately five minutes are required to show this video, which may provide some stimulus for the students' poetry project as well. This activity acts as a jumpstart to the week by reigniting their fervor for the content.
Students will rotate roles starting today. We will revisit vocabulary that has been discussed in the book –immigrant, refugee, and resettlement- with words that are required understanding per GPS –civil war, famine, ethnic group, scarcity, and natural resources- as Salva enters Ethiopia. Students will be reminded about the "Show What You've Learned" quiz tomorrow.
Day 7 (Chapters 13 & 14)
Students will remain in their same roles as yesterday. Students will be given a formative assessment for a grade today. The quiz lists three vocabulary words –ethnic group, scarcity, and civil war- they are to define. They are to describe Nya and Salva and give some facts (2-3) about each character.
The following grading scale is provided to determine the level of mastery for each student. It is based off the measurement for CRCT with only slight adjustments given to the "Superior" and "Satisfactory" ranges, respectively.
Superior (22-25 points) Satisfactory (18-21 points) Sub-par (0-17 points)
Nya's village is experiencing a well being dug for access to clean water and the guarded hope and optimism that brings. Conversely, Salva and his refugees were forced to flee Ethiopia because of political instability within the government. He has become a leader amongst his group and he now must help them navigate across a crocodile-infested river in front of them with armed soldiers behind them. The prompt for the students is simply this: "What would you do if you were in Salva's situation?"
Day 8 (Chapters 15 & 16)
These two chapters represent a period of new encounters for Nya and Salva. After drilling for several days, clean water has become accessible in Nya's village. She no longer has to make daily treks to get clean water from the pond.
For Salva, he leaves his village, boards several different flights en route to the United States, and experiences a winter –all firsts in his life.
As each student or someone they know may have experienced immigration, moving from different regions of the United States, changing schools, or trying new foods, they are to keep these prompts in mind as they work in their groups today. Relating their personal experiences with those of Nya and Salva are essential for group discussion today. Students will also be given class time to work on their project that is due on Friday (Day 10).
Day 9 (Chapters 17 & 18)
Students will remain in their same roles as yesterday due to their group project being due tomorrow. The final chapters bring the story to a congruent conclusion. Nya's community is building a school which girls are allowed to attend –a significant accomplishment in rural African villages. Salva is making strides in bringing awareness to the Lost Boys of Sudan and helping to raise money to bring clean water to that region. As it turns out, the water pump that was brought to Nya's village was due in part to the efforts of Salva. The two meet in Nya's village at the very end of the story. Part of the significance of this lies in two different ethnic groups –Dinka and Nuer- coming together for the common cause of clean and healthy drinking water.
Students are to revisit their in-class assignment about providing a solution to a problem they had with someone close to them. How would that solution change now that you have seen what Salva and Nya experienced? Is your problem so massive that you are unable to work together with that person for an agreed upon solution? Students are to provide evidence as to how they would improve their previous solution. The remainder of class will be provided for groups to work on their projects that will be presented tomorrow. The teacher is to remind students that Salva, with limited English proficiency and being relatively new to the United States, spoke in front of strangers in efforts to raise awareness and funds for clean water projects. The purpose of this is to ease some of the anxiety of public speaking that students may be feeling. Each member will have to contribute to the final presentation (Presentation time: 3-5 minutes), but only one or two people will be required to present material. The individual contribution of each member will be assessed by the instructor based on the material provided in the group's folder.
Day 10 (Final Project and Presentation)
Groups will be given a little preparation time to finish up some last minute details of their projects. The poem in conjunction with the graphic portion will be presented in front of the class. Slips of paper with each group number will be put into a hat and chosen at random to determine the presentation order. Students will be given a corresponding grade based on their individual participation (50 points) and group presentation (50 points). The teacher is to locate the assignment sheets listing the student's name and their role. A grade will be given based on the quality of the content and whether they followed the directions per the specific role assignment.
The group presentation grade will given to each member based on the quality of the presentation –poem and graphic representation- based on the following criteria:
1) Effectively conveying the meaning or theme the group intended
2) Including events, vocabulary, and characters from the story in the poem and graphic portions
3) Graphically depicting specific aspects from the story in a clear and concise manner
The following grading scale is provided to determine the level of mastery for each student. It is based off the measurement for CRCT with only slight adjustments given to the "Superior" and "Satisfactory" ranges, respectively.
Superior (87-100 points) Satisfactory (70-86 points) Sub-par (0-69 points)
After the presentations are completed, a small party will be given consisting of snacks and bottles of water, a nod to the book and a reminder that this precious resource is to be appreciated, regardless of one's geographic location.
References
Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle: new understandings about writing, reading, and learning / Nancie Atwell. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, c1998.
Fulton County Schools. (2013, May 1). A long walk to water teacher guide. Retrieved from http://school.fultonschools.org/ms/holcombbridge/Documents/A%20long%20walk%20to%20water%20teacher%20guide.pdf
Riska, C & Wallace-Weaver, J. (2013, May 1). The lost boys of Sudan. Retrieved from http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity/god-grew-tired-of-us-the-lost-boys-of-sudan/?ar_a=1
Scholastic. (2013, May 1). Poetry idea engine. Retrieved from http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/poetry_engine.htm
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