A Long Walk to Water

A Long Walk to Water 

A Long Walk to Water: Based on True Story

By: Linda Sue Park

Copyright: 2011

Published by: HMH Books for Young Readers

Genre: Realistic/ Historical Fiction

My rating:

Grade Level Equivalent: 4.4

Lexile Measure: 720L

This novel is told in alternative sections and viewpoints; one about a girl from Sudan in 2008 and the other about a boy in Sudan in 1985.  Nya fetches water from a pond twice a day that is two hours’ walk from her home.  In the dry seasons, her family must uproot themselves and spend hours of their time digging through mud to find water.  The boy, Salva ends up becoming one of the “lost boys” in Sudan as he fled his family and walked on foot towards a refugee camp in Ethiopia.  However, at this time, the camps are only temporary homes and shelters and thousands are later killed.  Salva ends up surviving and returns safely to Kenya.  The two stories intertwine in a hopeful ending. 

Suggested Delivery:

Small group, Individual

Words to Describe book:

Hopeful

Moving

Hardship

Triumphant

Adventure

Useful Electronic Resources:

Discussion Guide

This discussion guide is a great resource to reference when teaching this novel.  The discussion guide is aligned with the Common Core State Standards and provides a variety of intriguing discussion questions that students can answer while the read, if reading with small groups or as a closing activity to think about the novel as a whole.  There are many chances for students to come up with a variety of responses for each question and will be able to reference many different passages throughout the book.  This discussion guide also provides other content connection activities that students can participate in to dive deeper into the text.   

Teachers Notes 

This resource provides the teacher with many different opportunities to ask students a variety of questions that ask the students to think about the writing style and other writing techniques that the author employs.  There are also great ideas and activities for the students to expand upon the novel, such as raising money for Water for Sudan (www.waterforsudan.org)

Book Trailer 

This is a great resource for students to watch prior to reading this novel.  The video will give the students some visuals to help relate and make connections while they read this book.  The author also explains why she wrote this particular novel and what it means to her.  This is a great book trailer that would benefit the students to visualize the story to build schema before reading. 

Teaching Opportunities:

Key Vocabulary:

Rebels- People who oppose or defy the government that exists

Mortars- Small, portable cannons that fire explosive shells

Artillery- Weapons for discharging missiles; large caliber guns

Ferried- To move people or goods by boat across a stretch of water

Refugee camp- Shelter for persons displaced by war or political oppression for religious beliefs

Relief Agency- An organization that provides help to people in danger or in a humanitarian crisis

Reading Strategy Suggestions to increase literal and/ or inferential comprehension:

Pre-Reading Strategy

Anticipation Guides

Students can complete an anticipation guide before they read to get them motivated to read the novel.  Some of the items I would include on the anticipation guide would be the amount of time Nya walks to get water a day.  I would also include a fact about the refugee camp that Salva was part of. 

During-Reading Strategy

Venn Diagram

Students can create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the characters of Nya and Salva in the novel with relation to their roles in the community, their lifestyle, and their character traits. 

Post-Reading Strategy

Tweet

Students can write a message, in the form of a tweet, with no more than 140 characters, from Salva to his American family, his nonprofit organization’s donors, one of his drilling crews in South Sudan or anything else the students think Salva would tweet about.  The students can also provide a hash tag at the end of their tweet to make it stand out. 

Writing Activity

Salva is a natural born leader.  What qualities make an effective leader?  What qualities does Salva have that make him a good leader?  Use examples from the text to support your claims.