A Lesson in Sudan, Africa

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, the author of A Single Shard, is an interesting perspective into the tragedies of war and famine in Sudan, Africa throughout the last quarter century. I have grown up hearing about the human rights offences that took place in Sudan and Ethiopia, but like many people I didn't understand the conflict. Park uses the true story of Salva Dut, a "Lost Boy" of the Sudan civil war in Africa since 1985, as the basis for the the plot of the book. She connects it to the fictional story of Nya, belonging to the rival Neur clan in Sudan, during 2008 and 2009. The reader follows Salva through his grueling tail of survival as he has to abandon his family in order to escape the battle that has engulfed his home village. The reader follows Salva's life through Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya, crossing deserts, eluding wild animals, avoiding being recruited for battle for either side, in an attempt to reach sanctuary in refugee camps that are almost as grueling as facing the war itself. Salva finally is adopted by an American family where his next life story begins. How can he give back to a country that has so little going for it? This is where the two stories come together.

I recommend this book to all my readers. It reminded me of how the book, Three Cup of Tea by Greg Mortenson, made me understand a little more about the social issues involving the countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. A Long Walk to Water reminds the reader that human rights atrocities in Africa are still a problem. Because there are not vested interests in oil in the region like the Middle East, Americans tend to turn their backs on this corner of Africa.

Can reading a novel like A Long Walk to Water make a person more credible when discussing civil rights or war in which our own country is involved? In other words, How does a story like this make you a smarter person?

Two Different Books, One Very Important Theme

Sometimes I come across a book that allows me to bridge the reading gap between popular adult fiction and the reading levels of my middle school students. I have a few students that have shown an interest in the the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I'm assuming they have already seen the movie and are curious when adults tell them that the book is so much better. It's not that they can't read the book, but in the course of a school quarter, it would consume too much of their time.

 A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg is the perfect compliment to The Help and it is written at a level many of my students can read and share. A Thousand Never Evers compares to the help in that it is also set in the sixties, but in Kuckachoo, Mississippi, instead of Jackson, Mississippi. Addie Ann Pickett and her family all work for white bosses on the other side of the tracks similar to Aibileen Clark and her friends. Addie eventually is made responsible for the care and upbringing of Ralphie, the son of Mrs. Tate.  Addie develops a mother like bond to Ralphie that complicates things as the plot turns for the worst.  In The Help, Aibileen knows all to well about how developing a relationship greater than that of the white parents can complicate things between the boss's children and their black housekeepers.


Addie learns first hand about the hatred of blacks and whites in Mississippi after her own brother disappears defending her against white bullies. She also gets pulled into the drama about the garden that has been left to the entire community by the late Mr. Adams. The white families take over the garden as their own by twisting the words of Mr. Adams will to their favor. The failior of the garden falls on the shoulders of Addie's Uncle Buck and it's up to Addie to find the courage to save her family from certain revenge of white supremacy and a corrupt white legal system.

I will recommend both books to my students.  They both offer an excellent view into life of southern African Americans during a time when segregation, white supremacy, and racial injustice was the black eye of our American history. In A Thousand Never Evers the mystery of Addie's brother's disappearance, Uncle Bump's trial, and her father's death combine with  racial tensions in a community that is showing signs that they might just be ready to cross the racial barriers of the deep south.

Introducing African Civil Rights Through Literature

Burn My Heart and Out of Bounds are two books by Beverley Naidoo that have recieved a lot of attention from the students in my class.  We have been introduced to text sets dealing with civil rights movements throughout history and around the world.  Both books introduced my students to the history of the battle of discrimination racial injustice in Africa.  Out of Bounds is made up of a series of stories told through the eyes of children growing up through Apartied in South Africa from 1948 to 2000. Burn My Heart is the story of two boys in Kenya, one African and one White.  Their friendship is forced to drastically change at the hands of racial hatrid grab both boys and test the trust they both thought was safe.  As the Mau Mau rebellion grows to involve the African workers of the white farm owners, the white government tries to stop the rebellion through intimidation and interrogation.

How does reading about civil rights in other time periods and other countries help readers reflect and understand the civil rights movement in our own country? Is it fair to compare these events to our own country?

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

Hi Merrill Middle School Students! Right now I am reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. This story is based on a true story that takes place in the Sudan. The main character has to walk 8 hours a day to make two trips to get water. Can you imagine that for your daily job?

Enjoy!

Mrs. Stephany

Watch the YouTube video about this book by the author!

Interview about the author

Character Conflicts Can Guide Thinking

Many of the characters in the books we have read this year  had to deal with a variety of conflicts throughout the stories. Bradley Chalkers in the book, There is a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom, by Louis Sachar, was the bully of the school. With the help of his councilor, Carla Davis, Bradley had to overcome the image of the bully he had become by dealing with conflicts involving his classmates, teachers, and even his own family. The author made us infer about the battle taking place inside Bradley by giving us clues using his actions on the outside.

Joel had to deal with conflicts of a very different nature in the book, On My Honor by Marian Dane Bauer. In the beginning, Joel's conflicts revolved around the choices he made with his best friend, and a promise he made to his dad. Joel's internal battles blinded his ability to see the possible severe consequences of his choices until it was too late. Finally, Joel had to deal with the guilt that haunted him like the stink from the river that now hid his friend.

Some of the conflicts in these books are not difficult to identify, but they can be difficult to reflect on in your journal. You need to use the clues the author gives you and and infer how your character is handling their situation and predict possible outcomes.

The Challenge: Think about the conflict your character is dealing with in the book you are reading. Can you identify at least one? Describe how your character is dealing with it. Predict possible outcomes based on the choices your character has decided to make. Please give the title and author of the book.


Mr. Kohl

poem by megan

Love life

Love the
people who love you, and pray for the people who don’t.
If there’s a
chance, take it; if it changes your life, let it.
No one said
life would be easy, they just said that it would be worth it.

 

 

By Megan L.

The Shack by William Paul Young

William Paul Young's book, The Shack, tells the tale of Mackenzie Philips's struggle to cope with the brutal kidnapping of his youngest daughter by a suspected serial murderer while on a family camping trip. Mack's oldest daughter is now falling into a darker image of her former loving self, even as Mack and his wife try hard to bury her in their love. Mack has also fallen into his own whirlpool of emotions he has termed, “The Great Sadness", pulling himself away from work, his own family, and his faith. Only his wife, Nan, seems to have been able to hold onto herself and her family, leaning on her own inner strength, her family, and her belief in, Papa, her name for God.

Mack mysteriously receives a note from, Papa, inviting him back up to the Shack in the mountains where evidence of his daughter's last fearful moments were discovered the day she disappeared. At the Shack, Mack meets the three bodies of God among other holy spirits. They each reveal themselves in unique forms; God as a very wise African woman, Jesus looks very similar to Mack's interpretation of Jesus from his school days, and The Holy Spirit is in the form of a beautiful woman, but she radiates an aura of color and light that makes her difficult for Mack to see.

The experience reminds me of the three ghosts that visit Ebenezer Scrooge. During Mack's visit each deity attempts to help Mack not only find his faith, but come to grips with The Great Sadness that will eventually allow him to save himself and his daughter, and forgive the killer for tearing his life apart.

I wasn't sure if I should blog on this book. Most of my audience will be sixth graders. The book is entirely about God and faith. The premise of the story, and the perspective of the author is what really intrigued me. This book made me reflect more than a lot of books I have ever read, and that is why I needed to blog. Many of my students have a hard time thinking deeper than the literal facts of the story they are reading. I want them to know that sometimes you will come across a book that, not only will make you reflect throughout the reading, but will stick with you for some time after you're done. How can you not share a book like that?

Prequel to the Maze Runner!

 Kill Order by James Dashner is the book that is supposed to tell us the connection of Thomas to WICKED and the deadly trials he had to survive.  I'm not usually excited to get caught up in a book series.  I know I'm not the only one.  This strategy by Dashner has taken me by surprise.  There are a lot of unanwered questions about WICKED and how the world has turned out in such horrible condition.  I should have expected this.  My kids have already pre-ordered the book and challenged me to see who will read it first.  I have my bookmark ready. How about you?

Mr. Kohl

Everlost by Neal Shusterman

Everlost by Neal Shusterman is a science fiction story about what might happen to children if they get lost on their way to heaven. Nick and Allie are involved in a very serious car accident in which they probably weren't supposed to survive. On their way to the light at the end of the tunnel, they happen to bump into each other and end up off course. They end up in a dead spot along the highway where the accident occurred. There they meet Lief, an afterlife who helps the kids adjust to their new surroundings. The kids must travel to New York, at the sight of the World Trade Center, where many afterlives have made themselves at home, because of their leader, Mary.

As they learn more about their fate as an afterlife, Allie refuses to live her life stuck between worlds. The kids set off on an adventure faced with the dangers of sinking to the middle of the earth and rogue afterlives, especially the McGill. In order for everyone to be free of the monotony of the afterlife, they all must face their fears, even the McGill.

This book was an interesting perspective of the what might happen after you die. I don't believe that it was meant to be religious in any way. I commend the author's creativity to use such a unique setting for his story. The ending really leave itself for a sequel. I haven't heard if there will be one, but I was kind of rooting for Allie to achieve closure to her quest to solve the mysteries of the afterlife.

Mr. Kohl