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A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (2007) I. PLOT SUMMARY II. RATIONALE and LEARNING OBJECTIVES III. COMM

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A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (2007) I. PLOT SUMMARY II. RATIONALE and LEARNING OBJECTIVES III. COMM Curriculum Rationale: Grade 10: Honors World Literature A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (2007) The English Department has carefully evaluated A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah as a whole and deemed it worthy for the 10th grade World Literature curriculum. I. PLOT SUMMARY A Long Way Gone recounts the author’s childhood experiences during the civil war in Sierra Leone. This beautifully written account of a child soldier reveals the traits that make us human, and how that humanity can be lost under the influence of violent leaders. II. RATIONALE AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES We begin our exploration of this text by examining the historical and cultural contexts in which the story is situated. It offers students a first-hand, recent account of war conditions in another country and the persistent tragedy of child soldiers. Beah recounts his transition from a child running from war to a vicious soldier with eloquent metaphor and brutal honesty. A Long Way Gone will allow students to question who we name enemy and why. In this unit, students will look at figurative language and particularly personification of nature, metaphor and simile. Nature often represents Ishmael’s feelings or transformation. In addition, students will take note of how flashback impacts the reading of the text. Students will be evaluating Beah’s account as an anti-hero, and acknowledging the changes that bring the protagonist to lose his humanity. III. COMMON CORE STANDARDS Reading Standards for Literature Key Ideas and Details Grades 9-10 1. Read closely to determine what the text says 1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text 2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development and analyze their development; summarize the over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce key supporting details and ideas. a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and 3. Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) ideas develop and interact over the course of a develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or text. develop the theme. Craft and Structure Grades 9-10 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including in a text, including determining technical, figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices connotative, and figurative meanings, and on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how 5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, mystery, tension, or surprise. scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes 6. Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature the content and style of a text. from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature Integration of Knowledge and Ideas Grades 9-10 Curriculum Rationale: Grade 10: World Literature 9. Analyze how two or more texts address 9. Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., similar themes or topics in order to build how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws knowledge or to compare the approaches the on a play by Shakespeare). authors take. Range of Reading and Level of Text Grades 9-10 Complexity 10. Read and comprehend complex literary and 10. By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and informational texts independently and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at proficiently. the high end of the range. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently. IV. ADDRESSING SENSITIVE SUBJECTS Possible sensitive topics contained in A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah: violence, drug use, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, language, and references to sexual violence. In the classroom, sensitive topics will be dealt with in a mature fashion, toward an understanding of why this material is included in the memoir. The English department feels that the literary merit of the memoir more than compensates for the inclusion of this sensitive subject matter. The student is encouraged to feel comfortable in expressing his/her beliefs and views openly within the classroom environment. If the student is uncomfortable at any time, the student should meet with the teacher to discuss his/her concerns. Adapted From: http://ttbyl.net/a-long-way-gone-by-ishmael-beah/ Curriculum Rationale: Grade 10: Honors World Literature An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography of Paul Rusesabagina by: Tom Zoellner (2006) The English Department has carefully evaluated An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography of Paul Rusesabagina by: Tom Zoellner as a whole and deemed it worthy for the 10th grade World Literature curriculum. I. PLOT SUMMARY An Ordinary Man recounts the life of Paul Rusesabagina As Rwanda was thrown into chaos during the 1994 genocide. Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, turned the luxurious Hotel Milles Collines into a refuge for more than 1,200 Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees, while fending off their would-be killers with a combination of diplomacy and deception. In An Ordinary Man , he tells the story of his childhood, retraces his accidental path to heroism, revisits the 100 days in which he was the only thing standing between his “guests” and a hideous death, and recounts his subsequent life as a refugee and activist II. RATIONALE AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES We begin our exploration of this text by examining the historical and cultural contexts in which the story is situated. It offers students a first-hand, recent account of war conditions in another country and the persistent tragedy of genocide and discrimination. This book will be read in conjunction with activities in World History 10, where students will not only understand the historical and cultural implications of genocide, but will receive a clear testimony of the proceedings. Students will examine the language and cultural implications within the text, and will evaluate Rusesabagina’s tale as it fits with the Hero’s Journey. Students will determine if Rusesabagina should be defined as a hero, or as An Ordinary Man , as he states. III. COMMON CORE STANDARDS Reading Standards for Literature Key Ideas and Details Grades 9-10 1. Read closely to determine what the text says 1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text 2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development and analyze their development; summarize the over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce key supporting details and ideas. a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and 3. Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) ideas develop and interact over the course of a develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or text. develop the theme. Craft and Structure Grades 9-10 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including in a text, including determining technical, figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices connotative, and figurative meanings, and on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how 5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, mystery, tension, or surprise. scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. Curriculum Rationale: Grade 10: World Literature 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes 6. Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature the content and style of a text.
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