LESSON 24 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Voice of Freedom
by Joann Mulvaney Messier
Fountas-Pinnell Level X
Narrative Nonfiction
Selection Summary
The country of Burma, also known as Myanmar, is led by a strict
military government. Inspired by her father, the founder of modern
Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi uses peaceful means to promote political
and social change. Her peaceful resistance led to house arrest. Still,
Suu Kyi continues to symbolize hope to people around the world.
Number of Words: 2,235
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Narrative nonfiction
• Third-person narrative, organized into eight chapters
• Structures such as cause/effect and problem/solution explain history of Burma
• Text organization includes insets providing further information on topics
• Burma/Myanmar
• Suu Kyi’s sacrifice and fight for democracy
• Promoting social and political change requires risk and sacrifice.
• The work of great people can inspire and help others effect change in the world.
• Setting in distant place and time very different from students’ experience
• Extensive quotation from Suu Kyi’s book and Alexander’s speech
• Inference required to understand why Suu Kyi acts as she does
• Some long sentences, but most written straightforward and concisely
• Some dialogue used to convey Suu Kyi’s message
• Use of compound and complex sentences
• Many terms related to political science, such as recognize, socialism, United Nations
• Many multisyllable words of non-English origin
• Graphics include maps and photographs to represent concepts such as democracy
• Photographs from Burma show protest scenes, leaders, country flag
• Eighteen pages of generously-spaced text, some spreads with little illustration
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Voice of Freedom
by Joann Mulvaney Messier
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of government and protest to understand the selection.
Build interest by asking a question such as the following: What have you learned
previously about protesting against unfair governments? Read the title and author and talk
about the cover photograph. Tell students that this selection is informational text, and ask
them what kinds of features they can expect to find.
Introduce the Text
Guide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some
suggestions:
Page 3: Explain that Suu Kyi is working for freedom in her home country of
Burma. Suggested language: In the quote on page 3, Suu Kyi compares fear with
prison. Freedom can overcome fear. What is freedom?
Pages 4–6: Tell students that Burma became an independent country after
hundreds of years. Then a strict government took over in 1962. It even changed
the location of the country’s capital. Independent is a synonym for freedom. Ask:
Why would a strict government want to change the capital, or seat of government?
Pages 9–11: Make sure students understand the meaning of democracy. Point
out the feature on democracy. Ask: Why do you think Suu Kyi’s work caused
controversy as she tried to make Burma a democracy?
Page 13: Explain that Suu Kyi’s brave work created problems for the strict
government. Ask: Why do you think someone would make sacrifices to challenge
the way a government operated?
Now turn back to the beginning of the selection and read to learn how Suu Kyi
became a prominent figure and a voice for peace and change in Burma.
Target Vocabulary
agitation – a feeling of nervous
excitement or emotional
disturbance, p. 17
conceive – to form or develop an
idea, p. 9
controversy – a public
disagreement about an issue,
p. 9
distinguished – highly
respected and recognized for
Grade 6
achievements, p. 6
ecstasy – extreme happiness,
p. 12
inclined – to have a preference
for or tendency toward
something, p. 10
prejudice – a judgment or
opinion formed unfairly or
without knowing all the facts,
p. 13
2
regal – characteristic of or
suitable for a king or a queen,
p. 15
serene – calm and undisturbed,
p. 12
significance – meaning or
importance, p. 9
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Read
Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their
understanding of the text as needed.
Remind students to use the Question Strategy
questions about the text as they read.
and to ask and answer
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the text.
Suggested language: When did Suu Kyi think protest was justified? Do you agree with
her point of view? Why or why not?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Aung San Suu Kyi has promoted
peace and change in Burma
since 1988.
• The efforts that Suu Kyi has
made to change Burma have
affected her personal life and her
freedom.
• The text explains the history
of Burma and why it is under
oppressive leadership today.
• In spite of her peaceful attempts
to work with the government,
Suu Kyi has been under house
arrest various times in the last
20 years.
• Suu Kyi’s brave resistance has
helped capture the world’s
sympathy for her cause.
• In spite of living away from
Burma for more than 25 years,
Suu Kyi returned to continue her
father’s sacrificial work for peace
and justice in Burma.
• The author includes important
quotations so readers can reflect
on Suu Kyi’s philosophies.
• The biographical inset about
Aung San helps readers connect
how her father shaped Suu Kyi’s
work for promoting peace and
change.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite students to work in partners and choose a passage from the text to
demonstrate phrased fluent reading. Remind them to adjust intonation when reading
quoted text, such as from Suu Kyi’s essay on page 9.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion,
revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go
back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using
examples from the text. Remind students that some words are from Latin origin. For
example, publisher is derived from the Latin word publicus, meaning “public.”
Grade 6
3
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 24.8.
Responding
Have students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s
Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding
of the comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill
Author’s Purpose
Remind students that they can identify an author’s
general purpose for having written the text as they read. Model how to add details to the
Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
What did the author tell you about Suu Kyi? What does it say about her
purpose in writing this text? One part of the chart is filled in, telling that
Burma has a strict military government. You might conclude that the
author is persuading readers to conclude that Suu Kyi should be freed to
promote peace in Burma. Write other details that support this conclusion.
Practice the Skill
Have students share an example of another selection they have read in which the author’s
purpose was to show a brave person who peacefully challenges oppressive government
rule.
Writing Prompt: Thinking About the Text
Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when
they think about the text, they reflect back on the text. They should notice and evaluate
language, genre, literary devices, and how the text is organized.
Assessment Prompts
• How does the author organize information about Suu Kyi’s early life?
• Why does the author provide information about Gandhi on page 7?
• What are two facts in Chapter 1 that support the idea that Burma is under oppressive
rule?
Grade 6
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Pair advanced and intermediate readers to read the text softly,
or have students listen to the audio or online recordings. Remind students that Suu Kyi
fought for democracy in her country.
Idioms Explain to students that fell, as used on page 4, refers to the transfer of power
between one ruling power and another ruling power.
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who is this text about?
Speaker 1: What did Aung San do?
Speaker 2: Aung San Suu Kyi
Speaker 2: He was the founder of
modern Burma.
Speaker 1: Why is Suu Kyi
currently under house arrest?
Speaker 1: Where does Suu Kyi live?
Speaker 2: Burma
Speaker 1: What is another name for
Burma?
Speaker 2: Myanmar
Speaker 1: Why did Suu Kyi return to
Burma?
Speaker 2: She could not ignore
Burma’s problems.
Speaker 2: When she and other
members of the NLD were
talking to crowds in 2003, a
military group agitated the NLD
members. Violence resulted and
the NLD was closed. Suu Kyi was
placed under house arrest.
Lesson 24
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 24.8
Date
Critical Thinking
Voice of Freedom
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text How long had Suu Kyi been away from Burma
before returning?
Suu Kyi has been away from Burma for 25 years before returning.
2. Think within the text What did she learn from studying Gandhi
in India?
She learned that peaceful methods can bring about change.
3. Think beyond the text Why do you think the author writes about
people like Suu Kyi and Gandhi? Why do you think she tells of their
personal sacrifices to improve things for others?
She wants to show people how individuals can bring about
change. She wants to show how they put the betterment of their
country ahead of their own needs.
4. Think about the text According to the selection, the military is in
control in Burma. What do you predict will happen in the future?
If people like Suu Kyi continue to work for freedom, I predict that
Burma will eventually be free.
Making Connections Suu Kyi has made many sacrifices for a cause she feels
strongly about. What is one cause for which you would be willing to make
sacrifices? Explain why you would be committed to that cause.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Critical Thinking
10
Grade 6, Unit 5: Taking Charge of Change
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Grade 6
5
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Name
Date
Voice of Freedom
Thinking About the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two or three
paragraphs.
Remember that when you think about the text, you reflect back on the text.
You notice and evaluate language, genre, literary devices, and how the text
is organized.
On pages 17 and 18, the author explains that life in Burma today does not
offer basic human rights, and the people do not have many freedoms. Which
sentences or paragraphs from the text support the author’s conclusions?
How does this information help you understand the author’s purpose?
Grade 6
6
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Lesson 24
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
BLACKLINE MASTER 24.8
Voice of Freedom
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text How long had Suu Kyi been away from Burma
before returning?
2. Think within the text What did she learn from studying Gandhi
in India?
3. Think beyond the text Why do you think the author writes about
people like Suu Kyi and Gandhi? Why do you think she tells of their
personal sacrifices to improve things for others?
4. Think about the text According to the selection, the military is in
control in Burma. What do you predict will happen in the future?
Making Connections Suu Kyi has made many sacrifices for a cause she feels
strongly about. What is one cause for which you would be willing to make
sacrifices? Explain why you would be committed to that cause.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 6
7
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Student
Lesson 24
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 24.12
Voice of Freedom • LEVEL X
page
12
Voice of Freedom
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
The military followed Suu Kyi and her supporters wherever
they went. They even threatened people’s lives. On April 5,
1989, Suu Kyi was outside of Rangoon. She stood bravely
before six soldiers who had orders to kill her. Asking her
supporters to stand aside, Suu Kyi walked calmly toward the
soldiers. They aimed their rifles at her. At the last minute, the
order to shoot was taken back. Many were impressed by the
serene way Suu Kyi had reacted.
On July 20, 1989, Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest in
Rangoon.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/92 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 6
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1414522
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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