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English IV – Summer Reading Project – Hopewell High School
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
*********Project due (in fall) __________ and (spring) ________****************
Part I: Read - A Long Way Gone by Ishmeal Beah
Part II: Answer Questions – answer Study Questions for A Long Way Gone.
Part III: Write a Memoir - Choose an experience or event in your life of
significance. Write a two or three page short narrative telling the details of this event and
its impact on you then and now. It can be humorous, serious, insightful, etc. Let your
personality shine through. (Times New Roman 12, Double-spaced, Word)
Part IV: Watch & Respond - Watch the clip from the “John Stewart Show” which is less
than eight minutes. Stewart asks which was harder, losing his humanity during the war
or regaining it after the war. What did Beah say? Explain his response.
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=82274
Part V. Read & Summarize - Read three of the following articles, briefly summarize
each, and comment on its significance.
1. “The Making, and Unmaking, of a Child Soldier.”
Ishmael Beah
New York Times Magazine, January 14, 2007
2. Diamonds Move From Blood to Sweat and Tears”
Lydia Polgreen
The New York Times, March 25, 2007
3. “Blood Diamonds: A River or a Droplet?”
Lynne Duke
Washington Post, December 27, 2006
4. “War was classroom for Sierra Leone child soldiers” by Nick
Tattersall
Reuters, June 2, 2007
5. “Sierra Leone Rebels Forcefully Recruit Child Soldiers”
Human Rights Watch, May 26, 2000
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6. “Sierra Leone Government Troops Torture and Reportedly Execute
RUF Rebel Suspects
Human Rights Watch, May 17, 2000
7. “Blood Diamonds-Conflict Diamonds What is the Kimberly Process”
Geology.com,
8. “Conflict Diamonds: Sanctions an War”
United Nations Report
9. “Diamonds are for Never”
Mireya Navarro
New York Times, December 14, 2006
10. “Inside the RUF: at last the child soldiers of Sierra Leone have their
say”
Hannah Strange
The Tmes Online (UK newspaper), June 16, 2008
11. The Blood Diamond Resurfaces (Wall Street Journal, June 19, 2010:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704198004575311282588
959188.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollection#
With diamonds, the current issue is more that oppressive governments
(esp. in Zimbabwe and Angola) are using violence to seize diamond wealth for
themselves and their military/business allies. I'm not sure if these links are quite
as compelling as the links on wars. But here are few more recent ones: )
12. Army abuses Zimbabweans to control diamond fields (Reuters, June
26, 2009)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/06/26/zimbabwe-crisis-diamondsidUSLQ67185420090626
13. Marange diamond field torture camp discovered (BBC, August 8, 2011)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14377215
14. http://www.brilliantearth.com/conflict-diamond-facts/
Note: This website is Mrs. Krauss’s son-in-law’s company!!
Your Cell Phone, Congo's Misery (CNN, November 28, 2100).
15. http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/opinion/wright-congo/index.html
16. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/05/blood-diamonds
From the guardian: Naomi Cambell and blood diamonds
17. http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wildernessresources/stories/what-are-blood-diamonds
Just a recent article from 2010 mentioning Charles Taylor
18. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2011/0123/As-Ivory-Coasts-Gbagbo-holds-firm-blood-diamonds-flow-for-export
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Grading for Long Way Gone Portfolio
Assignment
_______/ 40 points Memoir
______/ 10 points 2 Interviews
_____/50 points 2 News articles
______
_____/100 Total Portfolio grade