Modern World History Summer Reading Assignment: A Long Way Gone In preparation for their study of modern world history, all rising seniors are required to read A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. About the Book (From School Library Journal) “This gripping story by a children's-­‐rights advocate recounts his experiences as a boy growing up in Sierra Leone in the 1990s, during one of the most brutal and violent civil wars in recent history. Beah, a boy equally thrilled by causing mischief as by memorizing passages from Shakespeare and dance moves from hip-­‐hop videos, was a typical precocious 12-­‐year-­‐
old. But rebel forces destroyed his childhood innocence when they hit his village, driving him to leave his home and travel the arid deserts and jungles of Africa. “After several months of struggle, he was recruited by the national army, made a full soldier and learned to shoot an AK-­‐47, and hated everyone who came up against the rebels. The first two thirds of his memoir are frightening: how easy it is for a normal boy to transform into someone as addicted to killing as he is to the cocaine that the army makes readily available. But an abrupt change occurred a few years later when agents from the United Nations pulled him out of the army and placed him in a rehabilitation center. Anger and hate slowly faded away, and readers see the first glimmers of Beah's work as an advocate. This powerful record of war ends as a beacon to all teens experiencing violence around them by showing them that there are other ways to survive than by adding to the chaos.” Assignment in Brief As you read the book, you must make three journal entries. Once you have completed the book, you must make one final journal entry. All journals must be typed and assembled in order. Journals should be completed by the first day of school. Journals will be collected and graded as a minor assessment. Students should expect an in-­‐class assignment in the first week that will require in-­‐depth knowledge of the book. The Journal Assignment Below, I have divided the book into three sections. • Part 1: Chapters 1-­‐8 • Part 2: Chapters 9-­‐15 • Part 3: Chapters 16-­‐21 For each section of the book, you must complete a journal entry that addresses the four categories below: a) Questions b) Context c) Reactions and Connections d) Character Development Questions • Write 3 questions that you had while reading this section of the book • Good questions are thoughtful, provocative, or worthy of discussion. At most, you may have ONE clarifying question. Shoot for deep and very deep questions. Examples below: o Shallow/clarifying question: Is Ishmael the oldest child in his family? o Deep question: How does holding on to a cassette tape with his favorite music recorded help Ishmael survive? o Very deep question: Is it possible for trust and compassion to survive in a community that has seen so much conflict? Context Historical context is the political, social, cultural, and economic setting for a particular event. In order to better understand something in history, we must look at its context—
those things which surround it in time and place which give it its meaning. • Summarize the 3 most significant events that occur in this section that reveal how Sierra Leone and its people have been changed by war • For each event, explain HOW that event demonstrates change. • EACH summary and explanation should be 5 sentences minimum Reactions & Connections • Quote TWO short passages from this section that struck you. They may strike you because they are important to the book or are provocative • For each passage, explain in at least 5 sentences your reaction and/or text-­‐to-­‐self, text-­‐to-­‐text, and text-­‐to-­‐world connections Character Development • In at least 1 paragraph, answer the following questions about Ishmael based on what you read in the section: o How does Ishmael react to the conflict and suffering he experiences? o Has Ishmael’s identity or attitude about war changed in some way over these chapters? The Final Journal Entry After you have finished the book, write a final journal entry on the question: Would you recommend this book to another high school student? Why or why not? Your response must: • Be at least 3 paragraphs • Have clear opinions • Have supporting points for every argument you make! o For example, if I wanted to claim that this book was incredibly boring, I would refer to a particular section of the book and explain why I think the action in that section is slow Honors Option: We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families In order to receive honors for summer reading, you must read A Long Way Gone and We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families. For this additional book, you are also responsible for completing a journal assignment for each of the following parts. Part I: Chapters 1-­‐6 Part II: Chapters 7-­‐11 Part III: Chapters 12-­‐17 Part IV: Chapters 18-­‐22 Please refer to the required journal assignment for further guidance and details on how to complete each of these sections. Each journal entry should consist of: • 3 Questions • Context: o Summarize FIVE specific events that occur in that section and help explain why this genocide happened, how the international community responded, and/or how justice was pursued after the genocide • Reactions and Connections: o Quote TWO short passages that you believe could serve as the basis of discussion (because they are controversial or though-­‐provoking) and explain in at least 5 sentences your reactions and connections Final Journal Entry Write ONE final journal entry, 3 paragraphs long, in response to the following prompt: Gourevitch wrote the following in the first chapter of We Wish to Inform You…: I presume that you are reading this because you desire a closer look, and that you, too, are properly disturbed by your curiosity. Perhaps…you hope for some understanding, some insight, some flicker of self-­‐knowledge-­‐-­‐a moral, or a lesson, or a clue about how to behave in this world…I don't discount the possibility, but when it comes to genocide, you already know right from wrong. The best reason I have come up with for looking closely into Rwanda's stories is that ignoring them makes me even more uncomfortable about existence and my place in it. The horror, as horror, interests me only insofar as a precise memory of the offense is necessary to understand its legacy. What did Gourevitch mean by this quote? How do you respond to his perspective after reading the whole book?