Journeys and

Survival:
Walk
with
Me
Bit by bit, one step
at a time

Agenda
Launch:

Define Culture

Hook:

Copy down Vocabulary

words in INB

A Long Walk to Water:

Linda Sue Parks Video

A Long Walk to Water

Background INB pg. 3

LWTW Quiz

What do you think you

would need to survive if
you were in a war torn
region?

Read chapter 1-3 of

ALWTW

Do:

We

Do:

You

Do:

Wrap

Up:

Homework

Answer question in INB

pg. 2

Launch
1.

Define culture.

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a

particular group of people, defined by
everything from language, religion, cuisine,
social habits, music and arts.

2. How do you think culture

impacts a person's actions
and decisions? Explain

Vocabulary
Copy the Content Vocabulary in your
notebook on the Vocabulary Knowledge
Rating Sheet
Academic
Content

cite

textual evidence

central idea

key details

theme

character

plot

theme

aimless
scurry
protested
droned
luscious
dehydration
grueling
entrenched
flinched
gourd

Hook: Linda Sue Park

Listen as the author tells you how she drew her

inspiration from Salva and his story.

Linda Sue Park discusses "A Long Walk to Water

"

Overview

The story focuses on two main characters, Salva

and Nya who are from the Sudan in Africa.
Salva is an 11 year old boy whose story is set in
1985 during the Sudanese Civil War. He needs to
flee his country on foot to survive.
Nya is an 11 year old girl whose story is set in
2008. She lives in a village with no running water.
Salvas story is nonfiction. Nyas story is fictional,
yet very realistic. Both characters face lifethreatening dangers due to their setting.
Why do you think this two very different stories
are being told? Share your ideas with your partner
and record one on your paper.

Text Structure and

Features

The book alternates between Nya and Salvas

stories. Both are told in the third person point
of view.

Look at page one. How can the reader

distinguish between the two stories? What
other text features do you notice? Discuss with
your partner and record you answers.

Words to Know
Refugee - a person who has been forced to leave their
country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural
disaster.

Rebels people who rise in opposition or armed

resistance against an established government or ruler.

The Lost Boys

the name given to over 20,000

Sudanese boys who fled their countrys civil war only to have
no homeland for years

Setting: The Sudan in

With your partner, write what you know about Africa.
Africa

Resources include oil or petroleum, natural gas and various

minerals(gold, silver, iron, copper)

About the size of the United States, it is the largest

country in Africa

Flat plains, desert to the north, hot!

Most of the 20th century was spent in civil war

What is a civil war? Write your response.

Population is between 39 and 45 million (California has

about 40 million people too!)

Why is there fighting in

Sudan?
Fighting over religious freedom (the government was trying

to force the entire country to become Muslim).

Scarce resources (food, water, medicine, cattle)

Fighting over territory

Farmers vs. Herders

Control over oil fields

Bit by Bit, One Step at a

Time

Salva Dut has used the above mantra or

precept as a way to live through
incomprehensible acts of violence

Salva has made the transformation from lost

boy to a founding member of a non-profit
organization that brings running water to tribes
torn apart by these wars

Why is running water

important?

Where safe, clean water flows, health,

education, and economic development, spring
up. Safe water brings new hope and
opportunities to South Sudan's people,
empowering them to change their lives.
-www.waterforsudan.org

Think about it: How could having no running water create lifethreatening problems? Write possible answers on your sheet.

A Dinka man

The Dinkas and Nuers are two tribes

focused on in the book.

A Nuer man

Running water is
rare in the Sudan.
Villagers treck
hundreds of
miles to find
water and bring
it back to their
families.

A small village
Refugees fleeing the war.

Cattle is rare and valued.

Quiz: Theme and A Long

Walk to Water
Explain

in two paragraphs
the overarching theme in
A long Walk to Water and
what the two main
protagonist learn from
uncovering the theme.

Wrap Up
What

do you think
you would need to
survive if you were in
a war torn region?

Homework
Re-read chapters 1-3 of ALWTW
On INB Page 2
Compare

your daily life to that of Salva.

Describe

the thoughts and feelings Salva must

have felt as he ran away from his home.
What

are the uncertainties in Salvas life?