Book Detail

Code Talkers

Publication Information
Author:  Bruchac, Joseph Illustrator:  
Title:  Code Talkers Date:  2005
Publisher:  Penguin City:  New York
ISBN, paperback:   ISBN, hardback:  0-8037-2921-9

Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes ESOL:  
Family:   Young Adult:   Yes
Picture:  

General Information:
Book Type(s):    fiction

HSE Descriptor(s):    social studies

Summary:
After attending a white boarding school where his Navajo language and culture were belittled and punished, Ned Begay served as a code talker with the US Marines during operations in the Pacific during World War II. The narrator tells his story to his grandchildren and the author includes some historical information resources.

Teaching Ideas:
This book could be paired with The Unbreakable Code (an easier reading level about code talkers) and Indian School (a look at the prototype boarding school to inculcate American culture). A reading journal with a timeline would help to keep track of events and a map would enable readers to locate the Pacific islands. Readers will want to discuss why the book begins with the boarding school rather than the war. When Ned Begay, the narrator, talks of the irony of using the Navajo language and Navajo code talkers, teachers have an opportunity to explore the concept of irony. How is the narrator's experience during the war and after differ from his white counterparts? How does his culture influence his feelings for the Japanese? the Pacific Islanders? Students may want to compare the Trail of Tears of the Cherokee in 1838 and the Navajo Long Walk in 1868, using a Venn diagram. An Internet using the above keywords leads to many good sites, including these: www.nps.gov/trte/;www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h1567.html; www.legendsofamerica.com/NA-NavajoLongWalk.html; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Walk_of_the_Navajo.

Teaching Strategies:
bullet Literature Circles
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/lit_circles.pdf
bullet Think-Pair-Share
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/think_pair_share.pdf
bullet Types of Journals
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/types_of_journals.pdf
bullet Venn Diagrams
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/venn_diagrams.pdf

Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
bullet Social Studies > anthropology > cultures > cultural conflict
bullet Ethnic Groups > Native American
bullet Education > schools
bullet Emotions-Personal Issues > personal issues > individual > self-esteem
bullet History > topic > war > World War II
bullet Literature and Language > storytelling
bullet Social Studies > sociology > social issues > racism > prejudice
bullet Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > patriotism
bullet Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > spirituality


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