Code Talkers |
Publication Information
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Author: Bruchac, Joseph |
Illustrator: |
Title: Code Talkers |
Date: 2005 |
Publisher: Penguin |
City: New York |
ISBN, paperback: |
ISBN, hardback: 0-8037-2921-9 |
Recommended audience:
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ABE/ABLE:
Yes |
ESOL:
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Family:
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Young Adult:
Yes |
Picture:
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General Information:
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Book Type(s):
fiction
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HSE Descriptor(s):
social studies
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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: |
Literature Circles
http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/lit_circles.pdf
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Think-Pair-Share
http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/think_pair_share.pdf
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Types of Journals
http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/types_of_journals.pdf
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Venn Diagrams
http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/venn_diagrams.pdf
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Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword |
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