Study Packet

Vocabulary

Newsletter Project

Vocabulary List

1. Salva filled the gourd with what little water was left in the well and continued his journey west
to Ethiopia.
2. A harsh climate stunted the trees.
3. My sister furrowed her brows in frustration.
4. She gingerly sipped the hot soup because she didn’t want to burn her tongue.
 5. The luscious pear dripped juice all over the little girl’s chin as she bit into it.
6. The ants clustered around the piece of candy on the sidewalk.
7. My vision is always a bit bleary before I put my glasses on when I first wake up.
8. My grandma’s funeral was a very solemn occasion.
9. The aroma of lavender has a calming effect on a class full of 6 th graders – supposedly!
10. I asked my uncle to grill my hot dogs a longer because I like them charred.

11. Reluctantly 21. Monotonous

12. Precise 22. Gauge
13. Utterly 23. Abundance
14. Scythed 24. Dismounted
15. Grudgingly 25. Relentless
16. Emaciated 26. Arid
17. Coax 27. Gored
18. Haste 28. Parch
19. Heave 29. Fatigued
20. Wailing

Vocabulary Word I think it means… I looked it up and I know it

means…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
 20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.

Introduction

As a reminder, a newsletter is a short document (no more than 1 or 2 pages) about one specific

topic that is of interest to a specific group the newsletter assignment we began in third quarter will

culminate in this publication for your class novel A Long Walk to Water by Sue Long Park.

We know from our reading that Salva is a real person from the Sudan – a country in the

northeast Africa region. In our reading we know that up until recently, the country was divided into two

regions: in the Northern Sudan, the government established dictated that all citizens should practice

Islam. In Southern Sudan, however, most citizens practiced various African-identified religions and

customs. The conflict grew out of the north attempting to force the south to practice a religion they did

not want to practice. Recently, in January of 2010, the south Sudanese won the right to separate from

the north in a peaceful national referendum.

 We know from our novel that there are very few if any public schools in the Sudan; most schools

are private and the tuition to attend is more than what most families can afford. Salva could attend

because his family was relatively wealthy, but because Nya had to spend most days walking to and from

a source of water, she had no time to attend school. The ecology of the Sudan, the lack of clean water or

clean water systems especially, will be an area of focus for your newsletter, as well.

Task

You will create a newsletter for 6B that provides information about your novel A Long Walk to Water,

information about the political situation in the Sudan, the “lost boys of Sudan,” about Salva’s nonprofit

group Water for Sudan, about the ecology and climate of the Sudan, and about that state of education

for young boys and girls like you.

Process

Step 1:

You will use the mobile lab to look up information on the topics above. I have given you a list of web

sources to use for this objective. Use the following questions as a guide for your research.

Who are the lost boys of Sudan?

Why did the rebels have to kidnap young boys to fight against the government?

When did these events occur?

Who else was involved in this conflict?

Did any other governments (like American or European) assist at any time?
 What are schools like in Sudan?

Who could attend?

What would prevent a child from attending school? What were they doing instead?

What is the climate like in Sudan?

What was the average family size?

What was the average family income?

What does Salva’s nonprofit group Water for Sudan do for the Sudanese citizens?

Who wrote this novel?

Why is the story of Nya fiction? Why is Salva’s nonfiction?

1. Water for Sudan

http://www.waterforsudan.org/

2. The CIA Factbook – The Sudan

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/su.html

3. The Sudan

http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Sudan.html

http://www.sudan.net/

4. Cultural Orientation Resource Center

http://www.cal.org/co/publications/cultures/sudan.html
Organize your notes in the way that is most comfortable to you. Divide the research among your group

member. We will have time in class to share and discuss your information with your group members.

Step 2: Timelining the Events of the story and matching them to the historical timeline

Using the information you gathered in Step 1, build a timeline for the events of the story and the

major political events of the time period. Feel free to use a drawing/graphics software (i.e. Microsoft

Paint), photographs, colored pencils, markers and paper.

Sample Timeline

You may use the following websites as well to create your time line:

http://www.timelinecreator.com/samples.htm

http://timeglider.com/levels.php
Make sure you review the rubric for this activity!

Step 3:

Reviewing Your Work

After you have completed a draft of your timeline, choose another group to exchange timelines with.

Each person should refer to the rubric for evaluating timelines when looking over each other’s work.

Make comments and suggestions as needed. Be sure to check for the accuracy of events

Make corrections as needed once your evaluator gives you feedback.

Step 4:

Use the link below to preview Sample Newsletters to generate ideas for how you want your newsletter

to look. Pay attention to the graphics and layout that you can adopt for your group’s publication.

What kind of fonts does the newsletter use?

What is the ratio of pictures/graphics to printed words? Are there more pictures? More words?

What are the different purposes for the newsletters?

Are there any interviews or personal accounts written?

http://www.grapevinecom.com/Newsletter+Samples

http://newsletterville.com/page2.html

Step 5:

Writing your newsletter

You will need to assign stories (types of essays) that cover the topics outlined in the Task. Most of the

writing will be expository, but assign one person to write a creative poem, and assign another member

to be the graphic editor for pictures and images.

You will need to PROOFREAD this publication. I have given you two websites that have a lot of sample

newsletters for you to use as a guide. Make sure you have created a newsletter that you can be proud of

and that is professional!