Posts tagged ‘Vietnam War’
6. The Wall by Eve Bunting
Retell: A father and son visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. The young son describes what he sees and hears on the day of his visit.
Topics: family, Memorial Day, Vietnam War
Units of Study: Personal Narrative, Social Issues
Tribes: Mutual Respect, Right to Pass
Reading Skills: inference, synthesis
Writing Skills: writing sensory details, writing small moments
My Thoughts: The Wall is one of those books that may be difficult to read aloud with a dry eye. I can see reading this book duing the beginning of the year during the Personal Narrative unit and then rereading it during the Social Issues unit. I could even reread it yet again right before Memorial Day. The Wall provides a good example of how a writer can zoom in on a small moment. The entire book takes place in one location and does not span more than a few hours. Each line of the book encourages readers to question and infer: “That couple seems like they’ve lost someone. Who did they lose?” You could also reread this book with a Tribes lens. You could encourage your students to discuss how the boy solved a problem, not by yelling at the crowd of noisy school girls, but by standing next to his reverent father, supporting his moment of silence in a show of solidarity.
Teachable Texts 