The Lost Boys of Sudan: Community Newsletters

Ms. Galvin · 7th Grade · ELA · A Long Walk to Water

After reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, 7th graders were asked to do something real with what they learned. Their task: create a professionally designed newsletter to educate the Crown Heights community about the Lost Boys of Sudan. Each newsletter includes a researched report on who the Lost Boys were, the struggles they faced, and what happened to them, supported by evidence from the book and other informational texts. Students also chose a sidebar topic connected to the unit, from the water crisis in South Sudan to how refugees are impacting New York City today.

What makes this High Quality Work: students wrote for a real audience in their own community. The work looks professional because it was meant to be. They had to think like journalists, not just students completing an assignment.

HQW qualities: Authenticity · Complexity · Craftsmanship