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Library     Free at Last: A Kurdish Family in America     Paired Texts

Paired Texts > Free at Last: A Kurdish Family in America

by Karen O’Connor

2004

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

5th Grade Poem
Peaches
  • Adrienne Su
  • 2015

In Adrienne Su’s poem “Peaches,” a speaker describes being the child of Chinese immigrants in America.

Pair “Peaches” with “Free at Last: A Kurdish Family in America” and ask students to discuss how both texts explore parents’ experiences coming to a new country. How do the experiences of parents in America compare to their children? Why do students think that parents have a different experience than their children?

3rd Grade Short Story 550L
Athena and the Dandelions
  • Leeann Zouras
  • 2017

In Leeann Zouras’ short story “Athena and the Dandelions,” a girl is embarrassed that her Greek family eats dandelions.

Pair “Athena and the Dandelions” with “Free at Last: A Kurdish Family in America” and ask students to discuss how both texts explore a family sharing its culture with others. How does Athena’s family and the Ahmet family use food to connect with others? How does this help them develop a friendship with others?

5th Grade Non-Fiction 670L
Diary of a Teenage Refugee
  • Amira
  • 2013

This account comes from a 16-year-old Syrian girl named Amira and details the past three years of her life in a refugee camp in the neighboring country of Lebanon.

Pair “Diary of a Teenage Refugee” with “Free at Last: A Kurdish Family in America” and ask students to discuss the experiences of refugees explored in the two texts. How do the Ahmet family’s experiences fleeing their homeland compare to Amira’s experiences? How do the two memoirs offer different perspectives on refugees’ experiences?

5th Grade Informational Text 920L
Soccer Speaks Many Languages
  • Dianna Geers
  • 2008

In the informational text “Soccer Speaks Many Languages,” Dianna Greers discusses how a young refugee, Innocent Ndayizeye, is able to connect with others through soccer.

Pair “Soccer Speaks Many Languages” with “Free at Last: A Kurdish Family in America” and ask students to discuss how life in a refugee camp is described in the two texts. What additional obstacles do refugees encounter as they try to find a safe home? How do the two refugee families make the best of their situation and life in America?

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