Parent Guide > Malala Yousafzai: A Normal Yet Powerful Girl

This week in class, we’re reading "Malala Yousafzai: A Normal Yet Powerful Girl" by NPR Staff.

Malala Yousafzai (born 1997) is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala is from the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan, where the local Taliban has banned girls from attending school. Malala, whose family ran a chain of local schools, publicly stood against the Taliban's actions and launched an international movement, surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban on October 9th, 2012. The article discusses this incredible young woman and her continuing advocation for universal women's education.

As we read, we will be discussing the themes of Education & Knowledge, Honor & Courage, and Resilience & Success as they relate to the text. We are trying to answer these big questions :

"How does a person overcome adversity?", "What is the goal of education?", and "What does it mean to be brave?"

Ways to support your child:

• Ask your child about this informational text at home:
  • What was "Malala Yousafzai: A Normal Yet Powerful Girl" about?
  • What did you learn about Education & Knowledge?
  • What did you learn about Honor & Courage?
  • What did you learn about Resilience & Success?
• Watch the following clips with your child at home:
  • 'Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech'
  • 'A Schoolgirl’s Odyssey, A Documentary about Malala by The New York Times'
  • 'He Named Me Malala Official Trailer 1 (2015)'