A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY: “The Problem of Child Soldiers”

Watch “From Child Soldier to Human Rights Activist,” a video detailing Ishmael Beah’s experience produced by UNICEF. Then, split into groups of four. Together, you will put together a brief presentation detailing the issue of child soldiers beyond just those used in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Think about these questions as you do your research for the first half of class:

• How many child soldiers are there? Where have child soldiers been used? What are their lives like?
• What legal protections are there for children in war?
• What are some of the strategies that have been suggested for resolving this issue?
• How can you help?

Each person in the group should take one of the above bullet points and spend 10-15 minutes researching the question/s. Then, come together to create a short oral presentation that you will deliver at the end of class.

Teaching Suggestion: You can also consider different countries ahead of time and assign one country to each group of students.

Differentiation Suggestion: For those students who may not feel comfortable speaking up in front of the class, consider having one student assigned to write a script or put together a single slide as a visual aid that can count as their participation.