Malala Yousafzai 

Remember that this class will work as a collective. This means that we will show care for everyone, help one another learn, help one another understand, work together, talk together, share our ideas, and work to trust one another.

As a whole class, review your shared values. Use these during your discussions.

A. Warm up

Think about the questions below. Talk about your ideas with your classmate(s).

1. Do you know the name Malala Yousafzai? How did you hear about her?
2. Do you know what ban means?
3. Do you know what the Nobel Peace Prize is?
4. Do you like going to school now? Why or why not?
5. Did you like going to school when you were a child? Why or why not?

B. Vocabulary Preview

In this section, you will preview the vocabulary from the reading. You can check your answers to Exercises 2-3 afterward by visiting: Answer Keys by Chapter.

Exercise 1:

These are the words that you will learn in this chapter. How many words do you already know?

Exercise 2:

Choose the best word or phrase to match each definition. Use a dictionary to help!

1. a special award for peacemakers (noun phrase)
   1. Nobel Peace Prize
   2. Banned
   3. Extremist
2. not for; not in support of (preposition)
   1. Charity
   2. Extremist
   3. Against
3. to continue to live after an accident or illness, etc. (verb)
   1. Against
   2. Survive
   3. Feminist
4. a person or group with very, very different ideas than most people, and they may hurt people (noun)
   1. Survive
   2. Nobel Peace Prize
   3. Extremist
5. to stop; to make illegal (verb)
   1. Survive
   2. Extremist
   3. Ban
6. to earn something (verb)
   1. Survive
   2. Ban
   3. Deserve
7. a group that gives money or help to people (noun)
   1. Charity
   2. Extremist
   3. Feminist
8. a way to fix a body by cutting into it (noun)
   1. Nobel Peace Prize
   2. Charity
   3. Surgery
9. a person who believes that women, men, and non-binary people should have the same rights (noun)
   1. Extremist
   2. Feminist
   3. Against

Exercise 3:

Choose the best word or phrase to complete each sentence. Please note: screen readers will read the blank spots as “underscore.”

1. It is a very great honor to win a _.
   1. survive
   2. extremist
   3. Nobel Peace Prize
2. In some countries, some books are _. That means you can’t read them.
   1. against
   2. banned
   3. extremist
3. The Taliban are an _ group.
   1. banned
   2. extremist
   3. Nobel Peace Prize
4. We need to fight _ racism and sexism.
   1. against
   2. survive
   3. banned
5. Malala Yousafzai was strong and brave. She _ a difficult time.
   1. banned
   2. against
   3. survived
6. Farm workers work hard in the fields all day. They _ fair pay.
   1. surgery
   2. survive
   3. deserve
7. United Way is an international _.
   1. surgery
   2. charity
   3. Nobel Peace Prize
8. Lucy had _ on her foot last week.
   1. charity
   2. surgery
   3. extremist
9. My brother thinks that women should get paid the same as men. He is a _.
   1. feminist
   2. Nobel Peace Prize
   3. charity

C. Prepare to read

Get comfortable in your seat. Pay attention to your body and your place. Take three slow breaths. Now you are ready to read.

D. Read all about it!

Malala Yousafzai

Do you know who Malala Yousafzai is? Malala is famous. She is a feminist activist. She thinks that all girls deserve an education. Malala was born in Mingora, Pakistan. She went to a girls’ school. Her father was a teacher there. But one day the Taliban came to her village. They were extremists. They banned school for girls. Girls could not go to school anymore. Malala was eleven years old. She felt sad and angry. She loved to go to school. The Taliban banned many other things, like television and music. They punished people for not following the new rules.

Then, Malala made speeches in Pakistan. She spoke against the Taliban’s rules. She wanted girls to be able to go back to school. The Taliban heard about her speeches.

In response, they attacked Malala in 2012. On the bus, they shot her in the head. She was hurt, but she survived. A helicopter took her to England for her safety. She had many surgeries and worked hard to get better.

She decided to keep fighting for girls to go to school. She wants girls all over the world to be able to go to school. She made a charity to help girls go to school. In December 2014, Malala won a Nobel Peace Prize. At seventeen years old, she became the youngest person to win this prize (“Malala’s Story”).

E. Grounding

• Notice your feelings about the reading.
• Which parts gave you those feelings?
• Why?
• Now let go.
• You can take three deep breaths, stretch, or count down from ten.

You can choose to talk about your reactions or not. Maybe you want to think or write quietly, or maybe you want to talk. Our reactions teach us about our beliefs and experiences.

F. Discussion

Read the questions below, then look at the reading again. Talk about the questions with your classmate(s). Where did you find the answers?

1. Where is Malala Yousafzai from?
2. Why did she stop going to school?
3. What happened to her on the bus?
4. How did she survive the attack?
5. What does she want for girls all over the world?
6. When did she win the Nobel Peace Prize?

G. Topics for Writing

1. What is the main idea of the reading? Explain the main idea with support.
2. Why is education important for girls? Review the reading for clues.
3. What is extremism? How is it dangerous? Explain with examples from the reading and/or your own ideas.
4. Are there any bans in your community? How do you feel about these bans?
5. Write about a brave person that you know. Why are they brave? Explain with support.

H. Project!

International Women’s Day is a feminist holiday. Do an internet search to find out about International Women’s Day. Try to find answers to these questions:

• What is it?
• When is it celebrated?
• How did it start?
• Why do people celebrate it?
• Who celebrates it around the world?

Share your information with your classmate(s). Did you find the same answers?

I. More Information

• Canadian Museum for Human Rights (Video): Malala Yousafzai – Children are change makers (1:56) This video shows images of Yousafzai as a child standing in a classroom, reading with a classmate, and sitting by a computer desk; speaking in front of microphones, sitting with an award, and visiting classrooms with girls. Yousafzai answers three questions: What does this uniform mean to you? What is your message to children around the world who want change? What does this Nobel Peace Prize mean for your work?