Standards Correlations

R.1, R.2, R.4, R.6, R.7, W.2, W.3, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will read an  article about a young refugee and identify text evidence to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Key Skills

text evidence, text features, vocabulary, central idea and details, author’s craft, inference, drawing conclusions, critical thinking, informational writing, narrative writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The text describes Yusra’s journey from Syria to Germany and her participation in the 2016 Olympics.

Structure: The text includes narrative and informational passages.

Language: The text includes some figurative language.

Knowledge Demands: Knowing how competitions at the Olympics work will be helpful. Semifinals are mentioned.

Levels

Lexile: 500L-600L 

Guided Reading Level: U 

DRA Level: 50

Lesson Plan: Swimming for Her Life

Essential Questions

  • What is a refugee? What responsibility does the world have to refugees? 
  • Why are goals and dreams important?

Literature Connection

  • Graphic Novel: When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

1. Preparing to Read 

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Guide students to locate the story. Preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the title and the subtitle (the text beneath the title). What do you think the term war-torn means? Why might it be unusual for someone to go from a war-torn country to the Olympic Games? War-torn means “badly damaged by war.” To go from a country that’s been damaged by war to the Olympics sounds unusual because getting to the Olympics takes a lot of training. It would be hard to find the time, energy, and resources to train in a war-torn country. 
  • Look at the map. Where did Yusra begin her journey? What are two countries she passed through? In what city did she end up? Yusra began her journey in Damascus, which is in Syria. She traveled through Turkey and Greece and ended up in Berlin, which is a city in Germany.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (refugee, fleeing, smugglers, flimsy, refugee camp) aloud and discuss their definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow.

Make a Plan for Reading 

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading by explaining to students that they will find text evidence in “Swimming for Her Life” that supports important ideas about what it’s like to be a refugee.
  • Point out the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.
  • Point out the activity at the end of the story and tell students they will complete it after reading. Tell them to keep the Think About It! question at the bottom in mind as they read.
  • Tell students that as they finish each section, they should think about how the text features on the page (e.g., photos, captions, and section headings) relate to what they’ve just read.

 2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Guide students to read the article. Once they understand it well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

  • At the start of the article, what does the author do to grab your attention? (author’s craft) In the first paragraph, author Kristin Lewis describes Yusra competing in a swim race at the Olympics. Then Lewis reveals that Yusra is a refugee who was “fleeing for her life” a year earlier. This surprising last sentence is meant to grab your attention and make you want to know what happened to Yusra and how she made it to the Olympics.
  • What is the central idea of the section “A Big Deal”? (central idea) Answers may vary somewhat. Accept answers similar to: The central idea of the section “A Big Deal” is that the group that runs the Olympics formed the first-ever team of refugees, and Yusra got the chance to be a part of it.
  • What does the photo captioned “Cost of War” tell you about life in a war-torn country? Based on this picture, why do you think Yusra and Sarah wanted to leave Syria and live in another country? (text features, inference) The photo helps make it clear that life in a war-torn country is difficult and dangerous. The image shows a street that looks like it has been bombed. There are bricks and rubble in the street. The air looks dirty and dusty. You can imagine that the area feels unsafe. It’s easy to see why someone would want to leave this kind of violence behind for safer streets elsewhere.  

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • The author writes that being at the Olympics helped Yusra change the way people think about refugees like her. How does Yusra’s story do this? (drawing conclusions) Yusra’s story of fleeing Syria draws attention to the dangers that refugees face in their home countries and how hard it can be to escape to safety. Her story also reminds people that every refugee is a human being with dreams and goals.
  • What message does Yusra’s story send about the importance of dreams? (critical thinking) Yusra’s story sends the message that having dreams can give you courage and strength, and that no matter how difficult your situation is, you should never give up on your dreams.

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Text Evidence activity. As a class, discuss students’ answers and the Think About It! question.
  • Have students work independently to complete our Central Idea and Details Skill Builder, available in higher- and lower-level versions. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders for this article.)
  • Writing prompt: Imagine that it’s 2016, and you’re part of the group that runs the Olympic Games. You’ve been asked why there will be a team of refugees in the Games this year. In a well-organized paragraph, explain why it makes sense to create a special team for refugees. Include details from the article.

Learn-Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

The Path to Your Dreams

As Yusra’s story makes clear, it takes a lot of work to make your dreams come true. What is your dream? Do you want to become a famous artist or a pro athlete? To run a successful business? To open a shelter for rescued animals? Whatever your dream may be, you need a plan for it. Use the prompts below to outline the steps you need to take to get from where you are today to where you want to be one day.

  • Define your dream. Write about what you want to do and why. Why is this dream important to you? Do you want fame? Money? The chance to do something good for the world? Write your thoughts in a journal entry.
  • Research people who have done what you want to do (or something close to it). Learn about their journeys. What skills did they need to develop? What challenges did they face? How did they overcome them?
  • Finally, write the steps you need to take to make your dream come true. Make your plan as specific as possible. What do you need to do today? In one year? In five years? Create a timeline for yourself showing what goals you will achieve and when.

ELL Springboard

Unpack figurative language to make the story more accessible.

This article uses the words died, dead, and alive figuratively. Discuss the figurative meanings of these words. Explain to students that alive can mean “still going” (e.g., keeping a tradition alive) and dead can mean “used up” or “no longer working” (e.g., dead battery). 

Read the article aloud to the class. When you encounter the figures of speech listed below, pause to discuss their meanings:

  • In the section “A War Zone,” the author says that the sisters’ dreams for the future died. This means that their Olympic dreams became impossible. The pool where they trained was destroyed, and they weren’t safe enough to make any plans.
  • In the section “Escaping Death,” Yusra is quoted as saying, “I’m almost dead in my country.” She meant that, despite being in good health, she didn’t feel alive because the danger surrounding her kept her from living a satisfying, meaningful life.
  • At the end of the article, the author says that refugees leave their homes as a way to keep themselves and their dreams alive. She means that refugees want to live in places where they have the safety and the resources to make plans for the future.
Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.

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