by Reina Chaiekh | Feb 27, 2026
Throughout the book, the author mentions simple games that the children play, such as string games and making a toy boat out of grass. She also includes the scene with the children playing on the Soviet tank (pages 18–19). Have students work in small groups to plan a...
by Reina Chaiekh | Feb 27, 2026
Talk with students about how few adults there are in the novel, and how the children had to play adult roles even when there were adults present. Ask students for examples from the novel. Then introduce the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. See Convention on...
by Reina Chaiekh | Feb 27, 2026
Ask students to identify what they think are the important themes in Parvana’s Journey and create a collage or a diagram (such as a web or tree) to show those themes. Students might identify these themes: children having to act as adults; missing parents; definitions...
by Reina Chaiekh | Feb 27, 2026
Have students select a sentence, paragraph or whole chapter from the novel that they found particularly moving or striking. Ask them to select a song (with or without lyrics) that they think expresses the same emotion or feeling as that selection. Have them share and...
by Reina Chaiekh | Feb 27, 2026
Ask students to choose two of the characters and study their relationship (i.e., Parvana and Asif, Parvana and Hassan, Parvana and Leila, or Asif and Hassan). Students can consider how the characters interact; how the relationship benefits the characters; what...
