Create a Museum

Ask students to imagine they are creating a display of artifacts for a museum in Afghanistan to represent the time The Breadwinner describes. Have them choose 6–10 artifacts and write a brief description of each one and why it was chosen. They could design a web page...

Draw “Unusual Times”

Read Mrs. Weera’s words (page 116): “These are unusual times. They call for ordinary people to do unusual things just to get by.” Ask students to draw or paint a scene or image from the novel that they think best illustrates this idea. Have them include a title for...

Mother and Mrs. Weera’s Magazine

Draw students’ attention to the mother and Mrs. Weera’s magazine and why it was so brave of them to have created it. Read from page 164 “… copies are being sent out to women all over the world. She has helped to let the world know what is happening in Afghanistan.”...

Using Humor

Talk with students about how the author infuses the novel with some humor, despite the grimness of the themes. Ask students to recall or look for examples of humor in the novel, and discuss how the author has created it (e.g., through dialogue, Parvana’s thoughts, the...

Point of View

Talk with students about how the book is told from Parvana’s point of view (even though it is written in the third person). Have students choose a scene from the book and think about it from another character’s point of view. Have them write and perform (live or on...