A comprehensive and engaging Years 7–8 English unit for A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Designed to develop reading comprehension, analytical thinking, and writing skills, this resource supports students in exploring resilience, survival, hope, perseverance, and the importance of access to clean water through this powerful novel based on true events.

Through a range of engaging learning activities, students examine the parallel journeys of Salva and Nya while exploring the impact of conflict, displacement, and environmental challenges. The unit encourages students to analyse character development, narrative structure, and authorial choices while developing empathy and global awareness.

What’s included
• Analysis of themes, characters, context, and key ideas
• Exploration of resilience, survival, hope, conflict, displacement, and social responsibility
• Study of the social and historical context of South Sudan and the experiences of refugees
• Language features, figurative language, and text structures analysis
• Examination of characterisation, perspective, and narrative techniques
• Close reading and comprehension activities
• Paragraph and extended writing tasks
• Discussion questions and collaborative learning opportunities
• Analytical writing support and model responses
• A 10-week teaching sequence with multiple learning activities each week
• Classroom-ready activities designed to promote engagement, critical thinking, and discussion

Want a sneak peek before you commit? Check out Instagram @beyond_the_text_resources for preview videos of the units.

Teaching approach
This resource adopts a flexible, activity-based approach rather than a scripted lesson-by-lesson program. Students engage with the text through discussion, inquiry, close reading, collaborative learning, and writing activities that strengthen both literacy and analytical skills. Teachers can adapt and sequence tasks to suit the needs of their classes.

File info
• Provided as a non-editable PDF
• Not designed as an editable PowerPoint
How to use
• Upload to your LMS (Google Classroom, Canvas, etc.) for digital learning
• Print selected pages for classroom use
• Display pages to support discussion, analysis, and writing activities
• Upload to presentation or design platforms if you wish to adapt for your own use (formatting may vary depending on the program used)