1a. In Mervet's letter of January 1, there is a footnote following one of her comments. What does this note say?
2a. In Galit's letter of January 30, what things does Galit admit about her impression of where Mervet lives?
3a. In her letter of February 22, what does Mervet ask Galit about her cousins?
4a. In Galit's letter of March 14, how does she describe the distance between her and Mervet's home?
1b. Why was the note inserted? What insights does the information in the note provide about Mervet or people in general?
2b. On what information does Galit probably base her knowledge on what Mervet's life is like? Why?
3b. Why might Mervet ask this?
4b. Why might Galit say this? Do you think Mervet would agree?
5a. Look back to the selection and identify the ways in which the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has affected the daily lives of Mervet and Galit.
5b. Do the letters Mervet and Galit write to each other have an influence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Explain your answer.
6a. What might some of the reactions of Galit's friends be if she did tell them that she was writing to Mervet? What would their reactions most likely depend on?
6b. Imagine that you are Galit. Explain herstatement, "The worst is, you and I are so insignificant."
Epistolary Writing. Decide how effective the letters of Mervet and Galit are in giving you insight into the girls' thoughts, assumptions, and feelings about the conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian people. Identify specific examples from the selection that support your answer. How might your reading experience have been different if you had learned about Galit and Mervet's relationship through a narrator rather than having read their actual letters to each other?
Exposition. Note some of the types of details that are given in the exposition of this selection. How did the expository information influence your reading of the selection as a whole?
1. Write Mervet's next letter to Galit.
2. Imagine that you are either Mervet or Galit. After exchanging the four letters included in the selection, write a journal entry that shares how the letters have changed you and the way you see the Israelis or the Palestinians.
3. Imagine that you are either Israeli or Palestinian, and write a short poem about how life would be different if the Palestinians and Israelis could live in peace.
Working with Inverted Sentences. Rewrite the following sentences so they are not inverted, and indicate the complete subject and complete predicate for each. For more help with this activity, consult the Language Arts Survey 3.27, "Working with Inverted Sentences."
1. Will Mervet and Galit become friends?
2. There were many Palestinians living in refugee camps.
3. Were there soldiers in the camps?
4. Have you ever heard of the intifada?
5. Did Galit speak Arabic?
6. There are many countries that border the Mediterranean Sea.
7. After the conflict ends perhaps the girls can meet.
8. Did Mervet dislike the soldiers?
9. Have you read other poems by Naomi Shihab Nye?
10. There are many descriptive phrases in the poem "Jerusalem."
Reading a Map and Researching the Occupied Territories: Research Log. Use this log to keep track of the sources you use, the information you find, and your reactions to what you learn.
Book and print sources.
Internet sources.
Answers to questions about the map on page 222 of the textbook.
Notes.
Choosing Synonyms. Review the Words for Everyday Use from the selection from If You Could Be My Friend. Then select the word that is most nearly the same in meaning as the word in capital letters.
1. Enclave: click to select answer a. coat b. instrument c. community d. committee
2. Activism: click to select answer a. support b. destruction c. hypocrisy d. theater
3. Indict: click to select answer a. ignite b. pester c. release d. accuse
4. Amicable: click to select answer a. warlike b. peaceable c. serious d. ridiculous
5. Embroidery: click to select answer a. needlework b. pottery c. painting d. sculpture
6. Affiliated: click to select answer a. disturbed b. opposed c. connected d. unrelated
