Code Talkers
On page 26, how do Ned’s teachers feel about him saying “Yes, teacher!”? What textual evidence supports your statement.
When Ned responds, “Yes, teacher,” it makes the teachers happy. “They were like magic. Even if I did not understand something, all I had to do was say those words to make my white teachers nod back at me and smile.”
What countries were the Axis Power? What countries were the Allies?
Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan
Allies: U.S., France, Great Britain
Why do Ned’s teachers like him so much? What textual evidence on page 26 support why Ned was very liked by his teachers?
He is liked because he is obedient and listens to their commands. “When my bilagaana teachers looked at me, they saw a little Navajo boy who did just what he was told, never got in trouble, and studied hard.”
What happened on December 7, 1941? Why is this date remembered in the United States?
On December 7, 1941, the naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked and over 1,000 soldiers and civilians died. This date is infamous due to the tragic deaths, and because it caused the U.S. to join the allies in WWII.
In one sentence summarize pages 26-27 of Code Talkers.
Ned pretends to be the perfect English-speaking student to stay out of trouble, however, he resists the bilaanganas by secretly practicing English.
What textual evidence in paragraph 11 supports the idea that the U.S. changed after the Pearl Harbor attack?
“Over the next four years, the United States changed from a nation trying to isolate itself from the world’s problems to becoming a leader among nations.”
How does Ned defy the rules against speaking Navajo at school? What textual evidence supports this idea?
Ned practices Navajo when he is alone through songs and speaking with other Native students. “I spoke nothing but Navajo whenever I was with other Indian students. In the basement of the school or out back behind the woodshed, I learned Navajo songs and stories”.
What are the 2 reasons the U.S. decided to wait a couple of years to join WWII? What textual evidence in paragraph 1 supports those ideas?
The U.S. did not join WWII because they had an isolationism policy and were going through a severe economic depression. “America had its problem in the 1930s- it was stuck in a severe economic depression”. “But U.S. isolationism, a policy of not getting involved in the political or economic situations of other countries, came at a dangerous time.”
How are students affected by the punishments given for speaking Navajo? What textual evidence on page 16 supports your ideas?
Sometimes students would be punished so harshly that they would not be able to speak Navajo anymore. “Some students in my school, especially after being beaten enough times for talking Indian, reached the point where it became hard for them to speak Navajo even they wanted to.”
How did the U.S. help during WWII? What textual evidence in paragraph 11 supports your idea.
The U.S. supplied materials, weapons, and people during the war. “It raised and supplied a huge fighting force. Americans produced guns, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, and manpower.”