I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World (Young Readers Edition)

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

ACTIVITY 1: “Mini Memoir”

I Am Malala is a memoir: a nonfiction narrative focusing on a pivotal event or time in the author’s life. Malala frames her memoir with the traumatic event of being shot by the Taliban and then describes her life leading up to and after her shooting, and how it impacted her Identity and sense of purpose. Memoirs do not have to be serious, like Malala’s. They can also be funny. Explore a few short (essay-length) memoirs online. 

Teenink features memoirs written by teenagers. Harrison Scott Key’s “My Dad Tried to Kill Me with an Alligator” is an example of a humorous memoir. Scaachi Koul shares a story about growing up and trying to learn her mother’s cooking in “There’s No Recipe for Growing Up.”

Pick a moment in your life, from your childhood or more recently, that had a formative impact. Write a 3-5 paragraph first-person narrative describing this event. Publish and share in Google Classroom.

Alternatively, create a graphic memoir. Read Richard by Allie Brosh, a short, comic memoir about discovering the concept of neighbors. First, outline your memoir, establishing characters and writing their dialogue. Use the free online comic maker Canva to create a multi-page comic book memoir. Publish on Facebook or Instagram or download and print. Canva requires an email address, or a Facebook or Google account.

Teaching Suggestion: Preview online memoir samples for school appropriateness. “Richard” is warm-hearted and hilarious but alludes (falsely) to child predation.

ACTIVITY 2: “Be a Hero: Make Your Voice Heard”

Write down one thing you believe needs to be changed or stopped, or a social issue you feel strongly about. This could be a problem in school, the community, or beyond. Share your issue with the class and observe how many people feel strongly about the same topics. Vote on one topic to focus on—or choose three or four and divide into groups.

Discuss how to effect change on each topic. Consider the origin of the problem, such as its cultural or historical causes like racism or sexism; ways in which the problem is supported and sustained; and how the problem negatively affects individuals or the community. Decide on what specific result you want to achieve. Identify individuals who can help achieve your goal, such as local government representatives, school leadership, or state or national government officials. Write a persuasive letter to these individuals expressing the need for change and the results you demand.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity can be as in-depth as time allows. It could involve a single class session letter-writing, or extend to more far-reaching activism activities, like starting a class social media campaign to increase public awareness using blogs, Instagram, or Twitter. It can extend outward within the school, by having the class survey the entire population for their opinions about a topic. It can even involve writing opinion pieces for the local or school newspaper.

• Read Write Think offers a comprehensive lesson plan for persuasive letter writing and school activism.
• The American Federation of Teachers has several lesson plans on how to teach human rights issues.
• For students who want to extend their activism involvement, share “So Change It: A Guide for High School Youth Advocates” by Advocates for Youth and CHAMP, the Community HIV/Aids Mobilization Project.