CP English 7th Grade Summer Reading Assignment

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

ISBN: 978-0-14-240596-3
What is the book about?
This summer you will be reading Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac. Code Talker is about a
Navajo boy who grows up to be one of the US Marine WW2 code talkers. The story follows him
from his life as a boarding school student through his participation in the Pacific during WW2.
Pay attention to his strengths as well as the challenges he faces as he defends his native land.

How will I be graded?

Your summer reading assignment is broken up into four categories: Vocabulary, Annotations,
Writing Response, and a Comprehension Quiz (This will be taken on the first day of school).
Points will be divided as followed:
Vocabulary- 15 points
Annotations- 15 points
Written Response- 45 points
Comprehension Quiz-25 points
Total Grade= 100
What do I do?
Vocabulary: Definitions and Original Sentences
First, define the following vocabulary words with the correct part of speech. (Page
numbers are located in parentheses to help you find the appropriate definition as it is
used in context.) Second, in an original sentence of at least ten words, use each word in
the same context as that of the word in the text. Your sentence may be based on similar
events in your own life, similar events in Code Talker, or similar events in other stories
(written stories, TV shows, movies, plays, etc…). The first word is completed for you as
an example.

1. Chaos (104) - complete disorder and confusion

When Ned and Georgia Boy were attacked by the Japanese on Blue Beach, they found
relief from the surrounding chaos of bombs bursting and machine guns firing when Ned
dug a foxhole for them.
2. Crucial (135)
3. Defiant (25)
4. Deployed (151)
5. Distorted (153)
6. Embark (89)
7. Furloughs (69)
8. Harmony (139)
9. Humble (82)
10. Pathetic (97)
11. Priority (95)
12. Retreated (127)
 13. Reverberated (47)
14. Shrapnel (117)
15. Stealthily (124)
16. Surged (117)

Annotate Chapter 15 for the following:

*Setting in orange (Where is Ned? This may change during the chapter. Highlight all.)
*Characterization in pink (Concentrate on Stormy and Gene-gene. Highlight the words and
phrases which allow the reader to directly and indirectly characterize each.)
* Theme in blue (Find examples of both humor and respect in the chapter. Highlight each in
blue.)
* Questioning in yellow (Highlight one thing you don't understand or would like to know more
about in yellow. In the margin, develop and write a question about what you have highlighted.)

Written Response:
Select three of the following four to answer. Answer each in a well-constructed paragraph with
at least three supporting details as well as a topic sentence and concluding sentence.The
response should be typed in Times New Roman 12 point font with MLA heading. Check
for writing conventions (capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and sentence variety). Print the
assignment and bring to class on the first day of school with your annotated book and
vocabulary.
❖ Ned survives both the hardship of boarding school and the trauma of war. How is Ned
able to get through these difficulties? Which of his personal qualities do you think help
him most during these hard times? (List and defend at least three personal qualities.
Give text evidence for each quality.)
❖ Imagine you are a soldier in a situation similar to Ned’s in the Pacific. List and defend
five items you would want in a military ration.
❖ Ned carries a pouch of corn pollen with him. What does this pouch mean to Ned?
Describe what you think are the three most important times he uses the corn pollen in
the story. Explain why each is meaningful.
❖ Ned Begay is telling his grandchildren the story of his time as a code talker. What are
three important lessons you think Ned’s grandchildren might learn from his story?
Explain each.

What do I do if I don’t understand?

If you have any questions about the assignment, please email me at
amy.etheredge@deerfieldwindsor.com. I will be sure to answer as quickly as I can.

Looking forward to a great school year!

The following questions are available to help you study for the comprehension quiz. I will
not take them up. Making sure you can answer them will help you do well on the quiz the
first day of class.

Introduction - Chapter 1
❖ To whom is the author of Code Talk speaking?
❖ Why is he writing the book? (What is his purpose?)
❖ Why did Kii Yahzi’s parents dress in their best clothing and accessories when his uncle
came for him?
❖ Why did Kii Yahzi’s uncle tell him his purpose in attending school was?
❖ Describe the Long Walk. (Why did it happen? Where did they go? What impact did it
have on the Navajo?)

Chapters 2 - 4
❖ When the Navajo children arrived at school, why were they dressed in their best
clothing and accessories?
❖ What did the principal and teachers expect of the Navajo children as soon as they
arrived at school?
❖ Why did having their hair cut upset the Navajo children?
❖ What happened to the valuable jewelry belonging to the Navajo children?
❖ Why was it shocking to a Navajo to be renamed Washington or Lincoln?
❖ Why do so many Navajo today have the last name Begay?
❖ What happened to Navajo children who spoke Navajo within hearing of the teachers?
❖ An excellent student, what two subjects did Kii Yahzi excel in especially?
❖ How was Ki Yahzi able to keep and expand his knowledge of the Navajo language?
❖ Reread the last paragraph of Chapter 4. It is an example of foreshadowing.

Chapters 5 - 6
❖ Kii Yahzi states that one of his teachers patted him on the head like he was a pet
monkey. Several teachers would remark that he was almost as smart as and did
school work almost as well as a white child. What reaction to you have to these
remembrances of Kii Yahzi?
❖ “I worked hard with that goal in mind. Because I took such interest in my studies and in
that good goal of becoming a teacher, time no longer crawled by like a snail trying to
get on top of a big stone. The hours and days, the weeks and months and even the
years, grew legs and began to run like an antelope.” What literary devices does the
author use in these sentences?
❖ Kii Yahzi feels sorry for the people of which country? Why? What is ironic (opposite of
what is expected) about the Navajo support of the foreigners?
❖ “Strong words outlast the paper they are written upon.” Tell why you think this quote is
true or false. Give at least one example to defend your opinion.
❖ Why was Kii Yahzi distracted from enjoying time with friends on the day of the Pearl
Harbor attack?

Chapters 7 - 10
❖ How did the first Navajo volunteers feel after going to military recruiting stations?
Why?
 ❖ Kii Yahzi’s parents would not let him volunteer to serve when he first asked. What did
the 29 Navajo who did join accomplish?
❖ Describe the US Marine who spoke to the students.
❖ What was the purpose of Blessingway? Give three details about the actual ceremonial
day.
❖ After his first encounter with Georgia Boy, what three things did Kii Yahzi/Ned Begay
realize? Give text evidence for each.

Chapters 11 - 12
❖ Where was Kiwi Yahzi/Ned Begay and what was happening when he first heard the
term code talker?
❖ In the last two paragraphs of Chapter 11, the narrator makes a point of explaining that
Major General Vogel did not develop code. Why do you think he includes this
information?
❖ What significance did Kii Yahzi/Ned Begay ascribe to the first alphabet word in the new
code alphabet?
❖ How does the reader know the Navajo in code talking school still identify as young
playful individuals?
❖ Pick out two phrases or sentences in Chapter 12 which indicate troubled times ahead.

Chapters 13 - 14
❖ Why was Ned Begay being shipped out to Hawaii? (Who was there? Why? To help
Ned do what?)
❖ What simile did people use to describe Hawaii? How did Ned actually find Hawaii and
the other tropical islands to be?
❖ What two opposing reasons explain why the Navajo never advanced beyond corporal
in rank or even received dress blue uniforms?
❖ Traditionally in the United States, many cafeterias served fish on Fridays in deference
to Roman Catholics who traditionally don’t eat meat on Fridays. What problem did that
cause for Navajo in the military mess halls?
❖ What made the speed with which the Navajo could send code look good in
comparison?
❖ Explain the circumstances which led to this quote: “When we saw them,” Sam added,
“we realized that our enemies were just human beings.”

Chapters 15 - 17
❖ What trick did the Navajo play on Stormy in the Big Island desert?
❖ Who was Gene-gene? Describe Ned’s most touching encounter with him.
❖ What explanation does Ned give for giving submarines and bombers names like
Oscar and Washing Machine Charlie?
❖ To want three things does Ned compare the initial bombing of Bougainville? Look for
three similes.
❖ How does Ned predict the Blue Beach landing will be different than that of
Guadalcanal?
❖ How does Georgia Boy let the reader know Ned is tough?
❖ Who are the only non-Americans Ned sees on his first day on Bouganville? Is the
person Georgia Boy actually speaks to friend or enemy? How do you know?
Chapters 18- 19
❖ “You felt like you were inside a stew pot with the lid on.” Explain this simile. What point
was Ned making about Bougainville?
❖ What hyperbole does Georgia Boy use to describe mosquitoes?
❖ What is the significance of Watch Officer Williams and Atabrine?
❖ What was especially tragic about Harry Tsosie’s death?
❖ “ Kill every enemy twice.” What was the rationale in Sergeant Wilky’s advice?
❖ How did Bill and Ned save many lives as the Ninth Regiment traveled the Numa Numa
trail?
❖ What was the purpose of Seabees? Why were they appreciated by other soldiers?
❖ What was John F. Kennedy’s role in WW2? How does Bruchac include this information
in his story?
❖ What is Smitty’s special role in the US Marines?
❖ What convinced the captain to use Ned instead of McAdams as his radioman?
❖ How was Ned able to avoid the tendency to drink heavily in order to forget the horrors
and anxiety of war?

Chapters 20 - 22
❖ Saipan was the first island on which Marines encountered Japanese women and
children. How did their presence impact the Japanese soldiers? What was mainly
responsible for the fate of those women and children?
❖ “Never forget, grandchildren, that we must always see all other people as human
beings, worthy of respect.” What is Ned reflecting on when he makes this statement?
(Identify the Chamorros.)
❖ Who was Johnny? Describe his life before and after Guam was recaptured by
Americans.
❖ Describe “battle fatigue” and its impact on soldiers.

Chapters 23 - 25
❖ What did frogmen do? Why do you think code talkers always went with them?
❖ As the Marines inched closer to the Japanese home islands, what major change took
place in the behavior of Japanese pilots?
❖ Contrast the ways in which prisoners of war were treated in Japan versus Europe.
❖ What does the Geneva Convention mandate?
❖ The Japanese did not agree to the 1929 Geneva Convention. Why?
❖ Why were blockades especially effective against Japan? What was ironic about the
Japanese motive for war?
❖ Explain the nickname Chief and the Native American reactions to it.
❖ What made Mount Suribachi ominous for the Americans?
❖ What did Ned find out had happened to the food he and others had collected as
children to send to Japan after a major earthquake?
❖ Why was Morse code used during the Battle of Iwo Jima?

Chapters 25 - 29
❖ In addition to horrifying sensory details, the first section of Chapter 26 (pages 183 -
187) has several meaningful similes. Identify them as you read the description of
taking Iwo Jima.
❖ To what are the Navajo nets compared?
❖ https://images.app.goo.gl/QZEj8WS1iHJdtjXVA How does this monument relate to
Ned’s story?
❖ What surprise awaited Ned as he sailed for Okinawa?
❖ Tokyo Rose was a Japanese radio announcer who tried to break the spirits of
American service men. Explain the message Ned hears and how his reaction differs
from when he heard other Tokyo Rose broadcasts.
❖ As the American forces approached and took Okinawa, how did the perspectives of
ordinary Japanese citizens and the Japanese Imperial military leaders differ?
❖ What two things kept the Japanese from effectively speaking out against the war?
❖ How did Ned react to the message he received on April 12, 1945? What was the
message?
❖ After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Ned eventually returns home to Arizona. When he tried
to buy a Coca-cola, he realized he still had a hard battle to fight. What was the battle?
How did he equip himself for it?
❖ What brings an end to Ned’s post war nightmares?
❖ What does the G.I. Bill allow for Smitty and Georgia Boy but not for Ned?
❖ What technological advance allowed the Navajo code talkers to reveal their work
during WW2?