A Long Walk to Water is a moving dual‑narrative story that highlights resilience, hope, and the extraordinary strength of the human spirit. Through the intertwined journeys of Nya and Salva, readers witness the daily struggle for water, the impact of war, and the courage it takes to survive and help others.
Reading Level
Lexile 720L
Interest Level
Grades 6-8
Length
133 pages
Award
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award
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⭐ About the Book: A Long Walk to Water
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park is based on the true story of Salva Dut, one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan. The novel alternates between two timelines: Nya’s story in 2008 and Salva’s story beginning in 1985. Nya, a young girl from a remote village, spends hours each day walking to collect water for her family, a task that shapes every part of her life. Salva, an eleven‑year‑old boy, is forced to flee his village when war breaks out, beginning a dangerous journey across deserts and refugee camps in search of safety.
As the chapters shift between their experiences, readers see how perseverance, courage, and community can transform lives. Eventually, Nya’s and Salva’s stories intersect in a powerful and unexpected way, revealing the lasting impact of Salva’s determination to help others gain access to clean water.
This novel is an excellent choice for teaching nonfiction connections, theme, character development, and global awareness. Students are deeply moved by the hardships both characters face and inspired by the hope that emerges from their stories.
⭐ Book Details
| Publication Date | November 15, 2010 |
| Reading Level | Lexile 720L |
| Interest Level | Grades 6–8 |
| Awards | Jane Addams Children’s Book Award (2011) • Flicker Tale Children’s Book Award (2012) |
| Length | 133 pages |
| Estimated Word Count | Approx. 39,040 words |
| Estimated Reading Time | About 2 hours and 36 minutes |
| Audiobook Length | 2 hours and 41 minutes |
| Genre | Fictional autobiography |
| Setting | Sudan — 1980s through the 2000s |
| Themes | Survival, Family and Community, War and Society, Perseverance, Courage, Helping Others |
| Point of View | Third-person omniscient |
| Memorable Quote | “One step at a time, one day at a time, just today, just this day to get through.” |
| First Line | “Going was easy.” |
A Long Walk to Water Activities
Book Unit Samples
You will find the following in this novel study sample:
- Vocabulary Practice for Chapters 1-2
- Comprehension Questions for Chapters 1-2
- Constructed Response Question – Character Traits
Teaching Idea #1 – Water Facts
Have students complete a small research project to learn about water. Here are some good places to start:
- ESP Water Products “Water Facts”
- NGWA The Groundwater Association
Have each student take one or two interesting facts about water and turn them into a word cloud.
Sites for Creating Word Clouds
The example pictured above was created using Tagul. This site has the water drop shape as one of its built-in options. The site also allows users to place quotation marks around words to keep phrases together.
Teaching Idea #2 – Repetitive Poetry
A Long Walk to Water is the perfect novel for this activity. Repetitive poetry is a simple, yet great teaching strategy to practice the main idea and summarizing text. First, students write between 4 to 8 simple sentences that summarize a passage. For chapters 1-2, students might write something like this:
Salva daydreams while his teacher drones on.
A cracking sound alerts the class.
“Run to the bush, not home,” the teacher warns.
Salva walks and walks meeting up with friends.
Soon, rebels gather all the men.
Next, the students think of a sentence or phrase that expresses the main idea of the text. This sentence is repeated between the lines.
Salva daydreams while his teacher drones on.
Problem comes.
A cracking sound alerts the class.
Problem comes.
“Run to the bush, not home,” the teacher warns.
Problem comes.
Salva walks and walks, meeting up with friends.
Problem comes.
Soon, rebels gather all the men.
Problem comes.
Poems can be read interactively. The author reads the summarizing statements, and the class repeats the repetitive sentence in between each line. Even your most reluctant poetry writers are surprised at how good these poems sound.
Teaching Idea #3 – Videos
Book Trailer: A Long Walk to Water
This short video [1:29] plays music while you view a collage of images with some overlaid text. The video makes a good introduction to the book.
An Interview with Salva Dut
While this is an excellent video, I would not show it until the end of the book. It contains photos of Salva building wells. This might spoil the surprise ending of the book for your students who are super observant.
Salva’s Story
Linda Sue Park interviews Salva Dut
If you are not familiar with Boom Learning, you are in for a real treat. These interactive task cards are fun for students. Teachers love self-grading exercises. Supervisors love the data that is collected. Using Boom Learning is a win-win for everyone.
Check out what a Boom Learning deck looks like by clicking on the video play button on the video beside the novel stud sample.
Do you want to learn more? See A Long Walk to Water Boom Learning decks here.
See the product that inspired this post.
A Long Walk to Water Novel Study includes vocabulary practice, comprehension questions, constructed response writing, and skill practice.
