Reading Assignment: Read pages 1-44 of Shooting Kabul
Writing Assignment: Much of Dear Mr. Henshaw focuses on the issue of parenting. Please write a paragraph or two explaining what you think a good parent should or should not do for his or her child. Then illustrate with events from the book and at least one quotation how Leigh’s mother or father does (or does not) fulfill the role of a good parent.
For this piece of writing, you will be giving your own opinion on the subject of parenting before referring to the book. Try, when you switch to the book, to make the transition as smooth as possible.
For instance, imagine that you had been writing how a good parent knows it's important to keep one's promises. When you are ready to refer to the book, you might say something like "In Dear Mr. Henshaw, Leigh's father gets a failing grade as a parent because he is forever breaking promises to his son. When, for instance, he tells Leigh he will call on a particular night, he doesn't and Leigh ends up calling him. During the phone call, Leigh realizes his dad is having pizza with another little boy, and he feels his heart break."
The trick to good transitions is to refer to something you just said when introducing the new idea. In this case, the underlined transition refers to the importance of promises thereby linking the new idea to what's been said before.
