Starting Over

1. Set Focus 
Pose this essential question: How do you rebuild your life after losing everything?

2. Read and Discuss 
Have students read the article, marking key ideas and questions. Then ask them to answer the following questions, citing text evidence: 

• Why have Afghans fled their country? Why has the U.S. taken in more than 76,000 Afghan refugees? (Afghans have fled their country out of fear of what life would be like under the Taliban, which took control of Afghanistan again in 2021 as the U.S. was withdrawing troops. The U.S. has taken in more than 76,000 Afghan refugees because many Afghans were supporters of the U.S. military when the U.S. had troops in Afghanistan.)

• If Ahmad Faisal Azizi and Rahima Sadaat had not been able to flee Afghanistan, what would their lives probably be like today? (They likely would be destitute and hungry, with no hope of improving their financial situations. They would be required to follow a very strict, traditional form of Islam. Azizi would have to grow a beard. Rahima would not be allowed to go to school. If Azizi didn’t have to work all the time to support his family and was able to go to school, he would be going to one that was less rigorous than his school in the U.S.)

• What dreams are Azizi and Rahima able to pursue because they are in the U.S.? (Azizi wants to go to college to study engineering. Rahima plans to go to a prestigious high school in the fall and wants to become a doctor or do something with artificial intelligence.)

3. Core Skill Practice
Assign, print, or project the activity Figuratively Speaking. Have students identify and explain each example of figurative language.

4. Writing Prompt
Based on the article, summarize what Afghan refugees experience—from first arriving at a U.S. military base to being resettled in a new community.

5. Classroom Debate
Should the one-time payment refugees receive be higher for refugees from Afghanistan because of America’s history in that nation?

6. Quiz & Skills
Assess comprehension with the quiz.