ELED 306A (Fall 2014)

[close] Before I started reading the book I became interested in the fact that Heart of a Samurai was based on a true story. The story of Manjiro Nakaham and his experiences after the fishing ship he is on is destroyed by a storm at sea. Since Heart of a Samurai is based on a true story, it offers a look into social and historical issues of the time. It covers topics such as Japanese culture and history, the whaling industry, and U.S prejudice in the 1800's. After I started reading, I found that there were many thoughtful touches added to the book. There are many interesting images, diagrams and drawings throughout the book that add appropriate visuals to text. There is also a glossary for students to look up unfamiliar vocabulary, a suggested reading list and information about the author. The story itself has interesting characters who you become very fond of throughout the reading.

This book would be appropriate for students in eighth grade. It could be used in a reading, language arts or even a social studies class. There is an abundance of useful vocabulary and a glossary for teachers to choose words for their students to study. It also presents many opportunities for students to practice inference making, problem solving and predicting. Finally, the story covers social issues such as prejudice and racism, which can are great topics for investigation, discussion and problem solving in our past and current history.