The Kite Runner Activity 2 Web Quest Assessment Grade Directions: Complete the journey below to find out more about the background of the novel The Kite Runner. Click on the links below and answer the assigned questions. Be sure to respond on loose leaf to each with specific details and examples from each text. When you are finished, you will submit your work for a grade.
2. Use the PBS Time Line of Afghanistan to answer the following: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/asia/afghanistan/timeline/index.html a. What happens in 1921? b. What happens in 1933? c. With whom does Gen. Mohammed Daoud Khan make an alliance? Why? d. 1973 was a pivotal point in Afghanistan’s history. Why? e. In what year did Afghanistan first start to experience political turmoil? (Hint: They take on the Soviet Union) f. In 1979, the U.S. cuts off ties with Afghanistan. Why? Who invades Afghanistan? g. When does Osama bin Laden make his first visit to Afghanistan? h. Why does Osama shift his focus from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1988? i. In 1992 Afghanistan endures yet another coup. Which group takes over this time? What are the problems with this group? j. Why do most Afghans believe the Taliban takeover in 1993 is a good thing at first? k. Why do more than a million Afghans flee to Pakistan between the years 1995 and 1999? l. What was America’s answer to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001?
3. Use the following website about the Muslim religion to answer the following: http://www.themodernreligion.com/basic/basic_what.htm#believe a. What do Muslims believe? How are Christianity and Islam similar? Different? b. What are the five pillars of Islam? What is the Quran? Who is Muhammad? c. What are Muslims beliefs about death, marriage, and war?
4. Use the website below to define the difference between the Pashtun and Hazara people in Afghanistan: http://fensti.freehostia.com/Engl180/KiteRunner/Tribes.html a. Describe the Pashtun and Hazara people. How are they similar? What are their differences and disagreements?
5. Click on the link below and watch the video from The Wall Street Journal on "kite running" (kite fighting) in Afghanistan: http://on.wsj.com/PKUd8x a. Describe the process of kite fighting and kite running. b. Why is it so meaningful in Afghanistan?
6. Use the PBS link below to answer the following questions on the Taliban: Be sure to click on the tabs below to read the entire article. http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/afghanistan604/who.html a. Who are the Taliban? What does the word "taliban" mean? b. What is the ideological aim of the Taliban? c. In what regions are the Taliban located? d. When and why did the Taliban emerge? e. What restrictions were placed on people by the Taliban as a result of Sharia law? f. What sanctions were placed on countries as a result of the Taliban? Of what atrocities were the Taliban accused? g. What caused the retreat of the Taliban? Why are the Taliban again on the rise?
