Malala: The Girl Who Wanted to Go to School

In the news: The story

Read a 152-word news story: She only wanted to go to school

Malala Yousafzai was born in 1997 in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. It is a beautiful place with green hills and rivers. Her father had a school there. Malala loved her lessons. She was a very good student. When Malala was ten, an armed group took control of the valley. They said that girls could not go to school. Many schools closed. Malala was eleven when she started to write about her life for a BBC blog. She used a different name to stay safe. In 2012, when she was fifteen, a man attacked her on the school bus. She was very badly hurt. Doctors in Pakistan and in Britain helped her, and she got better. Malala did not stop. She kept speaking up for girls' education. In 2014 she won the Nobel Peace Prize. She was seventeen, the youngest winner ever. Today she still works so that every girl can learn.

Vocabulary: Words to know

6 items

Discussion: Look at the picture

2 discussion questions

• What can you see in the picture? What is the weather like? How does it feel?
• The shoes are on the steps. Was the walk to your school long or short? Tell me about it.

Discussion: Your school days

3 discussion questions

• What was your favourite lesson at school? Why?
• Are you a good student now? What do you want to learn this year?
• Who helped you to learn when you were a child? A teacher, a parent, a friend?

Discussion: Big questions, simple words

3 discussion questions

• Malala was eleven when she started to write. Is eleven old enough to speak up?
• In some places, some children still cannot go to school. Why do you think this happens?
• What is one thing every school in the world should have?