This reading guide for Extra Credit, a story of two characters who cross a huge cultural divide and a minefield of different lifestyles and traditions, includes a synopsis of the book, discussion topics for your class, research ideas, and activities to extend pupils' learning. Use this book to supplement a unit on friendship, diversity, or the Middle East.
Excerpted from
Extra Credit
Abby Carson doesn't like doing her school work, and that means she's pretty much failing sixth grade. Unless she wants to repeat the sixth grade, she'll have to meet some specific conditions, including taking on an extra-credit project: find a pen pal in a foreign country. As letters flow back and forth between Illinois and Afghanistan, Abby and Sadeed discover that their letters are crossing more than an ocean. They are crossing a huge cultural divide and a minefield of different lifestyles and traditions.