Informational texts to accompany Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See
All the Light We Cannot See tells the stories of Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind girl living with her locksmith father in Paris, and Werner Pfennig, an orphaned radio-buff living in Germany, during the Second World War. Marie's father teachers her to confidently navigate the city of Paris and to explore other worlds by reading Braille. However, the two are forced to flee the city during the Nazi invasion, and Marie faces innumerable challenges in the upheaval. Werner's talent for repairing radios attracts the attention of military leaders in his hometown who help him secure at spot at an elite military academy. Readers follow parallel stories of Marie in her exile and Werner at school, and eventually the two main characters' stories converge. All the Light We Cannot See navigates coming of age, community, and family amid a world war. The novel won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
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Additional Reading Practice
- Poet Laureate: "The Pen ... An Instrument of Discovery" (Grades 9-10; CCSS.CCRA.R.1)
- Eugene Wilkinson, Nautilus Commander Who Pioneered Nuclear Sub (Grades 9-10; CCSS.CCRA.R.8)
- No Longer the Greatest Generation's VA (Grades 11-12; CCSS.CCRA.R.5)
Applied Reading and Writing Lessons
- Silver Star Recipient Recalls Battle for Saipan (Grades 9-10; CCSS.CCRA.R.3; CCSS.W.9-10.2)
- Poetry: The Life Which Seems So Fair (Grade 11; CCSS.RL.11-12.4; CCSS.W.11-12.1)
- The Party (Grade 12; CCSS.RL.11-12.2; CCSS.W.11-12.1)
- Multiday Informational Text: America's Undersea War on Shipping (Grades 11-12; CCSS.CCRA.R.3; CCSS.W.11-12.2)
Differentiated Lesson Sets for Grades 4-12
- World War II: How prepared was the United States to fight World War II on two fronts?
- The Science of Sound: How are sounds created and heard?
- Family and Influence: How do our families shape the people we become?
- Communities: How do poets use language to help their communities understand and appreciate their experiences and values in ways no one else can?
Direct Instruction on Key Skills & Concepts
- Making Arguments about Connections within a Text (Grades 6-12; CCSS.CCRA.R.9)
- Making Arguments about Theme (Grades 6-12; CCSS.CCRA.R.2)