novel · Reading Worlds
A farewell to arms: read and explore
Set during World War I's Italian campaign, it follows American lieutenant Frederic…
About this reading
- Author
- Ernest Hemingway
- Form
- novel
- Catalog year
- 1929
Choose this reading by interest and comfort with the language. This catalog does not assign a school grade. Preview the text before reading with a child; classic works can contain unfamiliar language and historical attitudes.
Read A farewell to armsPreview the language: Chapter 1
In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains. In the bed of the river there were pebbles and boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the channels. Troops went by the house and down the road and the dust they raised powdered the leaves of the trees. The trunks of the …
Choose a phrase from this opening. What does it suggest, and which words support your interpretation? Read on to test your first impression.
A reading activity for A farewell to arms
- Before opening the text, read the title and this catalog description: “Set during World War I's Italian campaign, it follows American lieutenant Frederic…” Write one question you hope the reading will answer.
- Read a short passage. Choose one sentence that helps you understand what is happening and explain which words support your interpretation.
- Choose one unfamiliar word. Guess its meaning from the surrounding words, then check a dictionary or discuss it with a reading partner.
- Return to your original question. Explain what the passage answered and what you still need to read to find out.
These are suggested discussion tasks, not a scored assessment or a claim that finishing the text establishes mastery.
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Source edition: Project Gutenberg record for A farewell to arms. This link identifies the catalog source; it does not imply endorsement.
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Learning goal: Read A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway, then support an interpretation with words from the text.
Before you begin: Preview the language and historical context. Select a passage appropriate for your learners.
Check understanding: Ask for one observation, the evidence that supports it, and a question to investigate next.
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