Paired Texts > The Sun Stands Still

by Josephine Cameron 2018

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

All Saints' Day at Night
All Saints' Day at Night
Linda Rae Apolzon

In Linda Rae Apolzon's short story "All Saints' Day at Night," a boy is afraid to go to the cemetery at night for All Saints Day. 

Pair “All Saints’ Day at Night” with “The Sun Stands Still” and ask students to discuss the way Tomek in “All Saints’ Day at Night” and Izzie in “The Sun Stands Still” both take part in a special tradition as a way to remember a loved one who has passed away. How do both Tomek and Izzie have special connections to their grandfathers? How are those connections similar and different? How does a special tradition in both stories help to keep the memory of their grandfathers alive? Are there any special traditions in your family or community for remembering a loved one who has passed away?

3rd Grade Short Story 560L
The White Nights of Ramadan
The White Nights of Ramadan
Maha Addasi

In Maha Addasi's short story "The White Nights of Ramadan," a Muslim family celebrates Girgian, a festival that takes place in the middle of the month of Ramadan.  

Pair “The White Nights of Ramadan” with “The Sun Stands Still” and ask students to discuss the ways that the community comes together to celebrate in both stories. How is the sharing of food and gifts important to both the Girgian festival in “The White Nights of Ramadan” and the winter solstice celebration in “The Sun Stands Still?” What are some of the traditions in your family or community where people celebrate together and share gifts of food or treats?

4th Grade Short Story 700L
How the Stories Came to Be
How the Stories Came to Be
Mabel Powers

In the folktale "How the Stories Came to Be," retold by Mabel Powers, a narrator describes the beginning of stories for the Iroquois people.

Pair “How the Stories Came to Be” with “The Sun Stands Still” and ask students to talk about how telling stories around a bonfire is an important way to pass down history and memories from one generation to the next. According to the author of “How the Stories Came to Be,” how did the Iroquois pass down their stories between generations? How is the storytelling that the Iroquois did similar to the way that stories are told around the bonfire during winter solstice in “The Sun Stands Still?” Do you have a favorite family memory or story that is told often at gatherings or celebrations?

3rd Grade Folktale 840L
My Great-Grandma
My Great-Grandma
Nancy Machlis

In Nancy Machlis' short story "My Great-Grandma," a brother and a sister visit their great-grandmother in a nursing home.

Pair “My Great Grandma” with “The Sun Stands Still” and ask students to discuss the way the characters in both stories deal with their grief over the loss of someone special they love. How have the narrator and her brother “lost” their great grandmother in “My Great Grandma,” even though she is still alive? What do the narrator in “My Great Grandma” and Izzie in “The Sun Stands Still” do to remember their lost loved ones?

3rd Grade Short Story 430L
Fiddle Fanatic
Fiddle Fanatic
Elisabeth Deffner

In "Fiddle Fanatic," a girl learns that it is okay to be good at different things after her younger sister is selected as the orchestra's concert mistress.

Pair “Fiddle Fanatic” with “The Sun Stands Still” and have students compare how playing the violin impacts the characters. How do Abbie from “Fiddle Fanatic” and Izzie from “The Sun Stands Still” feel about playing the violin? How do both characters feel about sharing their music with others?

4th Grade Short Story 550L
A Day to Remember Family
A Day to Remember Family
Lisa Avila

In "A Day to Remember Family," Lisa Avila describes how her family celebrates the Day of the Dead.

Pair “The Sun Stands Still” with “A Day to Remember Family” and ask students to compare how remembering loved ones comes up in both texts. How does the narrator’s family in “A Day to Remember Family” honor their loved ones? How does Izzie’s family in “The Sun Stands Still” honor her grandpa? How does the grandpa’s fiddle in “The Sun Stands Still” connect to the important items on the offering table that are described in “A Day to Remember Family?” How do both texts show the importance of family?

4th Grade Informational Text 1100L
How to Get Through the Memorial Service
How to Get Through the Memorial Service
Richard J. Margolis

In "How to Get Through the Memorial Service," a speaker gives advice to a young child about how to deal with grief.

Pair “The Sun Stands Still” with “How to Get Through the Memorial Service” and have students talk about the emotions that people may encounter when they are mourning the loss of someone they love. How does Izzie from “The Sun Stands Still” feel about the death of her grandfather? How do the mother and child in the poem “How to Get Through the Memorial Service” experience the loss of a loved one? How do both texts convey the process of grieving in ways that are similar and different?

4th Grade Poem