63 pages • 2 hours read
Loung UngFirst They Killed My Father
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
Teacher Introduction
First They Killed My Father
- Genre: Nonfiction; Memoir; Historical
- Originally Published: 2000
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 920L; Grades 9-12; College/Adult
- Structure/Length: Approximate 238 pages; approximately 9 hours, 39 minutes on audiobook
- Central Concern: This memoir recounts the harrowing experiences of Loung Ung during the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. As a young girl, Ung witnesses the horrors of war and the death of family members while struggling to survive amidst starvation, forced labor, and violence.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Graphic depictions of violence, warfare, and genocide; themes of loss and trauma; child suffering; sexual assault
Loung Ung, Author
- Bio: Born 1970; Cambodian American human rights activist and lecturer; survivor of the Pol Pot regime; campaigns against landmines in Cambodia; serves as a spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World
- Other Works: Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind (2005); Lulu in the Sky: A Daughter of Cambodia Finds Love, Healing, and Double Happiness (2012)
- Awards: Asian/Pacific American Librarians’ Association Award for Excellence in Adult Non-fiction Literature (2001); American Library Association’s Award for Best Book for Young Adults (2001)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:
- How Young People Cope with Survival
- How the Government Justifies Genocide
- The Strength of Familial Love in Wartime
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:
