World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “The Lost Interview”

In this activity, students will write an interview that was accidentally lost during the narrator’s travels.

The narrator travels around the world to interview people about their perspectives on the Zombie War, and then publishes the interviews. Imagine one interview was accidentally lost, and you found that interview.

• Brainstorm ideas for who would be interviewed, where, and what information they would add.
• Narrow down your ideas and decide.
• Write the interview, including an introduction like each of the other chapters has. Stay true to the narrator’s voice and the voice of the character you create for the interview.
• Share your interview with a peer or a small group and get feedback.
• Use the peer feedback to revise your interview.

Present your interview. After presenting the interview, write a journal about the importance of perspective in writing.

Teaching Suggestion: It could be important to discuss different perspectives. One way to approach this would be to review point-of-view in different texts the class has already read. Another idea could be to talk about ways various perspectives would affect the novel. How would it change the novel if the narrator’s voice was inserted more into the stories? As students craft the voices of their characters, identifying ways the various characters’ voices in the novel become unique could help as well.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students with kinesthetic or interpersonal learning styles, it might be beneficial to act out the interview. Those with a musical learning style could present a song or set the interview to music.

ACTIVITY 2: “How to Defeat Zombies”

In this activity, students will use details from the novel to craft a how-to reference book for use in any future zombie attacks.

Using knowledge from the novel, write and illustrate a book people could use if zombies attack in the future.

• List lessons people learned in the novel.
• Choose the most important learning to include in your book.
• Write and illustrate your book.
• Include quotations and citations that build the importance of each lesson.

Participate in our gallery walk, presenting and learning about peers’ creations.

Participate in our discussion and reflect on some commonalities between books, ways people made their books unique, and any take-aways.

Teaching Suggestion: The class might read a page or two from different instruction manuals and identify similarities and author choices. Together, you could all develop a rubric or set of expectations. It might be helpful to list a minimum number of lessons to be included. Students could craft their books in various ways, emphasizing their unique voices. Perhaps additional formats could be options: how-to videos, for example.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. During and after the Zombie War, America is criticized and also looked to as a leader.

• What message does the novel build about American Exceptionalism? (topic sentence)
• Incorporate at least three quotations and three or more text details to craft your essay.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how this message applies to current events.

2. During the interviews, characters reveal how fraught and complicated the times were. Consider what makes someone a hero in challenging times.

• Which character is most heroic? (topic sentence)
• As you craft your essay, include three or more specific scenarios or details and at least three quotations, as well as reasons that develop your ideas.
• In your conclusion, articulate any flaws this character has and how the person is heroic despite them.

3. Though the narrator mostly stays out of the stories, centering other voices, he does reveal some opinions.

• How does the narrator feel about the Zombie War and the world’s response to it? (topic sentence)
• As you craft your essay, include four or more quotations and clear reasoning.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate the author’s decision to present the novel from this point of view.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider the final section of the novel: “Good-Byes.” What message does this section develop about the world now? What are some different moods developed? How does the length of these sections build meaning? Where do the interviews reveal both hopes and fears? What ideas unfold about the power structure of the world at this point? As you develop your essay, include at least three quotations with citations. Incorporate additional details and reasoning to fully explore your ideas.

2. Examine the style of the novel. How does the structure contribute to the meaning in the novel? Identify one or more themes to focus on. What is the effect on the theme(s) of telling the story through a series of interviews? What does the introduction add? How do the larger section titles build meaning? As you form your essay, incorporate three or more details and at least three quotations with citations.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Why does the narrator publish this unofficial report?

A) He is ordered to by his boss, head of the American response team, who is running for president.

B) He thinks it will be a best-seller and earn him a lot of money he can use to keep safe from the zombies.

C) He is hoping the leader of Scandinavia will read it and offer to move him and his family there.

D) He believes the perspectives here are crucial to help humanity learn from the past.

2. Which of the following most develops the theme of The Power of Knowledge and the Cost of Ignorance?

A) Not acting on the Warmbrunn-Knight Report in the early stages of the outbreak

B) North Korea moving its entire population underground during the war

C) The films created during the war and shown to different groups of people

D) Zombies working together to defeat soldiers during the offensive

3. Why was Phalanx so popular?

A) It was over 98% effective in preventing infection from a bite.

B) People were terrified of zombies, and it offered hope.

C) The government mandates people take it to try to stop the zombies.

D) It became a status symbol, so people wanted it to appear rich.

4. Why did Jesika Hendricks and her family and so many other people flee north?

A) Northern states needed people to help rebuild so they paid people to move there.

B) People thought they would be safer because the zombies would freeze.

C) The news reported zombies could not go too far north for some reason.

D) The leader of Canada promised to protect anyone in her country.

5. Which of the following was least effective against the zombies?

A) Drowning

B) Explosions

C) Shooting

D) Dogs

6. What best describes what the zombies symbolize?

A) The intense desire for power at all costs

B) Teamwork and the strength of cooperation between different species

C) American Exceptionalism with both strengths and weaknesses

D) The most extreme, irrational, and violent impulses of humanity

7. Which of the following is one result for the Russian practice of “decimation”? (Chapter 16)

A) Increasing the number of Russian soldiers

B) The bankruptcy of the country

C) Encouraging the North Korean response

D) Uniting the soldiers through guilt

8. What is the main criteria Roy Elliot uses to claim his films created during the Zombie War are successful?

A) Making a great deal of money

B) Increasing communication between soldiers

C) Reducing deaths caused by despair or ADS

D) Opening across the word simultaneously

9. As the Zombie War spread, what happened to people that had been working desk jobs?

A) They got large raises to join think tanks focused on defeating the zombies.

B) They almost all moved to larger cities and worked successfully to build fortified areas.

C) They were trained and put to work at jobs like farming or building.

D) They usually stayed inside, where zombies could not attack them.

10. Which of the following best explains the narrator’s relationship with Todd Waino, the character whom he interviews the most times including the final chapter?

A) The narrator has a grim fascination with Waino, clearly disliking him.

B) The narrator is in awe of Waino, trying to get him a promotion.

C) The narrator has no attachment to Waino, viewing him as part of his job.

D) The narrator respects Waino, even meeting his family.

11. Why did America decide to start an offensive against the zombies?

A) France and Japan goaded American leadership into joining their offensive.

B) The American president believed humanity needed a clear triumph.

C) The country voted and an overwhelming majority of people wanted the offensive.

D) America was trying to take over Cuba and used the offensive to deflect attention.

12. How was the American offensive received when it was announced at the United Nations Honolulu Conference?

A) It was agreed to with narrow support.

B) Nearly every other country immediately agreed to help.

C) No other country agreed to participate, even a year later.

D) Despite some rumblings initially, it passed unanimously when voted on.

13. To what extent has the world won the Zombie War by the end of the novel?

A) The world has eliminated all zombies and completely and decisively won the war, leading to months of celebrations.

B) The world holds a tenuous peace with zombies, who still outnumber people but have retreated to mountainous regions.

C) The world has mostly contained the zombies, at least those they know of, but zombies still do exist.

D) The world has not even come close to winning the war against the zombies, and life is all about hiding and running.

14. What best represents the moods in the final section “Good-Byes?”

A) Elated, celebratory, wistful, but a little lost

B) Uncertain, furious, wretched, but steady

C) Mostly tired, frustrated, defeated, and wondering

D) Somewhat hopeful, sad, determined, and battered

15. Which of the following is the accurate chronological order of events in the novel?

A) The world admits the presence of the zombies; the Redeker Plan and other versions are launched; America launches an offensive; and the narrator writes his report.

B) America launches an offensive; the world admits the presence of the zombies; the narrator writes his report; and the Redeker Plan and other versions are launched.

C) The narrator writes his report; America launches an offensive; the world admits the presence of the zombies; and the Redeker Plan and other versions are launched.

D) The Redeker Plan and other versions are launched; the narrator writes his report; the world admits the presence of the zombies; and America launches an offensive.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How does Christina Eliopolis feel about the woman who helped her survive after her plane went down?

2. To what extent is the narrator’s voice included in the report?