The Unbreakable Code Guided Reading

Then, one night, Grandfather hears the Navajo are needed in the Marines! He sneaks out of the boarding school to join.

The Navajo memorize military terms to code, and they practice putting together radios while blindfolded.

Grandfather appears on horseback. He tells John that he will be okay because John has "an unbreakable code."

When Grandfather returns from the war, he comes home to the canyon and vows he won't leave home again.

John runs up the trail and hides next to the pinon tree. He does not want to move away with his mother and new stepfather.

Grandfather begins to tell John about being a young boy and going to a government boarding school. They cut off his hair and forbid him from speaking the Navajo language.

After enlisting in the Marines, Grandfather finds out the government wants to use the Navajo language as an unbreakable code.

Soon, the Navajo are in the middle of World War II. They are speaking in code and risking their lives to help the United States.

Finally, Grandfather gives John his wallet with the corn pollen from the medicine man inside. This is the same wallet Grandfather had in World War II, and it kept him safe. John is less scared of going to a new place. His Grandfather has shown him that John will always be who he is, and he will bring this with him.