In light of her mother’s depression after her aunt and uncle are murdered, a girl decides to journey to America to seek a better life. While her grandmother wishes her courage and strength, her mother turns away, while begging her not to go. This is a story of how a girl can acquire strength through remembering the words that set her on her journey and discovering compassion for those she is leaving behind.
Pre-reading activity:
- Did you ever have to say goodbye to someone you love and not know if you’d ever see that person again? Imagine you are saying goodbye to someone you love and you will never see this person again. What would you say? Write down what you would say at this point of departure.
OR:
- You are on a train platform about to say goodbye to someone you love with all your heart. This person has helped you in many ways throughout your life. The train will leave in 5 minutes. You only have 5 minutes to say goodbye and tell this person how thankful you are for all he or she has done for you.
(This can also be done verbally, with partners.)
During or post-reading activity:
- What birthday is a special birthday for you? Is it celebrated differently than other birthdays? Do or did you celebrate it differently than your other birthdays? Where were you? Who was with you? What were you wearing? What did you eat? How did you celebrate? Special food, music, games…
- When the writer says “I don’t know what happened to me. I couldn’t speak. ”What do you imagine she means? Did her voice stop working?
Have you ever had a time in your life when you could not speak? Where were you? What happened?’ - If you were her voice, what would she say? What language would she use? Would she whisper or shout?
| Use Graffiti text (1) to predict (before reading the story) or infer (If after the story) Carousel: using the pictures of the carousel, students will answer the question, How has the American Dream evolved? Immigration: Then and Now. Write a letter to someone thinking about immigrating to the USA. What advice would you give them? Would you recommend they make the journey? |
Quotation Activities
How does this quote support the theme? Students will be able to identify quotes that support the theme of the story. Using quotations to create personal connections with the text. Finding quotes that have moments of power and beauty.
“At that moment, I didn’t know how hard the goodbyes were going to be, much less how hard the trip would be” (Pg 19).