The Year of the Fortune Cookie by Andrea Cheng
Common Core Standards
English Language Arts
Reading Literature: Grade Five
KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
RL 5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. (possible response)
“What will it be like to be in a place where almost everyone is Chinese? At least nobody will mix me up with another Asian kid or say Ching Chang Chung behind my back on the playground. But as soon as I open my mouth, everybody will hear my accent and know I’m not from China. “ YOTFC p. __
Anna Wang grows up in a city with a small Asian population. How does it make her feel when she is mixed up with other Asian kids at school? Why does she feel this way? How do you think she’ll feel when she goes to China?
Have you ever felt like you stood out in a group of people? Why did you feel this way? Do you think this is a valuable experience? Why or why not?
How do you think Anna would feel if she was living in a place with a large Asian population in the United States?
RL 5.2 Determine the theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text including how the characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker of a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
What is the theme of The Year of the Fortune Cookie? (possible response)
The Year of the Fortune Cookie focuses on identity. When Anna Wang travels to China, she realizes that who a person is depends on many factors. Everyone is both an insider and an outsider, and our identity is formed by many different experiences.
Which details in the story help the reader to determine the theme? (possible response)
- On p. __, Anna is surprised that Camille is so open about being Chinese. She usually doesn’t like to talk about it because she is afraid of what people will say. She feels this way because of some peoples’ reactions to her ethnicity. For example, someone asked her if people in China eat dog meat.
-On p. __, Anna’s teacher reads the students a poem by Geroge Ella Lyon called “Where I’m From.” This poem shows Anna (and the reader) that who we are depends on things from the past as well as from the present.
- On p. __, Anna is at a meeting of the Community Action Team. She feels comfortable there because she feels more like an insider and the group is diverse. In many other situations, like in her classes, Anna sometimes feels like an outsider.
-When Anna is in China with her teacher, she realizes that Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester stand out in Beijing just as she stands out in the United States.
How does Anna respond to challenges? (possible response)
Anna really wants to go to China, but she feels that one of her teachers is reluctant to sign the form. With the advice from Camille, Anna decides to explain to her teacher in writing why it is so important for her to go. While she writes, she comes to a deeper understanding of the real reasons.
Anna feels lonely in middle school, but joining C.A.T. gives her a sense of purpose in her new school. She also begins to make a new friend, Andee.
Anna feels homesick in China, but then she forms a relationship with Fan, which helps her adjust to the new situation around her.
Summarize the text. (possible response)
In The Year of the Fortune Cookie, Anna Wang is in middle school. She feels lost without her old friends and teachers, and also more conscious of her identity as a Chinese American. Then, when she has a chance to go to China with her teacher, her mother is not able to go as planned. Anna decides to go on her own, taking with her a journal from Camille, paper fortune cookies from Andee, and books from teachers and her parents. As she walks the streets of Beijing and makes new connections in China, , Anna begins to understand issues of community and identity.
RL 5.3 Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text. (Possible response)
Characters: (Possible response)
Anna and Camille:
Anna: self conscious, introvert, good student (Anna tries to hide that she is Chinese.) p. __
Camille: open, honest about feelings, thoughtful , struggles with school (Camille is open about being Chinese.)p. __
Anna and Andee
Anna: younger (6th grade) , unconfident, not fashionable (Anna wears baggy jeans and faded sweatshirts, no jewelry)p. __
Andee: older (8th grade), confident, fashionable (Andee wears cool clothes, earrings.) p. __
Anna and Fan:
Anna: Chinese-American, younger (12), sheltered, middle school student. __
Fan : Chinese, older (16), full time worker in restaurant p. __
Settings:
The United States and China
The US: richer, big houses, spacious, not crowded, private, quiet playgrounds, American food, forks. p. __
China: poorer, small rooms, crowded, little privacy, busy playgrounds, Chinese food, chopsticks p. __
RL 5.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes. (possible response)
Luck/fortune:
Is there really such thing as good luck or bad luck?
Do people create their own luck?
Why does Anna’s mother say that she doesn’t like fortune cookies?
Do you think Anna is lucky or unlucky or both? Support with samples from the book.
Do you think Camille and Andee and Fan are lucky or unlucky or both?
Do you think you are lucky or unlucky or both?
If you could write a fortune inside of a cookie, what would you write?
Community
Anna and her classmates are supposed to interview someone from their community for their oral history project. Why does Anna have trouble deciding who to interview? What about Camille? Who do they pick and why?
What does community mean to you?
Does it include only the people you are close to?
How do you connect with members of your community?
Does technology have an effect on your community?
Describe a time when you felt excluded from a community. Why did you feel this way?
Describe a time when you felt included in a community. Why did you feel this way?
Do you think Anna feels part of a community? Does this community include family? Friends? Others?
Migrant
Fan describes herself as a migrant. What does this mean in China? Why do you think people cannot move freely from the countryside to the city? Describe the difficulties for Fan’s family because they are migrants. What can they do to improve this situation? What could the Chinese government do to improve this situation?
What does “migrant” mean in the United States? Who are “migrant workers”? Look up information about the lives of migrant workers in the United States. How are their lives similar to or different from the lives of migrants in China?
What is the difference between a “migrant” and an “immigrant”?
Metaphor/Simile
What does George Ella Lyon mean when she writes:
I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.
I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.”
RL 5.5 Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem. (possible response)
Chapter __, p.__
Anna is not comfortable in middle school and worried about the C.A.T. meeting. What makes her feel more comfortable by the end of the meeting?
1. The group is diverse
2. Simone scoots over to make room for Anna.
3. Anna says she is taking Chinese, and Sam is interested. He wishes he could take Chinese but his parents require him to take Hebrew.
4. Anna is included in planning C.A.T. events along with Simone, Sam, and Andee.
*List the titles of each chapter in The Year of the Fortune Cookie. Next to each chapter heading, describe what Anna learns about herself which helps her form an idea about her identity.
* Cannot do until book is done)
RL 5.6 Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described. (possible response)
The Year of the Fortune Cookie is written in first person “I” through the eyes of Anna, so she is both the narrator and the main character. How do you think this story would be different if it was written in third person? Why do you think the author deiced to use first person instead of third?
Take a passage from the book and rewrite it in third person. Do you feel different when you read this new version?
Baby Gifts
After school I leave my revised essay on Mrs. Smith’s desk and head over to the gym. Andee already has everything set up including a big sign that says Support the Lucky Family Orphanage. Under that she has written the Chinese characters for xie xie, thank you.
Camille stops by. “I know I’m not in C.A.T., but can I help?”
Andee gives her some tape and asks her to put up a few signs in the hallway. I don’t think I could ever be so organized.
A kid comes up to the table with two dollars. I hand him a cookie. He cracks it in half, takes out the fortune, and reads it. “Where’s the Lucky Family Orphanage?” he asks.
“China.”
He shows it to his friend. Soon kids start crowding around the table with two dollars in their hands. Mrs. Smith asks for five cookies, four for her nieces and one for herself. I put the cookies in a baggie and hand them to her. She gives me a twenty dollar bill but she doesn’t want change. “It’s a donation,” she says.
By 4:00 we’ve sold out, and we have more than two hundred dollars in the Lucky Family Coffee Can.
Rewritten in third person
After school Anna leaves her revised essay on Mrs. Smith’s desk and heads over to the gym. Andee already has everything set up including a big sign that says Support the Lucky Family Orphanage. Under that she has written the Chinese characters for xie xie, thank you.
Camille stops by. “I know I’m not in C.A.T., but can I help?”
Andee gives her some tape and asks her to put up a few signs in the hallway. Anna doesn’t think she could ever be so organized.
A kid comes up to the table with two dollars. Anna hands him a cookie. He cracks it in half, takes out the fortune, and reads it. “Where’s the Lucky Family Orphanage?” he asks.
“China.”
He shows it to his friend. Soon kids start crowding around the table with two dollars in their hands. Mrs. Smith asks for five cookies, four for her nieces and one for herself. Anna puts the cookies in a baggie and hand them to her. She gives Anna a twenty dollar bill but she doesn’t want change. “It’s a donation,” she says.
By 4:00 they’ve sold out, and they have more than two hundred dollars in the Lucky Family Coffee Can.
(Third person feels more distant, less inside Anna’s head. Sounds more repetitious.)
RL 5.7
*Will respond after book is illustrated.
RL 5.8 Not applicable to literature
RL 5.9 Compare and contrast stories in the same genre on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
*I’d welcome suggestions here.
RL 5.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Reading comprehension questions for The Year of the Fortune Cookie
1. How does Anna feel about being Chinese? How do you know this?
2. Why is Anna both excited and hesitant about going to China with the Sylvesters?
3. Why do you think Anna doesn’t know more about her mother’s life in China?
4. What is the meaning behind the poem called “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon?
5. Anna tells Camille that the word “community” can include anyone in the world. Do you agree? Why or why not?
6. Ms. Remick talks about how studying history is like being a detective. What does she mean?
7. Anna feels that it is important to go to China because that’s where her family is from. Do you also think it is important for her to go? Have you been to the place your ancestors come from? If so, what did you learn about yourself?
8. Andee says she feels embarrassed about her house. Why?
9. When Hideat asks Anna if she was born in China, the question doesn’t bother her as it usually does. Why?
10. What is hard for Anna about being in China? What does she enjoy and appreciate?
11. Do you think Anna is able to help the Sylvesters in China? Explain.
12. Why does a lady at the orphanage say that a crying baby is lucky?
13. How are China and America different? How are they the same?
14. What is a migrant? Is the situation similar to undocumented immigrants in the United States?
15. At the end of the book, Anna says she feels like it’s important to know what it feels like to feel different? Why does she say this? Do you agree or disagree?
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