Think and Write!
Day 1
Name: Date:
Title of story/article: “Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family”
At the beginning of the story, “Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family”, Mary and her family are learning how to live in a new culture. How does Mary show that she wants to be accepted in America?
1. What will you be writing about? Underline the Focusing Question in the assignment above.
2. What information will you need to be able to answer the Focusing Question and to explain your answer? Turn to a partner. Look carefully at the graphic organizer as you discuss the answers to the questions below. Color in the circle next to each question after you have talked about it.
o What information will you put in the first two columns?
o Where will you get this information?
o What information will go in the third column?
o Where will this information come from?
o Why are you gathering all this information? What are you trying to figure out?
How does Mary show that she wants to be accepted in America?
EvidenceWhat Mary does or says / Page / Elaboration / explanation
How this shows that Mary
wants to be accepted / Used in your piece?
Example...
changes her name to Mary
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Quote / Mary wants to be seen as an American
Example
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Quote
Example
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Quote
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Example
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Quote
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3. When the class is ready, your teacher will reread the story aloud. Your job is to listen carefully for information that will help you to complete the graphic organizer. During the read aloud, every time you hear some evidence from the text that you think belongs on the chart, raise your hand. The class will stop to discuss what you have noticed and decide whether to add that evidence to the chart.
You may have noticed that there is not much room to write in each box! Don't worry, your teacher will show you how to "take notes" in that small space using just key words and phrases.
4. Once you have taken notes, look back at your assignment, copy the Focusing Question onto your Writing Draft Sheet. Think about the evidence you found. How could you answer the Focusing Question in a single sentence? Turn and tell your partner how you might answer.
5. The answer to a Focusing Question is called a Focus Statement. With your teacher, develop a class Focus Statement. Then, copy that focus statement on the Writing Draft Sheet right underneath the Focusing Question.
Think and Write!
Day 2
Name: Date:
Title of story/article: “Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family”
1. Look at your Writing Draft Sheet from yesterday. With a partner, take turns. Have one person read the Focusing Question and the other person read the Focus Statement. Then switch, so that you each have read both.
2. Look at your graphic organizer. Listen carefully as your teacher gives an example of how to write the first evidence paragraph of your response. Where are these sentences coming from? On your graphic organizer, check the box next to the evidence your teacher used to write this part.
3. Now comes the fun part! Talk your piece! Use your graphic organizer. Point to each row of the chart and tell your partner what you will write. Say the sentences out loud as if you were writing them. Then listen as your partner tells you what he/she will write.
On your own...
4. Look at your Writing Draft Sheet. Re-read what you have written so far. Then, write about each piece of evidence. Check off each piece of evidence on the graphic organizer as you write.
5. A Concluding Statement restates the focus of the piece. Look at your Focus Statement. How could you restate it? Use the same idea, but different words. Write your Concluding Statement at the end of your piece.
6. Now, think about this question: “By the end of the story, what has Mary realized about being accepted?” Your teacher will lead a discussion to help you improve and expand your conclusion. When you are ready, add a few sentences to your conclusion that show your thinking about this.
7. With a pencil in your hand, read your piece aloud to a partner. Revise and edit as you read.
Name: Date:
Title of story: “Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family”
Writing Draft
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Teacher Pages
Sample Graphic Organizer (Students may add additional evidence.)
FOCUSING QUESTION: How does Mary show that she wants to be accepted in America?
EvidenceWhat Mary does or says / Page / Elaboration / explanation
How this shows that Mary wants to be accepted / Used in your piece?
Example
changes her name to Mary
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Quote / 72 / wants to let others know she wants to fit in
Example
suggests her mom accompany Holly
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Quote
“This was a chance for Mother to get on Mrs. Hanson’s good side for a change.” / 72-3 / will feel more accepted if Mom is respected
Example
embarrassed when her brother eats bean sprouts
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Quote / 77 / doesn’t want to her family to be seen as different
Example
worries that something will go wrong when the Hansons visit
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Quote
“I felt like that juggler. At any minute, one of the plates might fall and smash into bits.” / 78 / is trying hard to please Holly’s family so her family will be accepted
Example
follows Hansons out the door, worries that her mother made a mistake again
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“did my mother say something funny again just now?” / 82 / wants to understand how to speak English
POSSIBLE FOCUS STATEMENT: Mary shows she wants to be accepted in American by what she says and does.
Additional notes to the teacher about this piece:
o This excerpt is part of a book. It is important to thoroughly discuss page 72 and to cover issues around adjustment to life in a different culture. It also might be important to help students understand some aspects of traditional Chinese culture. Consider reading aloud other parts of the novel.
o Discuss or role play a time when students were embarrassed by their families. How did the students feel and how did the situation get resolved?
o If the students have not yet been introduced to using quotes as evidence, model this process using an example from the graphic organizer.
o The sample writing shows the use of more pieces of evidence than a student response needs. Two-three pieces of evidence is usually sufficient.
o An extension / reflection question for the conclusion of this piece might be, “By the end of the story, what has Mary realized about being accepted?”
Writing Sample
NOTE: This is for the teacher’s use only, not for students. The purpose is to show the teacher what the final piece might look like when students have completed their work.
“Yang the Third and her Impossible Family” is a story about a family from China adjusting to life in America. Mary shows she wants to be accepted in America by what she says and does.
Early in the story, Mary is trying very hard to make friends and fit in. She changes her name to a common American name. Mary also suggests that her mother play the piano for Holly, but Mary also wants her mother to be respected. “This was a chance for Mother to get on Mrs. Hanson’s good side for a change.” Mary thinks she will feel more accepted if her mom makes a good impression on the Hansons.
At another point in the story, Mary says she feels like a juggler who is trying to balance three plates. “I felt like that juggler. At any minute, one of the plates might fall and smash into bits.” Mary is trying very hard to have the visit go well. Later on she follows the Hansons out the door because she is worried that her family made a mistake. She asks, “Did my mother say something funny again just now?” Mary probably thinks she will fit in better if she understands how to speak English correctly.
Throughout the story, Mary is trying hard to fit into a new culture. By the end of the story, Mary begins to understand that everyone makes mistakes when they are learning and that she and her family are doing the best they can to be accepted.