Instructional Objectives: The student will be able to have better understanding of the role played by and challenges faced by first generation children of immigrants by
- understanding the first generation or ABC (American Born Chinese) perspective Kingston presents in the memoir and relating it to their (or their friend’s)
experiences;
- recognizing the function of memory and story telling (talk story) in her tales;
- identifying the symbol of "ghosts" as they are portrayed in the book;
- understanding the place and problems faced by women in Chinese and Chinese-American culture
Resources/Materials: The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston
Time Frame:
Interdisciplinary Connections:
- World Languages: Activity with Chinese ideograms of the name of "No Name Woman" and with names; could extend study of ideograms into a study of calligraphy and
Chinese art (Visual Arts)
- Immigration: How do cultures get translated, linguistically and otherwise? How does cultural transition affect families?
- Religion/Spirituality: The idea of Filial Piety and deification of family plays an important part in the Chinese culture.
Lesson Plans: The lesson plans are set tp by the chapters of the book. There are five chapters of varying lenghts. Some of the activities
can occur between required readings.
- Lesson Plan One: "No Name Woman"
- Lesson Plan Two: "White Tigers"
- Lesson Plan Three: "Shaman"
- Lesson Plan Four: "At the Western Palace"
- Lesson Plan Five: "A Song For a Barbarian Reed Pipe"
Media:
- Wayne Wang’s 1984, Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart is a good film to show along with the text. It shows the relationships of a Chinese mother and her
American raised daughter. It can help to illustrate many of the ideas in the text.
Final Assessment Ideas
Students can write essays referring to the text in response to the following questions:
- Describe how Kingston uses the entire book as a "talk-story." Explain what she is trying to teach or explain by telling this "talk-story."
- Identify several instances where her experience is similar to that of other immigrants or first generation Americans. Explain how this would be helpful for those
who are or have gone through this. Explain how this would be helpful to people who have never experienced it.
- Identify the different kinds of ghosts in the book. Explain how each of them functions in the book. Discuss this in relation to the subtitle Memoirs of Girlhood
Among Ghosts.
- In "White Tigers" the story of Fa Mu Lan is told. She is a super hero to a little girl who certainly seems to need one. Students can be asked to create their own tales
of superheroes based on their own cultural identities and write their stories.
Extensions:
Global Citizen 2000 Modules-Core Questions Addressed:
Global Literature Module:
- What are universal experiences?
-How do they relate to concerns of the adolescent reader/writer?
-How does geography shape/influence/impact human experience?
-How does the need for story cross cultural boundaries?
-How does personal experience reflect cultural experience?
- How can literature help readers understand global issues?
- How does reading literature promote an appreciation of the concept of global citizenry?
- How does the study of global literature foster empathy with others?
The United States and the Immigrant Experience Module:
- Why do immigrants come to the United States of America? (political and economic reasons)
- Is coming to the United States of America good for the immigrant?
World Languages Module:
- How does language reflect and/or influence culture?
- How do the various world languages look and sound?
- How do world languages compare?
Religion and Spirituality Module:
- How is religion an expression of culture?
- How does religion influence gender roles?
Web sites:
Filial piety
Ancestor Worship
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