Story of the week: Angel Child, Dragon Child
Genre: Realistic fiction (Story is NOT true, but characters behave the way they would in the real world, the setting is a real place or could be real, and the events could really happen.)
Story summary
When Ut moves from Vietnam to America, she is faced with a strange place and children who make fun of her. She has moved with her siblings and father and her mother has remained behind, which is an additional sadness for her. She sometimes has to be a brave, fierce Dragon Child when she meets with the challenges of a new language or teasing. But she wants to be a happy Angel Child. Finally the teasing comes to a head and Ut and the boy, Raymond, end up in the principal's office. The principal’s solution is to require Raymond to listen to Ut's story and write it down. In doing so, Raymond and Ut both come to see each other and appreciate each other through new eyes. When Raymond’s story about Ut is shared with the class, the idea to hold a Vietnam fair at school with the money earned used to help bring Ut's mother to America is born. Ut is truly a happy Angel Child the day she comes home from school to find her mother there waiting for her.
Key Concepts to explore:
Different cultures have different ways of expressing respect and friendship.
All people, no matter where they come from, share many of the same fears and worries.
Story questions:
1. What happened to Ut on her first day of school?
2. When does Raymond write Ut’s story?
3. What does Ut do when she sees Raymond crying?
4. How does the rest of the school find out about Ut’s mother?
5. What will the money from the Vietnam Fair be used for?
Story summary
When Ut moves from Vietnam to America, she is faced with a strange place and children who make fun of her. She has moved with her siblings and father and her mother has remained behind, which is an additional sadness for her. She sometimes has to be a brave, fierce Dragon Child when she meets with the challenges of a new language or teasing. But she wants to be a happy Angel Child. Finally the teasing comes to a head and Ut and the boy, Raymond, end up in the principal's office. The principal’s solution is to require Raymond to listen to Ut's story and write it down. In doing so, Raymond and Ut both come to see each other and appreciate each other through new eyes. When Raymond’s story about Ut is shared with the class, the idea to hold a Vietnam fair at school with the money earned used to help bring Ut's mother to America is born. Ut is truly a happy Angel Child the day she comes home from school to find her mother there waiting for her.
Key Concepts to explore:
Different cultures have different ways of expressing respect and friendship.
All people, no matter where they come from, share many of the same fears and worries.
Story questions:
1. What happened to Ut on her first day of school?
2. When does Raymond write Ut’s story?
3. What does Ut do when she sees Raymond crying?
4. How does the rest of the school find out about Ut’s mother?
5. What will the money from the Vietnam Fair be used for?
Vocabulary Words:
jangled (making a loud ringing noise), gleamed (was shiny and bright), twittered (chattering like birds), darted (moved quickly from place to place), scrawled (wrote quickly, but not carefully)