Unit 1, Part 3
We Are All One
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Unit 1, Part 1
3
(pages 136–145)
Before You Read
Reading the Selection
After You Read
Unit 1, Part 3
For pages 136–145
7.3.A Describe multiple themes in a work of
fiction.
Unit 1, Part 3
Meet Laurence Yep
Click the picture to learn
about the author.
Unit 1, Part 3
Connect to the Folktale
How much do you enjoy taking care of
animals? If given the opportunity, would you
provide food, shelter, or protection for an
animal? for an insect? Why or why not?
Unit 1, Part 3
Connect to the Folktale
Partner Talk With a partner, talk about the
meaning of the expression “We are all one.”
Begin by deciding if you agree with these
statements:
•
What happens to one person affects
everyone.
•
Every person or thing is connected to
every other person or thing; we’re all part
of one family.
Unit 1, Part 3
Build Background
This folktale takes place in some legendary
time in China. The Chinese people who came
to live in the United States brought this
folktale and others with them.
•
Chinese people retold these tales to
remind themselves of life at home and to
show how to survive in a strange and often
hostile land.
Unit 1, Part 3
Build Background
•
The folktales were meant to teach children how
a Chinese person should behave.
•
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the
U.S. government created work projects to help
the unemployed. Jon Lee was given the job of
gathering and translating into English
traditional stories from Chinese immigrants
who were living in Oakland, California. “We Are
All One” is a retelling of one of those stories.
Unit 1, Part 3
lacquer n. a liquid that is poured on wood
or metal and dries to form a shiny coat.
Lin’s parents bought a black lacquer cabinet
in Chinatown.
omen n. a sign or an event thought to
foretell good or bad fortune. Some people
believe that finding a penny is a good
omen.
Click a vocabulary term to listen to the definition.
Unit 1, Part 3
Set Purposes for Reading
As you read this story, pay attention to the
extraordinary individuals and animals the old
peddler counts on.
Unit 1, Part 3
Set Purposes for Reading
Theme
The theme of a literary work is its overall
message about life or about human nature.
Folktales across cultures contain similar
themes. For example, “friendship is important”
is a theme that is common to many folktales.
Unit 1, Part 3
Set Purposes for Reading
Theme
Discovering the theme of a story is important
because it helps you to see a work’s deeper
meaning. A story’s theme can teach you
lessons about life. As you read, ask yourself:
What is the author’s main message? What is
the author trying to tell me about life?
Unit 1, Part 3
Set Purposes for Reading
Theme
Click the image
to view the
animation.
Unit 1, Part 3
Set Purposes for Reading
Interpret Plot Events
Plot is the sequence of events in a story.
When you interpret plot events, you use
your understanding of the world to decide
what events in the plot mean. Do events in
the plot resemble events in everyday life?
Do they suggest a deeper meaning about
life?
Unit 1, Part 3
Set Purposes for Reading
Interpret Plot Events
When you interpret something, you decide for
yourself what it means to you. To interpret plot
events, think about
•
what you already know about human
nature and about the world
•
what the events in the story might mean
Unit 1, Part 3
Set Purposes for Reading
Interpret Plot Events
As you read, list plot events and their meaning
in a graphic organizer like the one shown.
Unit 1, Part 3
Set Purposes for Reading
Interpret Plot Events
Click the image
to view the
animation.
Unit 1, Part 3
Set Purposes for Reading
Interpret Plot Events
Interpret Imagine that you are listening to your best
friend talk about a soccer game. Your friend
describes how the star player scored the winning
goal. Think about how your friend’s facial expression,
tone of voice, and body language help you interpret
whether your friend is pleased or disappointed with
the results of the match.
Unit 1, Part 3
Unit 1, Part 3
Interpret Plot Events Is a mother’s advice
usually right or wrong? How does that help
you know that the peddler will look for the
magical herb?
Answer: A mother’s advice is usually right.
The peddler trusts his mother’s advice that a
magical herb exists.
Unit 1, Part 3
Interpret Plot Events What does the act of
searching for the herb mean to the peddler?
What does it mean to the reader?
Answer: Possible responses: To the peddler,
the search may mean that he wants to help
someone in need; to the reader, the search
means that the setting will shift.
Unit 1, Part 3
Theme How is the expression “we are all
one” a clue to the theme?
Answer: The expression is another way of
saying that all creatures are connected and
responsible for one another.
Unit 1, Part 3
Theme How does the peddler’s decision
illustrate the theme of the story?
Answer: He is concerned with all life, not just
the life of the rich man.
Unit 1, Part 3
Theme Explain how the queen’s speech
reveals the theme of the folktale.
Answer: The queen repeats that all
creatures are connected.
Unit 1, Part 3
In what way do details of this picture help
you better understand the story?
Answer: Like the lone figure in the painting,
the peddler is not like other people—he is a
lone soul who cares about all creatures, no
matter how small.
Unit 1, Part 3
Cultural History
The story alludes to the legend of the great
emperor Yü and his taming of the great floods.
According to the legend, about 4,000 years ago
in ancient China, Yü built canals that led a river
into the sea, thereby preventing flooding that
had previously caused great damage. Yü is
believed to be the founder of China’s oldest
dynasty, called Hsia. Why does the queen refer
to this story when speaking to the peddler?
Unit 1, Part 3
Cultural History
Answer: Possible response: You may
conclude that the reference indicates the
importance of the peddler’s mission.
Unit 1, Part 3
A centipede is a long, flat insect with many
pairs of legs.
Unit 1, Part 3
Interpret Plot Events The peddler protects
the centipede. How might this act help the
peddler later in the story?
Answer: The centipede might do something
to reward the peddler for his kindness.
Unit 1, Part 3
Landscape differs from the other artwork in
that the landscape is green rather than
yellow, gray, or brown. How does this detail
relate to the story’s theme?
Answer: Possible answer; Green is the color
of nature, and it is nature that helps the
peddler meet his goal.
Unit 1, Part 3
Theme How does the centipede prove that
“we are all one”?
Answer: The centipede helps the peddler by
revealing where he will find the magic bead.
Unit 1, Part 3
How does this painting help you picture the
setting?
Answer: Possible response: The old peddler
and his wife may have lived in a village like
the one in the painting. Also, they might have
worn clothes like those shown in the painting.
Unit 1, Part 3
Whom or what is the peddler able to count
on in this story?
Answer: The peddler can count on the ants
and the centipede to help him.
Unit 1, Part 3
Language History
The Middle English word bede comes from the
Old English word gebed, meaning “a prayer.” To
keep track of repeated prayers, people used a
string of small round balls (today called a rosary).
Because each round ball stood for one bede (or
prayer), the word eventually came to mean the
round balls themselves. Today, bead means a
small object that can be threaded on a string.
What do you think is the nature of the herb that
the peddler will find?
Unit 1, Part 3
Language History
Answer: Possible response: The herb will
answer one’s prayers.
Unit 1, Part 3
Theme The gatekeeper and the peddler are
different. How might this difference relate to
the story’s theme?
Answer: Unlike the peddler, the gatekeeper
does not treat every form of life as equal.
This difference emphasizes the story’s theme
of the importance of treating everyone
equally.
Unit 1, Part 3
Theme What advice does this folktale
offer?
Answer: Because we are all one, you can
make a difference in others’ lives. Help
those in need, and your kindness will be
rewarded.
Unit 1, Part 3
Unit 1, Part 3
Respond and Think Critically
1. What is the peddler’s first act of kindness
toward another creature? Describe it.
[Recall]
Answer: He saves the ants’ nest.
Unit 1, Part 3
Respond and Think Critically
2. When the rich man sees the peddler at
the gate, what does he say? What do
the rich man’s first words tell you about
his personality? Explain. [Infer]
Answer: The rich man says that the
peddler will be beaten if he is wasting the
rich man’s time. The rich man’s first words
make him seem impatient.
Unit 1, Part 3
Respond and Think Critically
3. How does the story end? How do you
think the peddler will act, now that his
life has changed? Explain. [Analyze]
Answer: The peddler is rewarded for
helping the rich man. You may suggest
that the peddler will not change because
he is kind, and money is not important to
him.
Unit 1, Part 3
Respond and Think Critically
TIP: Analyzing
Here are some tips to help you
analyze how the story’s title relates to
its theme. Think about what the
author shows you through the events,
characters, and dialogue in the story.
Unit 1, Part 3
Respond and Think Critically
•
Think about when the title phrase is
stated in the story.
•
What do the characters do after
saying the phrase?
•
How do the characters’ actions fit
the theme and the phrase?
Unit 1, Part 3
Respond and Think Critically
4.
Theme How does the
title, “We Are All One,” relate to the
story’s theme? Explain. [Analyze]
Answer: If we act as though we are all
one, then all will benefit.
Unit 1, Part 3
Respond and Think Critically
5.
Interpret Plot Events
Review your chart of plot events. Which
events do you think are most important to
the story’s theme? Explain. [Evaluate]
Answer: The peddler’s acts of kindness
toward the ants and the centipede are the
most important events. These events
reveal the importance of treating every
creature kindly.
Unit 1, Part 3
Respond and Think Critically
6.
Who or what is the
extraordinary individual in this story?
Use details from the story to support
your answer. [Interpret]
Answer: You may suggest that the
peddler is the extraordinary individual
because he treats all creatures with
kindness.
Unit 1, Part 3
Respond to these questions.
1. Which item might be covered by
lacquer — a shield or a dress?
Answer: A shield could have a coat of
lacquer; a dress would not.
Unit 1, Part 3
2. What might be seen as a good omen
— a star shooting across the sky or a
dead flower in the grass?
Answer: A star shooting across the sky
might be seen as a good omen; a dead
flower has negative connotations.
Unit 1, Part 3
Write a Blurb A blurb is a short piece of writing
that praises and promotes something, such as a
book or a movie. You often see a blurb on the
cover of a book. What does “We Are All One”
say about life? Write a blurb in which you
answer this question. The story’s title can help
you answer the question.
Unit 1, Part 3
Unit 1, Part 3
Write about times when you helped other
people or animals and expected nothing
in return. Describe what happened and
explain why you acted as they did and
how you felt afterward.
Unit 1, Part 3
Unit 1, Part 3
Possible answer:
I like to draw imaginary creatures and then
make up stories about them. The unicorn is my
favorite. It’s so beautiful, and its horn makes
it unique.
Unit 1, Part 3
In my eerie setting, darkness would make
everything look different.
No one would feel happy about being in such a
gloomy, scary place.
Every little noise would sound suspicious.
Unit 1, Part 3
For what is the rich man offering a reward?
A. a cure for his deafness
B. a cure for insomnia
C. a cure for his skin disease
D. a cure for his eye disease
Unit 1, Part 3
What did the candy peddler set out to find when he
heard the announcement about the rich man’s need?
A. an insect that could cure all diseases
B. a magical herb that his mother told him
about
C. a magician with healing powers
D. a very wise doctor from a nearby town
Unit 1, Part 3
What did the city in his first dream turn out to be?
A. a bee hive
B. a garden of herbs
C. the palace of the rich man
D. an ant’s nest
Unit 1, Part 3
What did the peddler see that had bright orange skin
and red tufts of fur?
A. a spider
B. a centipede
C. a frog
D. a magical tree
Unit 1, Part 3
How was the peddler finally able to see the rich
man?
A. After he begged, the gatekeeper finally let
him in.
B. He showed the gatekeeper the magical
bead.
C. The rich man was passing by the gate and
saw him.
D. The queen ant led him through the gate.
Unit 1, Part 3
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