A Comprehensive Lesson on Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks”
英文摘要 (Abstract)
“Fish Cheeks” is a short story talking about Amy Tan’s personal experience as an
Asian girl growing up in American culture. The lesson plan is designed for intermediate
to advanced senior high school students, aiming to raise their awareness of cultural
differences, and the feeling of being raised in a different culture. Students will learn to
make use of general, as well as detailed information from the reading in order to
complete a summary and a story map of the reading. Group activities will be conducted
for students to learn from their peers and stimulate their thinking skills. It is hoped that
students will have a general understanding of the basic elements of a story, and be
equipped with the ability to gather needed information from the reading for good use.
教學目標 (Objectives)
1. Students will be able to find out important information from the reading by
themselves.
2. Students will be able to distinguish different types of narrative in the reading.
3. Students will be able to complete a story map based on the information given in
the reading.
4. Students will be able to fulfill the following banchmarks
表 1 邏輯思考、判斷與創造力檢核表
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
1 基本能力
1-1 能把各類訊息加以比較、歸類、排序。
1-2 能根據上下語境釐清不同訊息間的因果關係。
1-3 能分辨客觀事實與主觀意見。
2 進階能力
2-1 能分析、歸納多項訊息的共通點或結論。
2-2 能將習得的原則類推到新情境中，解決問題。
2-3 能綜合現有訊息，預測可能的發展。
2-4 能評估不同資訊，提出合理的判斷或建議。
2-5 能整合、規劃相關資訊及資源，並發揮創意。
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適用年級 (Grade level)

Second grade senior high school. Students reach an average percentage of 80-95
on their Basic Competence Test.

Students master basic English skills. They are able to write complete sentences
in English and read out loud with little assistance.
授課時數 (Time required)
Three 50 minutes class periods
教材(Materials)
San Ming English Book Three Unit 10 Fish Cheeks Reading
教學流程(Teaching procedure)
First Period
I.
Warm up (20 minutes)
1. Based on the topic, ask students about their experience of eating fish.
2. Raise students’ awareness to the way people eat fish in different parts of the
world by asking them the following questions. (1-1, 2-1)
 How do Japanese eat fish?
 How do Westerners eat fish?
 How do Chinese eat fish?
 Which part of the fish do Chinese people think is the best part of a fish?
 How do you like to eat fish cheeks? Why do Chinese people like to eat fish
cheeks?
Through the questions, introduce cultural differences among different countries
and cultures.
3. Ask students if they have any experience of eating a meal with a foreigner, and
have them share the difference in table manners between different countries.
(1-1)
II.
Class Activities (30 minutes)
1. Scramble the reading by paragraphs and make copies.
2. Group activities (20 min)
a. Divide students into groups of 5-6. Assign different roles to each group
member:
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
Leader: the person who leads the group discussion

Recorder: the person who takes notes for the discussion

Reporter: the person who does report for the group

Time-keeper: the person who is responsible for reminding the
leader about time

Voice manager: the person who makes sure the group doesn’t talk
too loudly
(Groups for more than 5 people will have two reporters.)
b. Each group will be given one paragraph of the reading to work on.
c. Students will be given 10 minutes to read the assigned paragraph in
groups and try to write 1-2 sentences that well explain what happens in
the paragraph. The recorder in each group will take notes for the
summary. (2-1)
d. The reporter in each group will write the summary they have for their
own paragraph on the board.
e. As the reporters write, the other students will be given 5 more minutes to
decide on the order of the paragraph. (1-1, 1-2)
3. Summary (1-1, 2-1) (10 min)
a. Based on the summary on the board, discuss with the students the
correct order of the paragraphs
b. Briefly talk about what should and should not be included in a summary.
c. Introduces related transitional words, and uses the sentences and the
transitional words for a summary of the reading.
III.
Closure and Assignment (5 min)
1. Briefly talk about the story, and ask students for what they think they expect to
learn through the lesson. (2-3)
2. For assignment, students should read the complete reading part of the text
before the next period.
3. Students turn in their group work. (appendix 1)
Second Period
I.
Review (5 min)
1. Ask the students about what they read in the reading. Have a couple of students
share some detailed information in the reading. (2-3)
2. Tell the students that in this period, we are going go deeply into the reading and
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they have to try their best to be in the author’s shoe.
II.
Class Activities
1. Basic Elements of a story (8 min)
a. Introduce to the students the basic elements of a story: introduction
(who, when, where), a problem (why), body (what), and a solution
(how)
b. Assign certain students to read the first two paragraphs out loud.
c. Ask students about the 5W1H questions based on the information
provided in the first two paragraphs, and put their answers on the board.
(1-2)
d. Short summary about the background information of the story.
2. Problem faced by the author (1-2, 2-1, 2-3, 2-4) (12 min)
a. Bring students attention back to the first paragraph where the Christmas
gift the author prayed for that year is mentioned.
b. Ask students for the answer to the things the author prayed for that year,
and the possible reasons why the author asked for them.
c. In the second paragraph, have students think about if the author wanted
the minister’s family to come for dinner, and why.
d. Several words in the second paragraph point out that the author didn’t
quite agree with her own culture. Lead students to find them. (shabby,
noisy…)
e. Given that the author didn’t quite agree with her own culture, talk
briefly about the Christmas gift the author prayed for. What is the
relation between the two?
f. Lead students to point out the problem faced by the author in the story.
The following questions can be asked:

Why did the author want a slim new American nose for Christmas?

Why did the author cry when she learned that the minister’s family
was invited over for Christmas Eve dinner?

What did the author want Robert to think of her and her family?
Would she be able to do that during that Christmas Even dinner?
Problem faced by the author: the boy who she had a crush on was
invited for dinner, and she thought her relatives would embarrass her.
Thinking about what really upsets her.
3. More negative expressions in the third paragraph (2-1) (10 min)
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a. Lead students to the third paragraph. According to the discussion from
the previous day, students learned that the third paragraph talks about
the menu of the dinner.
b. Ask students to work in pairs and identify words that tell them that the
author didn’t really like the food. At the same time, ask students to
identify things that the author used to describe food. Students will
underline the words in their textbooks.
c. Ask some students to share their answer and ask students if they were to
describe food with things like sponges, and tires, and using words like
mounds, stacks, and slimy, what would they feel about the food?
d. Lead students to compare the differences between a western menu and
what the author’s mother prepared for dinner that night.
e. Give a small conclusion to the first three paragraphs, and remind
students of the problem the author is facing.
4. Two kinds of expressions: facts? feelings? (1-3) (10 min)
a. Introduce to the students that there are two kinds of expressions
presented in the reading. One tells us about facts (what happens to the
author), and the other tells us about feelings (what the author feels or
thinks about).
b. Lead students to identify the two different kinds of expressions.

Fact: ex. I fell in love with the minister’s son in the winter when I
turned fourteen.

Feeling: ex. What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives
who lacked appropriate American manners?
c. Tell students that the author would use the two kinds of expressions
alternately. It is important to tell the two kinds of expression apart
because in that case we will know whether the author is putting in the
sentence her own opinion.
III.
Closure and Assignment (5 min)
1. Ask student about the author’s attitude toward her own culture, and ask them
how they think about the story and the author’s attitude so far. Point out the
conflict American born Chinese face when growing up.
2. The teacher will give a small overview of what has been covered in the period.
3. Students will be given the story map of the story. They will try to complete the
story map and bring it to class the next period. (appendix 2)
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Third Period
I.
Review (5 min)
1. Give a quick review of the concepts covered in the previous class.
2. Ask students for some information mentioned in the first three paragraphs and
tell students that we are going to follow the story line in the period.
II.
Class Activities
1. Group activity: story map (1-1, 1-2, 2-1) (25 min)
a. Students will discuss in groups about their answers for story map.
Discuss with group members if they are not sure about their own
answers. During group discussion, students should also come up with a
list of what embarrassed the author during Christmas Eve dinner. (1-2)
b. Ask students about the introductory information and the problem they
got from the reading and quickly put them on the board.
c. Assign certain groups to read out loud paragraph 4, 5 and 6.
d. Ask students “WHAT” embarrassed the author during Christmas Eve
dinner. Each group should provide at least one specific fact that
toughened the author’s situation. Briefly write students’ answer on the
board.
e. Ask the reporter in each group to come up stage to write down the
reaction of the minister’s family to each incident.
f. Talk about Robert’s reaction and the contrast the author is trying to
express through writing.
g. Blackboard arrangement is as follows:
Relative’s
Introductory
behavior and
Problem
information
Robert’s
reaction
Solution
When
Who
Where
Why
What
2. Solution to the problem: (2-1) (15 min)
a. Ask students the following questions and lead them to the solution of the
problem:

Why did the author bother to say what she got from her mom for
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Christmas?

How can you tell that Amy’s mom knew how much she suffered?

How did Amy feel about the Christmas dinner that year many years
later?

Amy’s mom said to her, “you must be proud that you are different.
Your only shame is to have shame.” What does that mean?
Solution: Later that day, Amy’s mom told her that she should be proud of her
own culture, and it’d be shameful to have shame. It took Amy years to fully
appreciate her mother’s lesson that day.
III.
Closure and Assignment (10 min)
1. Briefly talk about the activities done during the last three periods and tell
students the purpose of each activity.
a. Summary is something that helps us know the outline of a piece of
work before reading through it. Therefore, when writing a summary,
one should also pay attention to whether the beginning, the body and the
ending of the story are all covered.
b. Story map is a means to help us organize the information in the story. It
also points out the structure of a story.
c. In narration like this reading, there are two kinds of expression.
Distinguishing the two helps us identify the author’s attitude.
d. Contrast is useful when we want to emphasize our thoughts, and there
are some good examples in the reading.
2. Students will be given writing sheets, and act as Amy or Robert and write about
what they would say to the other person about the Christmas dinner years later.
(2-4, 2-5)
評量方式 (Assessment)
1. Story map worksheet
The story map worksheet will help students to have a general idea to the reading.
Through story mapping, teachers can learn whether students have a nice
comprehension regarding the information provided in the reading.
2. Writing practice (intermediate)
Use the sentence pattern “S1+V…, while S2+V…” to compare eating habits of
different culture. Students will find out eating habits of different culture and
compare to that of Chinese culture.
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 Ex. In England, finishing your tea tells the host that you enjoyed his treat,
while in Taiwan, leaving some tea in your cup means you are content.
3. Writing practice (advanced)
Years later, Amy and Robert met each other on college campus. They talk about
the Christmas Eve dinner that year and chat about how they felt that evening.
Students will pretend they are Amy (or Robert) and write short paragraph about
how they felt, and how their viewpoints have been changed during the past
years.
教學建議(Suggestions)

Students are introduced the meaning of the vocabulary words before studying the
reading.

Students should be told the purpose of each activity so they can learn to apply the
thinking skills later when they are reading or writing by themselves.

Based on students’ writing ability, the teacher can decide on the writing
assignment. Story Map can also be organized to match students’ English ability.
參考資料(References)
陳凌霞（民 96）。高中英文第三冊。台北市：三民書局。
K. Bromley, L. I. DeVitis & M. Modlo(1999). 50 Graphic Organizers for Reading,
Writing, & More. New York: Scholastic.
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Appendix 1:
San Ming Book Three Lesson 10 Fish Cheeks
Group __________ Names: _________________________________________
Task 1
Please write one to two sentences in the box below about the paragraph of your group.
Think about whether people who didn’t read the paragraph can also have some ideas
about it after reading your sentences.
Our Sentence:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Task 2
Copy down your classmates’ summaries of their paragraphs, and arrange them in order.
Group
Summary
1
2
3
4
5
9
Order
Appendix 2:
San Ming Book Three Lesson 10 Fish Cheeks
Class: ____________ No: ____________ Name: _____________________
Time: (when)
Place: (where)
Characters: (who)
______________________________________________
Problem:(what problem did the author face)
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Events: (what happened in the story)
Menu: ______________________________________________________________
Relatives’ Behavior:
Robert’s/ Minister’s reaction
1._____________________
1._____________________
______________________
______________________
2._____________________
2._____________________
_______________________
_______________________
3._____________________
3._____________________
_______________________
_______________________
4._____________________
4._____________________
_______________________
_______________________
Solution/ Ending: (how was the problem solved)
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
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Appendix 3 Writing Assignment (intermediate)
San Ming Book Three Lesson 10 Fish Cheeks
Class: _____________ Name: _________________
In Lesson 10, we learned some cultural differences between Chinese people and the
Americans, especially about the food they eat, and the table manners. Can you think of
any other culture differences you know between people from different countries? You
may also want to get on the Internet for information about interesting things people do
under different cultures. Get at least FIVE culture differences, and write them down
with the sentence pattern “S+V…, while S+V…”
Ex:
In England, finishing your tea tells the host that you enjoyed his treat, while in Taiwan,
leaving some tea in your cup means you are content.
1. _________________________________________________________________,
while ____________________________________________________________.
2. _________________________________________________________________,
while ____________________________________________________________.
3. _________________________________________________________________,
while ___________________________________________________________.
4. _________________________________________________________________,
while____________________________________________________________.
5. _________________________________________________________________,
while____________________________________________________________.
6. _________________________________________________________________,
while____________________________________________________________.
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Appendix 4 Writing Assignment (advanced)
San Ming Book Three Lesson 10 Fish Cheeks
Class: _____________ Name: _________________
After the Christmas dinner, Robert was never invited to Amy’s house again. Eight
years later, the two bumped into each other on college campus and had a nice chat. They
remembered the Christmas dinner and talked about it a little bit. Please choose from one
of the following situations, and write a short paragraph (100-120 words) about how
Amy/Robert felt at Christmas dinner that year, and how they changed during the past
eight years. Choose either situation A or situation B to work on.
Robert (R): Wow! Is that you, Amy? I haven’t seen you for a VERY long time. How are
you?
Amy (A): Robert! I’m doing great. You’re right. There HAS been a really long time. I
remember we were still in junior high the last time we met.
Situation A
R: Now I remember. My family was invited to your house for Christmas dinner that year,
and you had been having a very long face all evening that night.
A: Oh, stupid me. True, I wasn’t having a good time that evening because
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
However, my attitude kind of changed these years,
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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Situation B
R: Now I remember. My family was invited to your house for Christmas dinner that year.
A: Oh, right! That dinner. Must have been a very special Christmas meal for you since
there was no turkey on the table.
R: You bet! That was my first Chinese meal. You cannot imagine how shocking it
was for me to see …….
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
However, I learned more about Chinese culture after getting into college, and
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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