5 question Quiz (Dictate)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Who are the characters in Mother Tongue?
What is the main subject of the article?
What did Amy Tan, as a child, have to do for her mother?
How did her mother feel about Amy Tan’s book after she read it?
What could a possible theme be for this article?
“Mother Tongue”, by Amy Tan
Amy Tan
 Born in the US to immigrant parents from China
 Disappointed her mother by not being a doctor or concert pianist
 Amy Tan grew up as a first generation American. There were generational conflicts with
her mother.
Background Information
 Generational conflict is a struggle between characters when beliefs and values change
from one generation to another
 Motivation is the reason behind a character’s thoughts, feelings and actions
Summary
 Amy Tan writes an article expressing her love for language. She uses her experiences
with her mother to express the power of language.
 Amy Tan begins by stating she is not an expert on language. Writing is something that
fascinates her though.
 According to Amy Tan, language is powerful.
 As a child and an adult, Amy spoke for her mother, to facilitate the communication
between her stock broker and doctor at the hospital.
 Amy also wrote her famous book, The Joy Luck Club, using her mom as the audience to
make the ideas accessible to all.
 Amy and her mother’s challenges with writing shaped who they are and guided their lives
down a certain road. It is all described within the article.
Characters
 Minor Characters
o Du Zong
o The stockbroker
o The doctors and nurses
 Major Characters
o Amy Tan
o Amy Tan’s mother
Themes
 Language is powerful and can have a great impact on your life.
o Language can:
 form your perception of the world
 help communicate with the outside world
 inhibit acceptance into society, limit and enable you
 provide a challenge you can either overcome or give in to
 change and transform in light of the audience of your language
Literary Devices
 Imagery – She describes her and her mother’s experiences with vivid descriptions. The
imagery added to the reader’s empathy for her mother.
Lesson Plan Format: Family Unit Short Stories
Name: Mr. Cavanaugh
Date: 9/21/11
Story: “Mother Tongue”
Goals of Lesson:
 Students will recall a summary of the article.
 Students will recall information on Amy Tan and her family background.
 Students will analyze the themes of, “Mother Tongue”
 Students will understand the power of language.
 Students will create a story without using words to help understand the power of
language.
Materials:
 “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan
 Art supplies
 Paper
 Story prompts
Procedure:
Initiation:
(5 min.)
Quick Quiz – Class takes out a piece of paper and answers the 5 dictated
questions. The teacher collects them and uses them to get information on the
student’s understandings of the story.
Development: 5 minutes will be used to take notes on Amy Tan and background information.
20 minutes will be used to create your story prompt and depict your story on a
piece of paper.
5 minutes will be used for volunteers to present their picture and students guess
what the story is about.
(30 min.)
Closing:
Review and questions and answers.
Assessment:
 Picture stories
 Final test
Self-Evaluation:
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