1a. What do the people in China do to all their vegetables before eating them?
2a. What does Mr. Lin say in the fancy restaurant after his wife says, "The French eat some rather peculiar things, I've heard"?
3a. How does the Lin family eat their soup in the restaurant?
1b. Why do you think they do this?
2b. What does Mr. Lin's response tell you about him?
3b. Why might this behavior cause others in the restaurant to freeze and stare?
4a. List the specific things the narrator worries about in this story.
4b. What is the biggest worry the narrator has but never talks about?
5a. In your opinion, how well is the Lin family adjusting to life in America?
5b. The related reading, "How to Eat Like a Child," also looks at ways to eat like someone else does, but the overall message is not the same as that in "The All-American Slurp." How do the messages differ?
Theme. What themes did you discover in "The All-American Slurp"? Which theme do you think is stressed the most? In what ways do the events support your choice?
Onomatopoeia. List as many examples of onomatopoeia as you can.
1. Imagine you are the narrator and you are writing a postcard to your best friend back in China. Tell your friend what you like most and least about living in the U.S.
2. Pretend you are the author of "How to Eat Like a Child." For future readers, write a description of how to eat one more food like a child.
3. Write a personal diary entry that the narrator might write after finding out that all Americans slurp their milkshakes.
Onomatopoeia. Words of onomatopoeia—like splash, wow, gush, kerplunk—are fun because they bring out the full flavor of words. Such words also make the meaning of the word much easier to understand, because an example is built right into the word. Find at least five examples of onomatopoeia in a comic book or the comic strip section of a newspaper and record them on the blanks provided below. Next, think of a high-action scene, such as a soccer game. Using the space provided below, write a description of your scene using as many onomatopoeia words as possible. If appropriate, use some of the words from the comics.
Examples:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Description of your scene:
Researching People. Use the space below to write your master list of famous Chinese-Americans.
Immigration Interview. Use the interview sheet below when you interview someone from another country.
Person's name:
Native country:
Immigration date:
Transportation used:
How long the trip took:
Special events of the trip:
Special things brought along:
Reasons person emigrated:
Who else came:
Arrival place in USA:
First USA sight:
First USA memory:
Language issues:
Feelings about the move:
How USA is different from native land:
Any other notes of interest:
Antonyms. An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word. Find an antonym (or near antonym) for each of the following adjectives, or description words, from "The All-American Slurp." Use a dictionary or a thesaurus to check your answers or to help lead you to the answers. Once you have found antonyms for each word, use each antonym in a sentence.
Example common: rare
1. disgrace:
2. retreat:
3. revolting:
4. sultry:
5. systematic:
