1a. Why does Xiong and her family have to flee from their home? Who do they have to leave behind? How do they get away? Where do they hide?
2a. What is life like for Xiong's family in the refugee camp in Thailand?
3a. What new things does Xiong experience in kindergarten? What frightens her? What astonishes her?
4a. What obstacles do Xiong and her family face and overcome? Which of these obstacles are the most difficult to overcome?
5a. What event in Maijue Xiong's journey seems to have had the most impact on her? Which experience seems to have been the most frightening? the most gratifying? Explain why you think she felt strongly about these experiences.
1b. Why are they willing to risk their lives to escape?
2b. Why is leaving the camp so difficult for Xiong's family and other families?
3b. Why is getting an education so important to Xiong?
4b. How does Xiong's story lead her to the conclusions she makes about the importance of education? How have her experiences shaped the person she has become?
5b. If you were Maijue Xiong, how would you react to each of the following? earning a poor grade a younger sibling who shunned his or her cultural heritage an insensitive remark about your ethnicity a request by your parents to quit school and care for them full time a plea by your mother to quit school, get married, and have children
Autobiography. What insight do you gain from reading an autobiography that you might not get from other types of writing? How might this story have been different if someone else had written it about Maijue?
Chronological Order. The first part of this selection is written in chronological order. What clues signal to you that chronological order is being used? What other methods of organization could have been used in this selection? Explain. Refer to the Language Arts Survey 1.14, "Organizing Ideas," for help.
Use a timeline to track the events in Maijue's story.
1. Imagine that you are an advice columnist for a children's magazine and that a child writes you asking for advice about how to fit in at a new school and in a new culture. Write an advice column containing both the question and a brief answer from you.
2. Make a list of the foods mentioned in "An Unforgettable Journey" and another list of the foods you most commonly eat, then compare and contrast the lists.
3. As a newspaper reporter, you have been assigned to write a story about Maijue Xiong. Prepare a list of interview questions. Try to ask questions for which you cannot find answers in "An Unforgettable Journey."
Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections. Do you know the difference between prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections? Review the Language Arts Survey 2.7, "Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections." Then identify the underlined words in the sentences below as one of the three.
1. Maijue was born in a small village called Muong Cha in Laos on April 30, 1972.
2. Her family was forced to leave loved ones behind when they left Laos.
3. Maijue needed to hurry and step over the ants, but she just stood there and cried.
4. "Oh, no! We're going to fall into the river!" Maijue thought.
5. The Xiong family stayed with Maijue's uncle for two weeks and then settled in Isla Vista.
6. Maijue wanted to go to school and get an education.
7. She was very nervous on her first day in kindergarten.
8. "Wow! I've never seen blond hair before!" said Maijue.
9. Maijue didn't know how to speak English or how to use a crayon.
10. She wanted to make her family proud and become a role model for her younger siblings.
Learning about Southeast Asia: Fact Sheet. In groups of four or five, research Laos, Vietnam, or Cambodia. Using Internet or library resources, find out about the present political structure of the country you choose, its geography, its population, its major languages and religions, its system of currency, and any other important information. Divide these tasks among the members of your group. For example, one person could research the country’s history and create a time line charting major events. Another could draw a map showing the geographical features of the country or research its economy. Use this fact sheet to keep track of the information you find while researching Southeast Asia.
Country:
Location:
Geographical Features:
Population:
Languages Spoken:
Major Religions:
Currency:
Government:
Main Political Leader(s):
Other Important Facts:
Interviewing: Questions. Interview an immigrant from another country who is now living in your community to learn about his or her experiences. First, locate a person you could interview. It might be a relative, a neighbor, or someone in your school. Then ask his or her permission for an interview. Before conducting the interview, prepare a list of questions to ask and have your teacher or a peer review the questions for spelling, grammar, and style. You may want to include questions such as the following. • What cultural differences did you encounter upon coming to the United States? • What was the most difficult change? What was the most rewarding? • How are living conditions in the United States different from those in his or her native country? How are they similar? When you have finished, prepare a short biography of your interview subject to share with other members of your class. For more information, see the Language Arts Survey 4.14, "Conducting an Interview." Use this space to write down the answers, comments, and reflections of the person you interview. Add your own questions at the end.
What cultural differences did you encounter upon coming to the United States?
What was the most difficult change? What was the most rewarding?
How are living conditions in the United States different from those in your native country? How are they similar?
Reading a Storycloth. Scan through the pictures on the storycloth by Mee Vang on page 205 of your textbook, interpreting Vang's story as you go.
How does Mee Vang's story compare to that of Maijue Xiong? How do the two stories differ?
What thoughts, emotions, and reflections does Vang show in her storycloth? How does she convey these ideas?
Interpret and retell Mee Vang's story in words in the space below.
Identifying Word Origins. The English language gains new words from many different sources. Learning the origins of English words can help you expand your vocabulary and better understand the English language. Read the Language Arts Survey 1.21, "Exploring Word Origins and Word Families." Use a dictionary to identify the origin of the following words. (Most dictionaries include an explanation of abbreviations in the beginning of the book.) Then use each word in a sentence.
Example refugee (French) → The child was a refugee from Cuba.
1. taco
2. omelette
3. igloo
4. boomerang
5. pajamas
6. chocolate
7. tattoo
8. pizza
9. noodle
10. tofu
