Nathan Harris

LL 420
12-9-09

A look at Identity through American Born Chinese

Designed for Eleventh Grade

Note: This lesson plan has a few paragraphs adapted from Heather Ely’s “Voice, Power, Identity:
Guide to Choosing a Path and a Place” located at
http://www.coe.uga.edu/~smago/VirtualLibrary/Ely.pdf with consent given at that website.

Rationale
For my Fifteen-day lesson plan I will have my class work with Gene Luen Yang’s

graphic novel American Born Chinese. The graphic novel comprises three stories that focus on

three characters, Jin Wang, the Monkey King, and Danny. While these three stories initially

seem to be unrelated, as they each progress, the reader can see how interwoven they really are.

While comic books and graphic novels seem to be viewed as a form of low art I hope to use this

lesson to point out how not all comics necessarily are spandex clad superheroes but rather visual

tales that can present important lessons.

Adolescents today face many pressing issues at home and at school alike. Teens in high

school are searching for their identity as well as their place within society. Throughout the

lesson, I plan to help my students compare characters within literature and popular culture in

order to examine how they have dealt with identity issues. All teens struggle finding their own

identity, but this is made all the more difficult when others label them with something that may

not truly be part of their own identity. Through looking at how Jin Wang and Danny deal with

their problems in school and how the Monkey King deals with his desire to be a god, students’

social awareness will grow and they will be able to think about others’ struggle with identity as

well as their own.

 American Born Chinese has several different themes in each of the three stories that

remain constant throughout the novel, even when the different stories become intermingled. The

most important theme of the novel is the concept of finding your own identity. Even before the

three stories are intermingled, each main character struggles to define who they are. Jin Wang

struggles being a Chinese-American, the Monkey King wishes to ascend to godhood, and Danny

fights with the negative connotations associated with him due to his cousin Chin-Kee. Each

seems to deal with their identity crisis in various ways, which involves a complicated process in

which the reader learns Jin Wang betrays his best friend to become the white boy Danny, who is

visited regularly by his cousin Chin-Kee. Chin-Kee is, in actuality, the Monkey King disguised,

who has come to terms with being a monkey instead of a god and pays these visits to Danny to

remind him of who he was. Whether or not a student classifies himself or herself as Asian

American, most students should be able to relate with struggling with their own identity. Another

theme closely associated with the theme of identity is transformation. The notion of transforming

oneself in order to become someone who seems more desirable is constant throughout with

examples such as the Transformer toys the young boys play with, the Jin to Danny

Transformation, the Monkey King’s transformations, and the Monkey King’s son into the human

form of Wei-Chen Sun. Again, students should find themselves able to relate with the idea of

transforming themselves to impress others, whether they be family, peers, or others. Racism is

also another clearly seen theme in American Born Chinese. Whether it was subtle or blatant,

most of the Asian characters in the novel experience racism from their classmates. The novel

displays to the reader the consequences of these ignorant thoughts, and how something little can

escalate to create additional problems. Awareness of the problems and harm that come with

racism is something of which every teacher should strive to make students aware.
 During this lesson I will stress the importance of students refraining from simply

speeding through the novel and not digesting the material that is presented to them. As I

mentioned before, it seems that graphic novels and comic books don’t always get respected as a

form of literature, due to the idea that they simply are about superheroes battling it out with super

villains. However, this could not be farther from the truth, since although many comics are

superhero themed, a large number of them deal with social commentary and reveal powerful

lessons. To supplement American Born Chinese I plan to have the students look at Art

Spiegelman’s Maus and Alan Moore’s Watchmen. Maus retells a story from the Holocaust

through a son listening to his father’s account of what he experienced during it. Needless to say,

this graphic novel deals much with racism as well as problems with identity. Watchmen reflects

contemporary affairs of it’s time and presents a more realistic look at superheroes. Watchmen

contains important social commentary and will help sever the ties of students thinking comics

being simply about superheroes. While done in different ways, both American Born Chinese and

Watchmen present and reflect on views of occurrences that happen in real life. Both stories are

significantly darker then American Born Chinese but excerpts from each will strengthen the

importance of the lesson as well as help get students in the right frame of mind to deal with

literature of this nature.

Throughout the lesson, I focus on how each character in the stories showed their voice

and ideas about how to view life and the obstacles that life brings. This is relevant to the way that

my students may view life. It presents them with new ideas on how to examine the events around

them as well as the thought going thought their own minds. Also by looking at each of the

various stories, I am able to help them identify how voice and identity changes with each new

narrator. I also help them identify other important literary devices such as imagery, sensory
language, exaggeration, metaphors, and similes. All the different stories display a certain voice

and deal with various issues. My students will hopefully be able to think and make discoveries

about their own identity as they examine the examples of others.

Heather Ely’s Reference List

Asim, Jabari. African American Literature in the Black. Washingtonpost.com. 1 June 1997.
http://Washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books (5 October 2002)
McCracken, Elizabeth. A Splendid Invention. Salon Classics Book Group. 17 Nov. 1997.
http://archive.salon.com/feature/1997/11/cov_17mccracken.html (5 October 2002).

Goals and Rubrics:

Goal #1: Possibly the most important goal I have for the class is that the students will take the

lesson seriously. I am afraid that since graphic novels and comics seem to be considered a

juvenile medium due to less words then traditional novels and the importance of pictures, the

students will simply blow through the readings, which can be done faster then a traditional novel,

and not retain any of the information. In order to prevent this short quizzes will be held daily to

show that students have been doing their reading homework. The quizzes will be graded on a

pass/fail basis due to the fact they are there primarily to make sure students are doing their

readings rather then potentially lower their grade average. Quizzes were provided for classroom

use by the author, Gene Luen Yang at www.sotacad.org/.../029_Online%20Packet%20for

%20ABC.doc

Example Quiz:
Reading Quiz #2
To demonstrate you have done the assigned reading you will be asked to answer three of the
following questions to the best of your ability.
1. What is the message of the parable? What is its relevance to ABC?
2. What is the significance of the conversation with the herbalist’s wife? His response? Her
"warning?" How does this work as a foreshadowing device?
3. What do we learn about Jin's new life in comparison to his life in San Francisco's
Chinatown?
 4. The kid who calls Jin "bucktooth" is drawn with buckteeth himself. What purpose does
this serve?
5. What happens that makes Jin want to beat up Wei-Chen?
Rubric for Quizzes
Students will earn either a check (pass) or a minus (fail) on their quizzes. The determination of
earning either a check or a minus will rely on how well you answer the question. The questions
are not designed with the intention of tricking students but rather for them to demonstrate they
have done the required reading and thought about it critically. In support for the students’
answers they will be expected to draw evidence from the text itself. The details do not always
have to be spot on, for example a student will not be penalized for not remembering a minor
characters name as long as they can describe him as well as his importance to the story.

Quizzes will be 15 of the 100 points allotted for this unit grade.

Fail Pass

• Clearly shows reading was not done • Demonstrates reading was done
• Inability to draw connections to text • Draws sufficient connections to text
• Unable to provide answers at all • Displays critical thinking about text
• Answers are clearly BS • Completed during allotted time

Goal #2: I’m really expecting some thought provoking writing from the students during this

lesson. Whether it be their quizzes or free writes, all the writing the students do in class will be

held to a high standard. Students’ writings will be graded on both content and grammar. As the

class progresses through our text, students should be able to get plenty of inspiration for writing

and be able to draw upon information presented in our class discussions to create good writing.

Writings will be 25 of the 100 points allotted for this unit grade.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

• Poorly and • Effort was made • Above average • Exceptional

hastily written in writing writing writing
• Lacks a point • Points are vague • Possess a point • Point is clearly
• Plagiarized, no • Effort to produce • Are original and presented
creativity original and creative • Exemplary use of
 • Many spelling or creative work is • Less then five author’s personal
grammatical evident spelling or creative touches
errors show little • Around five grammatical • No spelling or
to no spelling or errors grammatical errors
proofreading grammatical
errors
Goal #3: Discussions will be a constant part of class during this lesson and students will be

expected to consistently participate. Whether long or short, discussions will occur daily and the

students will need display that they are familiar with the text as well as they have thought about

it critically. Students will be invited to share their own opinions and reflect on others. Manners

will be required and no student will be permitted to bash or put down others contributions to the

discussion.

Discussions will be 35 of the 100 points allotted for this unit grade.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

• No contribution • Occasionally • Consistently • Actively

made to in-class contributes to contributes to contributes to
discussion discussion discussion discussion
• Presents nothing • Presents basic • Presents • Presents strong,
substantial for points thoughtful intelligent points
discussion • Occasionally points • Constantly is
• Disrupts or side- loses focus • Remains focused and
tracks lesson during lesson focused on devoted to
• Hinders others’ • Occasionally lesson lesson
learning distracts • Rarely distracts • Aids in
classmates classmates classmates’
understanding

Goal #4: During the lesson I will require students to participate in various activities. These

activities will have been constructed around the primary lesson focus, identity, and provide the

students with interesting ways to consider the role of identity. All students will be required to

participate in the activities and remain focused on the task at hand.

Activates will be 25 of the 100 points allotted for this unit grade.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

• Refusal to • Grudgingly • Participates • Participates

participate participates with minor without forcing
• Disrupts or • Occasionally complaint • Completely
side-tracks loses focus • Good focus on dedicated to
activities • Occasionally lesson lesson
• Hinder others’ distracts • Rarely distracts • Aids in
enjoyment and classmates classmates classmates’
learning during understanding
activity

Daily Lesson Plans

Homework:

Day 1: 1-20
Day 2: 23-40
Day 3: 43-52
Day 4: 55-67
Day 5: 68-84
Day 6: 87-106
Day 7: 109-130
Day 8: 133-147
Day 9: 148-160
Day 10: 163-181
Day 11: 182-198
Day 12: 201-213
Day 13: 214-225
Day 14: 226-233
Day 15: N/A

The readings for this graphic novel are not very long and do not require a large amount of
time to be set aside for reading them. That said the student should nevertheless take their time
while doing their readings so they can grasp the concepts that they are reading about as well as
formulate their own opinions about the subject matter. The reading assignments are divided into
sections. The early sections are divided by chapter, however the later chapters of the story
became longer so the later readings are chopped into sections. This is done by stopping each
night’s reading at moments most suitable for it without seeming like the story is being cut short
during crucial moments. Students will be allowed to read ahead but if they choose to do so they
will be asked to keep the knowledge to themselves and understand that while in class they will
be expected to only contribute information from the assigned reading.

Day 1: (Detailed Lesson Plan #1)

11th grade English

Objective: To introduce the analyzing of identity; to introduce the lesson; to introduce the
primary text, American Born Chinese; to introduce the examining on ones own identity; to
introduce graphic novels as literature; to practice visualizing the aspects of identity; to foster
intelligent classroom discussion; to sustain intelligent classroom discussion; to promote
awareness of classmates’ conception of identity

Rationale: This lesson is mainly focused with the idea of identity. All teens struggle a bit with
discovering what their identity so this lesson is designed in hopes that it may prove helpful to
them. By reading American Born Chinese, the students will be able to look through others’ shoes
and see how the characters in the graphic novel struggle with their respective identities and how
they deal with them. The lesson is being taught to 11th grade students due to their increased
maturity as opposed to the younger students. I will expect the students to demonstrate this
maturity while participating in this lesson so they are able to take valuable lessons away from it.

PA State Standards:

PA.1.4.11.B.4. Use relevant graphics (e.g., maps, charts, graphs, tables, illustrations,
photographs).
PA.1.4.11.D. Types of Writing: Maintain a written record of activities, course work, experience,
honors and interests.
PA.1.5.11.A. Quality of Writing: Write with a sharp, distinct focus.
PA.1.5.11.B. Quality of Writing: Write using well-developed content appropriate for the topic.
PA.1.6.11.A. Speaking and Listening: Listen to others.
PA.1.6.11.D. Speaking and Listening: Contribute to discussions.
PA.1.6.11.E. Speaking and Listening: Participate in small and large group discussions and
presentations.

Materials:
- Copies of the primary text, American Born Chinese
- Notebook paper

Activates/Procedures:
1. Teacher led discussion posing initial questions regarding the makeup of identity
2. Have students put themselves in small groups and participate in “Free thing” in which
they are permitted to draw, write a story, jot down notes, basically anything they choose
as long as it shows them describing things they feel are part of their own identity. The
importance here is showing what YOU feel is your identity.
3. Have the small groups discuss amongst what they did on their “ Free thing” and how it
describes their identity. Monitor the classroom to make sure that the students stay on task
 and their conversation doesn't wander.
4. Bring the small groups together as a whole and have a whole group classroom
5. Encourage students to share personal aspects of their own identity. Not looking for “too
much information” type information but rather things other students can relate to. For
example, “I think my identity changes depending on whether I’m with my friends or
family.”
6. Once the class period is getting close to ending distribute copies of American Born
Chinese to the students. Reveal to them how their group work connects to the story
overall and encourage them to take their time while critically thinking about their
readings. Assign the reading homework and explain there will be a short quiz the next
day to confirm readings have been done.

Assessment: Students will be assessed on how well the work during the group work. While
both small and large group discussions, students will assessed on how well they remain on task
as well as how much they actively participate i.e. raising hands, generating questions, etc.
Assessment on the “Free thing” will be determined by how well the student focuses on the task
at hand and follows instructions to the best of his/her ability.

Day 2: (Detailed Lesson Plan #2)

11th grade English

Objective: To introduce the analyzing of identity; to introduce the lesson; to introduce the
primary text; to introduce the examining of one’s own identity; to draw attention to the
complexities of wanting to change ones identity; to show how people try to change other’s views
of their identity.

Rationale: This lesson is primarily focused on identity. All teens struggle a bit with
discovering what their identity so this lesson is designed in hopes that it may prove helpful to
them. In the reading of American Born Chinese that students were expected to have done, they
were presented with the story of the Monkey King. The Monkey King desires to be a god, but
ultimately realizes how good it is to be a monkey. This story is relatable to 11th graders in that
many of them have attempted to try to be someone else in order achieve more favorable social
standing.

PA State Standards
PA.1.1.11.D. Learning to Read Independently: Identify, describe, evaluate and synthesize the
essential ideas in text. Assess those reading strategies that were most effective in learning from a
variety of texts.
PA.1.3.11.A. Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature: Read and understand works of
literature.
PA.1.4.11.A. Types of Writing: Write short stories, poems and plays.
PA.1.5.11.A. Quality of Writing: Write with a sharp, distinct focus.
PA.1.6.11.A. Speaking and Listening: Listen to others.
PA.1.6.11.B. Speaking and Listening: Listen to selections of literature (fiction and/or
nonfiction).
PA.1.6.11.D. Speaking and Listening: Contribute to discussions.

Materials:
- Copies of the primary text, American Born Chinese
- Notebook paper
- Copies of Quiz #1

Activities/Procedures:

1. Students will all take a short quiz, which was based on the reading assigned as homework
the previous night.
2. Together, the class will participate in a large group, teacher led discussion in which the
section that was read for homework will be covered and critically analyzed. Here the
point of how the Monkey King didn’t appreciate his identity and went through a lot of
changes in order to pose as someone else.
3. Taking into consideration what the Monkey King dealt with, students will be asked to
consider a time in which they tried to be someone else. They then will participate in a ten
minute free write in which they discuss this on paper. If students wish to refrain from
giving personal information, they may create a realistic instance in which they tried to
alter their identity.
4. Once the free write is completed, students will be asked to partner up and discuss what
they wrote about.
5. After the pairs have had ample time to discuss their stories with each other, the entire
class will be drawn together in a large group discussion in which students will be invited
to share their stories.
6. After the large group discussion has ended students will be told their reading assignment
for the evening and reminded they will have another quiz the next day.

Assessment: Students will graded on their quizzes to show they have done the reading and
carefully considered it. On the quizzes students will be expected to demonstrate understanding of
the readings. Their free writes dealing with the suppression of identity will be assessed on
whether or not that completed the desired product and if they stayed on task. When the students
are in their pairs as well as the large group, how well they listen, participate, and contribute to
the class will be assessed.

Day 3: (Detailed Lesson Plan #3)

11th grade English

Objective: To introduce the analyzing of identity; to introduce the lesson; to introduce the
primary text; to introduce the examining of one’s own identity; to consider the effects of when
someone else attempts to define your identity; to consider other’s dismissal of your identity; to
craft short stories in which identity is ignored; to share work with others; to get constructive
criticism from classmates; do demonstrate reading by doing well on the quiz.

Rationale: This lesson is primarily focused on identity. All teens struggle a bit with
discovering what their identity so this lesson is designed in hopes that it may prove helpful to
them. In the reading of American Born Chinese that students were expected to have done, they
were presented with several characters dismissing Jin Wang’s identity simply because they were
classifying him as a stereotyped Chinese boy. By looking at this example and comparing it to
times in which the students themselves have been victims of stereotypes that ignored their
identity, students will learn the importance of not judging a book by it’s cover.

PA State Standards:
PA.1.1.11.D. Learning to Read Independently: Identify, describe, evaluate and synthesize the
essential ideas in text. Assess those reading strategies that were most effective in learning from a
variety of texts.
PA.1.3.11.A. Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature: Read and understand works of
literature.
PA.1.5.11.A. Quality of Writing: Write with a sharp, distinct focus.
PA.1.6.11.A. Speaking and Listening: Listen to others.
PA.1.6.11.D. Speaking and Listening: Contribute to discussions.
PA.1.6.11.E. Speaking and Listening: Participate in small and large group discussions and
presentations.

Materials:
-Copies of primary text, American Born Chinese
-Post it notes with parts of identity on them, i.e. liking water polo or going to weddings
-Copies of Quiz #2

Activities/Procedures:

1. Students will all take a short quiz, which was based on the reading assigned as homework
the previous night.
2. Together, the class will participate in a large group, teacher led discussion in which the
section that was read for homework will be covered and critically analyzed. The manner
in which Jin Wang was treated will be important here. The stereotyping that classmates
and even faculty did that suppressed Jin Wang’s identity.
3. After the discussion students will be asked to participate in an activity that demonstrates
how difficult it is to show your true identity when someone is classifying you as someone
else. Students will be given post it notes with a possible part of an identity such as either
enjoying dancing or liking Italian food. Students will not be aware of what their post it
note says. Students will then be asked to talk to their classmates only about the thing that
is on their post it notes. In addition to asking classmates about what is on their respective
post it note they will be asked to try to talk about their identity. The purpose of this
exercise is to show how difficult it is to be true to ones own identity when someone is so
sure you are something else.
4. After everyone has had ample time to participate in the activity they will be drawn
 together for a large group discussion. In this discussion students will be made aware of
how difficult it is to be true to your identity when someone is constantly labeling you as
something you might not even be.

Assessment: Students will be assessed on how well they participate in the activity. They will
be expected to interact with a variety of classmates and stay on topic. Students how refuse to
participate or begin using derogatory language will be penalized accordingly. Students will
graded on their quizzes to show they have done the reading and carefully considered it. On the
quizzes students will be expected to demonstrate understanding of the readings.

Day 4:
• Quiz #3
• Discuss reading
• Begin Racism with relation to identity section (Racism part 1)- small group work

Day 5:
• Quiz #4
• Discuss reading
• Continue Racism with relation to identity section (Racism part 2)- introduce excerpt from
Art Spiegelman’s Maus.
• In pairs have students compare and contrast the racism present in Maus with that which is
shown in American Born Chinese then come together for large group discussion of what
we have found.

Day 6:
• Quiz #5
• Discuss reading
• The importance of artwork in American Born Chinese: since the text we are working with
is a graphic novel there is a huge importance placed on the art included. Students will be
expected to think about why the choice to make this story a graphic novel as opposed to a
strictly written novel. How do these pictures help to convey the messages in the text
involving identity? Does the importance of artwork add to or subtract from the
importance of the words? Students will be asked to form small groups and write
collaborative short papers.

Day 7:
• Quiz #6
• Discuss reading
• American Born Chinese’s story presents us with a sad truth of how many students
struggle with their own identity due to the ignorance of others. This is an important
device to display this relevant, realistic high school problem. Students will work with
excerpts from Alan Moore’s Watchmen and consider how both books serve as a form of
social commentary on problems from each of their respective times. This will consist of
small group discussions followed by an activity in which students will be asked to create
 a short comic strip in which their characters struggle with a real problem of today.

Day 8:
• Quiz #7
• Discuss reading
• Pair work-students will select characters from the text that seem to be confident with their
identity and place them in a situation that makes them struggle with it. This will be done
in a short story in which students will be evaluated on how true they remain to the
characters’ portrayal from the text.

Day 9:
• Quiz #8
• Discuss reading
• Character identity lesson: Comic books, both older and more current will be distributed to
the class. Students will be expected to investigate the protagonist and consider who the
happenings of the comic display the character’s identity as well as how the time period
affects it. Comics will be disbursed at the teacher’s digression, but comics such as Archie
would be more suitable for this lesson then violence laden books.

Day 10:
• Quiz #9
• Discuss reading
• The combination of Mythology and actual events: In the text the Mythical tale of the
Monkey King is combined with the more realistic stories of Jin Wang and Danny.
Students will be asked to write short stories in which they present and occasion when
struggled with an aspect of identity and incorporate a character from myth to help out.
• Provide stories of mythological characters in case students are unfamiliar i.e. Rama,
Odysseus, Thor, Gilgamesh, Beowulf, etc.

Day 11:
• Quiz #10
• Discuss reading
• How do outside factors influence one’s identity? Show students images or
advertisements, which encourage people to conform to specific roles. Break into small
groups and have students discuss how various things attempt to mold them into
something specific. Come back into large group and discuss ideas with one another.

Day 12:
• Quiz #11
• Discuss reading
• Students will work in pairs and discuss the impact of realizing Danny is Jin Wang. How
important is this moment to the story? How did Jin Wang change to become Danny?
What did Jin Wang have to give up in order to become Danny?
Day 13:
• Quiz #12
• Discuss reading
• Chin-Kee served as example of every negative stereotype about Chinese people rolled
into one. This was a way to serve as a reminder to Danny/Jin Wang who he was. Does it
sometimes take a negative reminder to get someone to realize who they are? Students will
work in small groups and discuss this topic. Afterwards they full come together are a
whole group and report the various findings.

Day 14:
• Quiz #13
• Discuss reading
• Freeze-frames (Adapted from Jason Whitney’s unit plan) In small groups choose a scene
from the text and arrange yourself as though you are acting it out. The audience will be
asked to figure out what scene it is.

Day 15:
• Quiz #14
• Discuss reading
• Large group discussion: How difficult is it for Jin Wang to reconnect with his true
identity after being Danny for so long?
• Free write: Students will be asked to write about what problems and difficulties might
arise when people attempt to return to their true identity.