She notices that he is wearing a piece of golden dragon jewelry, and she follows him. The CharactersThe Characters Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is filled with rich and varied characters: Minli, whose name means quick-thinking; Dragon, her companion on the . After her mother ridicules what she believes to be a foolish purchase, Minli sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon, who, it is told, may impart the true secret to good fortune. Grace went on a blog tour for her book. What do you think is the secret of happiness? Minli remains silent, absorbing this new information. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Think back on some of your favorite characters from past novels you have . This time, it says, You only lose what you cling to. After thinking this over, the king decides that giving the paper to Minli is the only way to avoid losing it. Readers of the book get to relive the story of Minli's journey, readers After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.). As the novel ends, the goldfish man glimpses Minli in a courtyard, looking up at the place where the Mountain meets the moon., "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Extended Summary" eNotes Publishing An editor Every day, the family works in. Comment on the use of imagery in "Games at Twilight.". From the beautiful design and the breathtaking full-color illustrations throughout, to the gentle humor and touching prose, this book is truly a gem. In the first part of the lesson, students read each of the embedded folktales as they cover the main narrative. The twins befriend Minli and want to help her. Draw a Dragon (that could come to life) Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man of the Moon to ask him how she can change her familys fortune. The Question and Answer section for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a great In moments, he disappeared from view into the shadow of Fruitless Mountain, and if it wasn't for the goldfish Minli had in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon study guide contains a biography of Grace Lin, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. You may value money, friends, family or ideals like honesty, generosity, and faith. Powerful Stories About Martin Luther King Jr. Without even asking the Old Man of the Moon, Minli has come to understand why people like the buffalo boy and A-Fu and Da-Fu seemed so happy: they are thankful for what they have rather than bitter about what they do not. Illustrate this character3. size). It will take more than a goldfish to bring fortune to our house, she says. What an engaging book! Frightened for her new-found friend, Minli goes for help and finds two twins: A-Fu and Da-Fu. After each assignment, review the journal questions in a class discussion or individual reading group discussions. When the magistrate heard about this, he decided that the family must have been trying to trick him. Ba, however, seems glad that Minli is so hopeful. These characters are the parents of the heroine. Have students complete the worksheet. If preparing a "Gallery" for the Optional Day 2. She is supposed to find the citys Guardian and ask for something called the borrowed line. She assumes that the Guardian is the king, so she leaves Dragon in the forest outside the city and goes in alone. Every day, the family works in the mud growing rice. When students have finished reading the book, hold a Socratic seminar or other type of discussion. Another main theme idea of this story is friendship. Her grief at losing her children made Fruitless Mountain barren of growth. I went down to the cellar the other day. Ask students to choose a page at random and read aloud the most vivid sentence they can find to the class. For number 4, you could even ask students to walk across the classroom to act out the sentence as they rewrote it. At the top of the bridge, Minli finds the Old Man of the Moon sitting in the center of a large room full of small clay figures. They will also appear in Google search results. "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Summary". Do you like books with magical elements? Then I dropped something and it made a loud noise. Along the way, Minli meets a special friend. Explain to students that they have been working mostly with the story of Minli and her quest, and that now they are going to look at the other stories that are woven into the main story. Order our Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Lesson Plans, teaching or studying Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Before students begin their draft remind them in the real world it is not a good idea for children to leave home to confront evil and danger. While Minli has this adventure, Dragon waits outside the city. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. (Something that takes great physical or mental effort to do successfully) Show students photos of types of challenges (see Preparation and Resources) and discuss the types of challenges shown. Students reading the book will not only share the adventure, but will learn much about traditional values in Chinese culture. "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" Grace Lin CHARACTER TRAITS WORKSHEET by Northeast Education $1.50 PDF CHOOSE A CHARACTER1. However, that is far from the end of this intricate tale. In the final activity and summative assessment, students plan and then write a personal narrative about a challenge they have overcome, using vivid descriptions of persons and places. The goldfish man asks a child in the street to direct him to Minlis house. [11], Renee Greenfield and Jennifer Rabold. [1][2] The novel received a 2010 Newbery Honor[3] and the 2010 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature. Using the borrowed line of text and the line of destiny, the adventurers stitch a kite that stretches into a bridge, and Minli goes on alone to meet the Old Man of the Moon. My mom and I first read it as part of my Sonlight curriculum and we loved it. Go over the worksheet to be sure that students understand it. Lins own full-color drawings open each chapter. Teachers can view all of their students storyboards, but students can only view their own. Ma and Ba camp in the forest, and Ba tells the story of a greedy magistrate who tried to steal the secret of happiness from a poor but otherwise perfect family. Despite her mothers disapproval of stories and dreaming, Minli gathers her courage, her resourcefulness, and her openness to new people and places, to take a remarkable journey to accomplish the impossible. Use vivid language to construct their own personal narrative. This Study Guide consists of approximately 29pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - Children will embrace this accessible, timeless story about the evil of greed and the joy of gratitude. Ma sits down at Bas feet and says that it is not his fault Minli left, but hers. When her parents find out, Ma is angry. He takes Minli there, and she tries to give him the one copper coin she has left. She spent all her time wondering why she did not have more money and better food and prettier clothes. He resolved to kill them for this impertinence, but when he and his army arrived at their house, they had mysteriously disappeared. Minli upsets her parents, who are frightened about what will happen to her. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2.d:Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. eNotes.com The main character, Minli, is a young Chinese girl scraping by with her poor parents in the village at the base of Fruitless Mountain. The boy is poor and has nothing but a buffalo but helps her find the king, who possesses a borrowed line of text, which is essential to finding the Old Man of the Moon. thissection. She meets an orphan boy who lives alone with only a water buffalo for company, and she tells him that she needs to see the king. It is a mystical dragon, born from a painting that was supposedly owned by the evil Magistrate Tiger (who serves as the villain of the book). The game is an age-appropriate series of puzzles; kids are rewarded at When Minli finds Dragon, it cant fly and is caught up in some ropes. Meanwhile, as Dragon waits outside of the city, he receives a string of destiny from one of the Guardians of the City. He wrote a single word on a sheet of paper, but the magistrates soldiers lost it on the way home. The dragon explains that he does not know how to fly and wants to learn, so Minli invites him to come with her to see the Old Man of the Moon, the only person who might be able to tell him how. Put the following sentence on the board: There was a mountain near the village. Then have students turn to the first sentence of. If you read Where The Mountain Meets The Moon, you wouldn't be disappointed because it is an incredible book. She says they make Minli dream instead of focusing on the reality of the familys poor fortune. This brings enormous wealth to Minlis village which alters her familys fortune dramatically. Andrew Medlar, School Library Journal*Starred Review* Gr 3-6 Living in the shadow of the Fruitless Mountain, Minli and her parents spend their days working in the rice fields, barely growing enough to feed themselves. Have students explain how they grew or changed because of this experience. Activity 2. All storyboards are private and secure to the portal using enterprise-class file security hosted by Microsoft Azure. Grace Lin, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Despite her mother's disapproval of stories and dreaming, Minli gathers her courage, her resourcefulness, and her openness to new people and places, to take a remarkable journey to accomplish the impossible. In order to find the Old Man, the pair must find the Never-Ending Mountain. Dragon realizes that this must be the borrowed line, so he tells them about Minli. Symbols & Motifs. Choose a scene or background that makes sense for the character. View all Lesson Plans available from BookRags. Read more than you ever thought you wanted to know about the backstory of the book! In a poignant essay entitled Why Couldnt Snow White Be Chinese? Lin discusses her sense of otherness and states that as a child, she found her dual identity to be a burden. The setting is somewhere in China. Many children are gathered there, and Ba is about to tell the story of Minlis adventures. This strong-willed, young Chinese girl lives in the Village of Fruitless Mountain and decides to run off on a quest to change her family's fortune. Rewrite one of the following passages to make it more vivid, using specific language and concrete details. This talking creature helps the heroine and her friend along their way early in the story. A battle between the Green Tiger and Dragon ensues, and Dragon is mortally wounded. Minli feels guilty when her father gives up some of his food for her fish. 4 Mar. Minli watches him go, feeling puzzled that he is so happy. Meanwhile, Minli sleeps for the night in the forest, only to wake up to find a trapped dragon, which she saves. At the end of the story, Ba says that he thinks nobody is meant to find Minli, just as the magistrate was not meant to find the paper that explained the secret of happiness. Have them compare their experience with Minlis adventure. Numerous collections of Chinese folktales can also be accessed through the library. Are all your sentences complete and correctly written? What is a true friend? Because of what seemed like a personal sacrifice in favor of helping a friend, Minli and her family receive all they ever hoped for and more. When he lands, he says that he feels like he is home. One exceptionally effective way of conducting a critical discussion is by the Socratic seminar method which is increasingly popular.
I really think you should read it! For example: Teachers may opt for their own method of discussion. Minli rescues Dragon and includes him in her quest to find the Old Man of the Moon. 2023 . While these tales are original to Lin, many characters, settings, and themes are taken from traditional Chinese folklore. She realizes that she cannot ask Dragons questionunless she chooses not to ask her own. [7] Jennifer Rothschild from School Library Journal stated in her review: "The author's writing is elegant, and her full-color illustrations are stunning. This is the god character who knows the future and permits the heroine to ask him a single question. Plus, there is barely enough rice to feed the people there, causing Minli to develop a wish for good fortune. They travel all through the night, searching. Think About Your Own Answers (with a reading guide) Using a classroom map, show students the location of China and ask them what they know about it. That is, does it have a beginning, a middle, and an end? I read it when I was around 7, and I thought it is AWESOME! Anonymous "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Characters". Common Sense and other associated names and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN: 41-2024986). They have a line of red thread that was once given to them by the Old Man of the Moon, who told them to keep it until it was needed. Still following the goldfishs instructions, Minli sets out for the City of Bright Moonlight. Optional Activity Grade Level Standard. Minli is a young girl, the only daughter of her mother, Ma, and father, Ba. It is not as adventurous as I thought it would be. Get Started Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. When Minlis parents discover that she is missing, they run after her. Give each student or pair a story to work with from the following list or let them choose one themselves, being sure that no two are working on the same story. Ask students to think of and share other types of challenges they have seen or experienced. The "rock" turns out to be the coveted Dragon's Pearl, which brings enormous wealth to her village. Give them copies of Worksheet 1 or assign questions from the worksheet as the class progresses. GradeSaver, 25 April 2017 Web. This talking creature helps the heroine and her friend along their way early in the story. The child of immigrants from Taiwan, Grace Lin was born in the United States in 1974 and grew up in New York State. Not affiliated with Harvard College. Emphasize that Minlis story is a fantasy; in the real world, it is dangerous for children to run away from home, and naturally it is impossible for them to scale a ladder to the moon. But the stories that the dad told I did like and it added more fun to the book and made me want to finish it. Try to elicit the feelings about the life of Minlis village that these words convey. I would recommend this book for children from age 9 to 99. If you read Where The Mountain Meets The Moon, you wouldn't be disappointed because it is an incredible book. Neither is sure which line is the one they need, so they decide this is another question for the Old Man of the Moon. Stop believing stories and stop wasting your time. This character visits the Village of the Fruitless Mountain early in the book and at the very end. Have them copy each days assignment into their notebooks; Make a photocopy of Worksheet 1 for each student and cut off a strip for each daily assignment for students to paste at the top of the notebook page; Cut off each assignment strip and paste it onto a sheet of lined paper. Ma and Ba say that Minli is too little to do such a thing. Tell students that before they write the story, they are going to practice the skill of using vivid language. She endeavors on a journey to find the Old Man of the Moon who will answer her question of how to find her family's fortune. It was a boring day, and I tried to figure out what to do. Jade Dragons four children took pity on the people and transformed their bodies into great rivers to nourish the land. She says she is sorry. She has written over a dozen books, many of them using Asian American child characters, in an effort to help Asian American children appreciate their heritage and to create the kind of books she wished she had been able to read when she was growing up. Many of the notes have correct information, but some are incorrect or missing. According to the goldfish, the wise man can answer Minli's question on how to bring good fortune to her family and the village. [4] It has been translated into Chinese, French, Hebrew, Romanian, Korean and Slovene.[5]. He is tied up with some ropes, so Minli cuts him free. The goal of this activity is to have students engage with the text through a series of focused questions listed by chapter and page in Worksheet 1. What details do you notice that show that this story is not taking place in the United States? Have them write three sentences about this challenge in answer to these questions: What qualities did you have to show to meet this challenge? She returns to Dragon and, following the Old Mans instructions, helps him pull a big, heavy bump off the top of his head. More books than SparkNotes. WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON is a fantasy-fiction story where Chinese Folklore is engraved throughout the story. A Newbery Honor book in 2010, this novel moves on from the ordinary lives of Asian Americans in her other books to a fantastical adventure in a timeless, traditional China. What words do you think make the description colorful? New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2009. . date the date you are citing the material. the end with a mysterious gift. who have not yet read the book get excited and ALL have a great time! She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.This is a wonderous novel with an epic journey and memorable characters in the tradition of The Wizard of Oz. My teacher said she was really surprised and she told me how she felt about my pet. Students will provide detailed information regarding how the characters interact with the main characters, as well as challenges the characters face. He tells her that she must hurry up and ask what she wants to know. Distribute copies of Worksheet 2. After contemplating her choices, Minli chooses to ask Dragon's question for him: Why can he not fly? My father came down the stairs and asked what I was doing down there. Ask students to write one final paragraph in which they compare themselves with Minli. (Teacher Resource: Plot Outline can serve as suggested answers. The principal told me that was not a good idea. Dragon cannot fly. Stories, drawn from a rich history of Chinese folktales, weave throughout her narrative, deepening the sense of both the characters and the setting and smoothly furthering the plot. One day I thought I would surprise my friends. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. It blends an adventure narrative with a female hero, a collection of traditional and invented folktales, and an array of Chinese-style paintings and woodcuts into an appealing and challenging reading experience. This book, a celebration of the importance of imagination and story, introduces upper elementary students to Chinese culture and tradition. It is about Jade Dragon, who used to be beloved by the people of the earth because she controlled the rain that made crops grow. The Old Man explains that, once every ninety-nine years, someone comes to ask him a question. Created by wonderful reader, Emme (age 11), and perfect for Book Clubs or families that read the book together, this board game is delightful fun. Far away from here introduces the suggestion of an exotic location and/or time; The Jade River suggest China, which is known for jade. They identify the friends and mentors who helped her, and the character traits that led to her success. The Question and Answer section for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a great thissection. The following day, Minli then sets out, freeing the goldfish so as not to burden her parents further, and leaves the village to find "the old man of the moon". However, at the last moment, the Old Man of the Moon transported the family magically to a new home, where they continue to livepoor but contenttoday. On August 20, 2015, Lin announced the sequel to the novel, titled When the Sea Turns to Silver. Consider the traits of that particular character. Now the woman can see that she had fortune all along, but that she lost it when she lost her daughter.
[1] [2] The novel received a 2010 Newbery Honor [3] and the 2010 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature. In the story that the girl told the Great Green Tiger she stated that another tiger had taken her brother to be his slave for life. Both Minli and Dragon have unique character traits and well-thought character development. After high school, Lin attended the Rhode Island School of Design, where she earned a BFA in illustration. If not by then, the film will probably not be made at all. Ma and Ba. Let students investigate online resources for folktales from China. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. She decides to let it go because of how bitter it made Ma. Together they encounter a talking goldfish, a boy with a buffalo, a king, a fierce green tiger and laughing twins before scaling Never-Ending Mountain. The protagonist Minli, like one of Joseph Campbells archetypal heroes, leaves her home, sets out on a quest, has to pass through many crucial tests to reach her goal, and returns to her village bringing back the aid that the villagers and her family need. It also suggests something valuable; The black mountain seems ominous and threatening; The fact that the mountain cut the sky like a jagged piece of rough metal suggests that it is harsh and perhaps dangerous. Encourage students to consider why Grace Lin chose those particular words to describe the mountain. Be sure to include evidence from the text in their answers. Most of the sections of the character map were at least attempted and work is presentable. Amazed, Ma observes that the fortunes of the family have changed. This summer I finally able to purchase the book and re-read it a third time. Questions to ask during the editing process: EDSITEment is a project of theNational Endowment for the Humanities, Grace Lin: Sharing Asian Traditions with Young Readers, Member of Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team, Chinese Dragon: A Powerful Metaphor in Chinese Cultural History", Lions, Dragons, and Nian: Animals of the Chinese New Year, Why Couldnt Snow White Be Chinese? She grows up on tales of magical people and places from Ba, her father. This strikes Minli because The Old Man is what she thought, only a character from her father's stories. Chinese Lesson (write the Chinese characters for mountain and moon) How does this character change over time? Written by people who wish to remainanonymous. This is a good time to show students how to use a print or online thesaurus, but remind them only to use words that they are comfortable with; a fancy word is not necessarily the best word. Espaol (prximamente) - volver al inicio, Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More, Common Sense Selections for family entertainment, Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More, Growing Up Queer: Thoughtful Books About LGBTQ+ Youth, Check out new Common Sense Selections for games, Teachers: Find the best edtech tools for your classroom with in-depth expert reviews. She accomplishes her tasks, undertaken with the help of a talking dragon, by showing generosity, courage and integrity. They become friends, and Dragon offers to be her steed for the journey, despite the fact that he cannot fly, unlike other dragons. He remembers a story he has recently heard about a family from the area giving a dragons pearl to the king of the City of Bright Moonlightwho responded by bestowing the familys whole town with generous gifts of seeds and equipment for farmers.
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