JOIN GRACES MAILING LISTYoull receive her Author Newsletter in your email inbox! How Do I Protect My Young Child from Cyberbullying? The effort is enormous, and they grow barely enough to feed themselves. Have students pay close attention to the detailed information regarding how the characters interact with the main characters, as He warns her that he only has time to answer one question. What details do you notice that show that this story is not taking place in the United States? Eventually she decides to run off on a quest to change her family's fortune. Think about how important the telling of stories was to Minli and Ba. While waiting in the Market of Green Abundance, Minli spends her coin buying a peach for a beggar. Lin's love of Chinese culture is evident in her creation of vivid new folktales that are built into the narrative in such a way that they become a seamless part of the story and their messages are thus relevant and meaningful. All storyboards are private and secure to the portal using enterprise-class file security hosted by Microsoft Azure. As a pre-activity, ask students to list the challenges Minli had to face (for example: living in poverty; being threatened by the monkeys; overcoming her fear to climb the bridge of string). The two then meet and after relating their adventures, set off once again, puzzled as to which is the real borrowed line. Find Symbols in the Story (learn about Chinese symbolism) This brings enormous wealth to Minlis village which alters her familys fortune dramatically. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.). My teacher said she was really surprised and she told me how she felt about my pet. Now the woman can see that she had fortune all along, but that she lost it when she lost her daughter. Then do the same for high ground: mountain, hill, crag, and slope. Powerful Stories About Martin Luther King Jr. Perfect for Moon Festival celebrations or Mother-Daughter Book Clubs, this kit provides an invite, posters and instructions for the journey-like game. Relive your favorite parts, test your memory and pretend to be on the journey yourself! The Question and Answer section for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a great Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Summary, Read the Study Guide for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, View Wikipedia Entries for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Along the way, she finds excitement, danger, humor, magic, and wisdom, and she befriends a flightless dragon, a talking fish, and other companions and helpmates in her quest. He in turn gives her a line of text written on a page that the Magistrate Tiger ripped out of the Old Man of the Moon's Book of Fortune. After high school, Lin attended the Rhode Island School of Design, where she earned a BFA in illustration. This set of Lesson Plans consists of approximately 132pages of tests, essay questions, lessons, and other teaching materials. Encourage students to consider why Grace Lin chose those particular words to describe the mountain. As they search, they come upon the goldfish man, who listens to their troubles and tells them his story. Minli is a strong-willed, young Chinese girl who lives in the Village of Fruitless Mountain. Less than half of the information of the notes is correct and relevant. What are three things you can do to make your narrative even better? In returning to Fruitless Mountain, Dragon also meets his mother, Jade Dragon. She supported herself designing for a party company, two years contributing to the worlds landfills as she puts it, until her first book was published. After contemplating her choices, Minli chooses to ask Dragon's question for him: Why can he not fly? Minli is a young ten-year-old girl with a fast and eager spirit, and is constantly ready for adventure. Amazed, Ma observes that the fortunes of the family have changed. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. Work on the first sentence together. Soup of the Day at Jama Rattigans Alphabet Soup, Book of Color Pick of the Day at Galley Cat. The game is an age-appropriate series of puzzles; kids are rewarded at 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. Resources for Socratic seminars for elementary school students can be found online. Magistrate Tiger/Green Tiger. The last date is today's En route she befriends a dragon who joins her quest. Order our Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Lesson Plans, teaching or studying Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. She said there will be a movie released on 11/21/2020, however the movie was never made. Students will provide detailed information regarding how the characters interact with the main characters, as well as challenges the characters face. In order to find the Old Man, the pair must find the Never-Ending Mountain. The meaning of that gift can only be revealed by reading the book. Minli (her name means "quick thinking") is the main character. Remind them that to be a narrative, a story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. How important is magic in the story? Plus, there is barely enough rice to feed the people there, causing Minli to develop a wish for good fortune. Many of the notes have correct information, but some are incorrect or missing. However, that is far from the end of this intricate tale. Near a mountain region. Minli realizes what is truly important in life and is thankful for her family. publication in traditional print. Put the character's name in the title boxes and choose a character and scene to represent each one. Much to the displeasure of Ma, Minli spends her precious money on a goldfish. It must have at least one character, a setting, and a plot or series of events that occur. Have a Feast (recipes to enjoy with the book). The author of where the Mountain Meets the moon is Grace Lin. Making Fruitless Mountain bloom! Tell students that they are going to read the book and keep a reading journal; explain how you would like them to proceed, i.e., how many pages or chapters to read and which journal questions to answer. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Minli's mother, Ma, instead despises the stories that Ba tells, feeling that they are simply "nonsense." In thanks, the fish tells Minli how to travel to Never-Ending Mountain to find the Old Man of the Moon, who may know how Minli can change her familys fortune. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin is a middle grade fantasy fiction novel that takes inspiration from Chinese folklore and details the journey of a young girl, Minli, as she embarks on a hero's quest to improve her family's circumstances. Not affiliated with Harvard College. Think back on some of your favorite characters from past novels you have Create a character map for the major characters. 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. GradeSaver, 25 April 2017 Web. The stone lion gives the thread to Dragon. In this activity, students return to the novel to analyze the folktale embedded within it. Jennifer Rothschild from School Library Journal stated in her review: "The author's writing is elegant, and her full-color illustrations are stunning. Characters included in the character map are: Minli Ma Ba Goldfish Man Dragon Buffalo Boy King Da-A-Fu A-Gong & Amah Green Tiger Rabbit Old Man of the Moon Copy Activity* If you read Where The Mountain Meets The Moon, you wouldn't be disappointed because it is an incredible book. She does not like for Ba to tell the stories to Minli because she thinks he is filling her head with ideas. 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. Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery), (You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.). . At that point, the string turns into a bridge Minli uses to walk up to the moon and visit the Old Man. "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" Grace Lin CHARACTER TRAITS WORKSHEET by Northeast Education $1.50 PDF CHOOSE A CHARACTER1. 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. 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 . While her mother worries and complains about their lot, her father brightens their evenings with storytelling. What an engaging book! What words bring it to life? 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. She can either ask him to fix her familys fortune, or she can ask him to help Dragon fly. Then ask them to share their best sentence with the class. Students will provide Explain what you mean by each value and show how it is illustrated in one of the embedded folk tales. Together, the two fly back to Minlis village, so she can return to her parents. This talking creature helps the heroine and her friend along their way early in the story. 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. Which gives the reader a better understanding of the village? Select colors and a pose appropriate to story and character traits. These characters are the parents of the heroine. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. [8][9]. He planned on doing whatever he could to marry his son to a member of the Imperial Family. They travel all through the night, searching. Meanwhile, at the Village of Fruitless Mountain, Ba and Ma have decided to return home and wait for Minli, and during this time, Ma feels remorse for having been so discontent when she already had her own precious treasure: her daughter. Show students a collage picture frame with multiple photos or draw one on the board. Back in their hut by Fruitless Mountain, Ma tells Ba a story. She accomplishes her tasks, undertaken with the help of a talking dragon, by showing generosity, courage and integrity. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon, who knows the answers to all of lifes questions. But her ingenuity helps her to survive as she meets and befriends a dragon, sees through the tricks of the King of the City of Bright Moonlight, finds a cure for Dragon's poison, and figures out how to communicate with the Old Man of the Moon. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. I think this story was okay but it was lacking adventure and it was hard to follow along. Minli's brave, clever, kind, and earnest character is utterly endearing. The setting is somewhere in China. At the end of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and in her essays, Lin shares photos and drawings and discusses how she came to use and adapt elements of Chinese culture in her stories. The single line of text upon it is usually unreadable, but sometimes during historically important moments, the words are intelligibleand they always say something different. 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. The kite magically transforms itself into a rope bridge, but it is too thin to carry Dragon. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. 2020 GRACE LIn, all rights reserved. For years, she and her siblings were the only Asian American children in her school and she was the only one in her class. 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. [7] Which characters in the book prove to be true friends? While Minli has this adventure, Dragon waits outside the city. I think it is good for many different ages, from 7-year-olds to 12-year-olds. The two unlikely allies travel together in search of the Old Man, coming upon many different places along the way. I was glad to see a few things from when I was younger and I started to play with them. After each assignment, review the journal questions in a class discussion or individual reading group discussions. A difficult choice faces the girl. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon begins with a description of a small girl, Minli, and her parents, who live in a poor village at the base of Fruitless Mountain. Those eye-opening visits made the folk tales and fairy tales her mother had shared with her as a child seem more alive. 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. "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Summary". (p19) In the book Where the Mountain meets the Moon, What is contained in the old man in the moon's book of Fortune? 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. Minli is restless and never content with her lot in life. When Minlis parents discover that she is missing, they run after her. This is quite a minor character. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Grace Lin 4.30 45,753 ratings5,600 reviews In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. I LOVED it! This strikes Minli because The Old Man is what she thought, only a character from her father's stories. Ma and Ba. Create a character map of the characters in the story. Be sure to include evidence from the text in their answers. Man of the Moon The angry magistrate tore a page from the Old Man of the Moon's book, which was the paper with the secret of happiness. The child of immigrants from Taiwan, Grace Lin was born in the United States in 1974 and grew up in New York State. During her journey, she comes across many challenges. Ma sits down at Bas feet and says that it is not his fault Minli left, but hers. (Most students will say it is very big and has a huge population; a few may be able to bring up current events involving China.) Mountain Meets the Moon . This is the god character who knows the future and permits the heroine to ask him a single question. Give each student a complete copy of worksheet 1 at the beginning. No one else can view anything. I cannot say enough good things about this book. (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. Ask students to choose a page at random and read aloud the most vivid sentence they can find to the class. I think it has a good message for readers and Minli is a good role model. It was written and illustrated by Grace Lin and published in 2009. Then photocopy the sheet to have students keep in their binders. Because of Minli's sacrifice to help a friend, she and her family receive everything they could ever have hoped for. Suddenly understanding what she needs to do, Minli asks the Old Man why Dragon cannot fly. Get Started Why or why not? Grace Lins website includes a number of essays that could meet nonfiction reading requirements while giving students more insight into her motivation, inspiration, and writing process. This is quite a minor character. Last Updated on May 6, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Choose a character to represent each of the literary characters. View all Lesson Plans available from BookRags. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Every day, the family works in the mud growing rice. Give them copies of Worksheet 1 or assign questions from the worksheet as the class progresses. 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). Along the way, Minli meets a special friend. Define a frame story and explain the complex way that subsidiary stories are embedded within the novel, Identify different types of challenges in the story. One day, after a goldfish salesman promises that his wares will bring good luck, Minli spends one of her only two coins in an effort to help her family. publication online or last modification online. Minli thus begins a traditional quest. thissection. Then the twins, and their grandfather A-Gong, nurse Dragon and lead the travelers to Never-Ending Mountain. (For example: ReadWriteThink's, Each student should have a notebook or composition book with a dedicated section for. Her grief at losing her children made Fruitless Mountain barren of growth. We walked down the hall and into the classroom. Distribute copies of Worksheet 2. Let students investigate online resources for folktales from China. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2.d:Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. Every night, Minlis father tells her stories about the Jade Dragon that keeps the mountain bare, the greedy and mean Magistrate Tiger, and the Old Man of the Moon who holds everyones destiny. Ma and Ba say that Minli is too little to do such a thing. The cellar was dark and kind of creepy. Seeing her mothers unhappiness, the daughter grew discontented and went away to try to change her familys fortune. Inspired by her fathers stories and dedicated to her family, Minli decides to leave and seek a more prosperous future for them all. The twins befriend Minli and want to help her. 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. You may use Worksheet 4: Narrative Rubric provided for both student self-assessment and your own final assessment. He wrote a single word on a sheet of paper, but the magistrates soldiers lost it on the way home. In addition, any storyboard can be made sharable, where a private link to the storyboard can be shared externally. Have students complete the worksheet. Knead the dough a few times so that the vanilla extract can distribute evenly. It is not too scary. Imagine how much more those books would have meant to me, she wrote later, if they had been books of substance, if they had reflected my life with more accuracy and heart, addressed concerns and struggles and triumphs that really affected me. She also loved the books of Chinese folktales that her mother gave her, in spite of their being too simply told. She invites them to come with her to see the Old Man, but they laugh and say, Why would we want to change our fortune? Minli is left to ponder these words as she flies a kitemade of both the paper and the thread from the City of Bright Moonlightinto the sky. Why did Minli also learn to be content? Click here for a PDF outlining an optional second activity. 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. Illustrate this character3. It is not as adventurous as I thought it would be. Try to elicit the feelings about the life of Minlis village that these words convey. This summer I finally able to purchase the book and re-read it a third time. One exceptionally effective way of conducting a critical discussion is by the Socratic seminar method which is increasingly popular. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.2:Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text. She says she is sorry. 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. Activity 2, Key Scenes: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, follow the directions at the beginning of Day 2. Writing the narrative of their own challenge gives students a chance to reflect on the themes (courage, persistence, imagination, resourcefulness) of the Lin novel from the first two lessons as they see them enacted in their own experience. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a wonderfully crafted tale with great messages on gratefulness, contentedness, self-sacrifice, faith and love. Give students a few minutes to survey the book and look at the pictures. 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. 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. They identify the friends and mentors who helped her, and the character traits that led to her success. When the students come to class, give them time to share their sentences from the pre-activity in small groups. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless story reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz and Kelly Barnhill's The Girl Who Drank the Moon. You can find this storyboard in the following articles and resources: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon characters in a Character Map. Common Sense and other associated names and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN: 41-2024986). This outline can serve as a reference for the teacher for the entire lesson.). Distribute Worksheet 3 and go over the directions with the students. Bitter and resentful, Minlis mother complains when her husband fills Minlis imagination with enchanting tales of Never-Ending Mountain and the Old Man of the Moon. ", Grace Lin, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.