Social Justice Activities:
Before reading this text, study the history of why Hmong people were forced to leave their homes. https://www.pbs.org/splithorn/story1.html.
Watch the video below. Yang describes this book as one of the real love stories of her life. Inspire memoir writing by asking- what are your real love stories? How do they carry you today and how will they carry you throughout your life?
Imagine you are Yang and make a list of what refugee camps are to her, as a child. Then study the refugee experience from other perspectives.
Study current Human Migration policies and how they relate to Kao's experience.
Diversity 9. Students will respond to diversity by building empathy, respect, understanding and connection.
Diversity 10. Students will examine diversity in social, cultural, political and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified.
Justice 14. Students will recognize that power and privilege influence relationships on interpersonal, intergroup and institutional levels and consider how they have been affected by those dynamics.
Reading Strategies:
Themes: Analyze what the father means when he says, "When someone falls, you have to pick them up and lift them higher than they were before."
Language: Analyze, "Your hands and your feet will travel far to find peace." Also, what do you think, "Humane Deterrance Policy," means?
Memoirs: Study what a memoir is and the techniques Yang uses to tell her story and stretch the reader's understanding of what it means to be forced to flee your home.