Answer Key: Amy Tan

Lesson Plan: Amy Tan: More History and Family Secrets

II. While Reading Activities

Vocabulary

Word Inference

  1. paradox |ˈparəˌdäks| noun a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory: in a paradox, he has discovered that stepping back from his job has increased the rewards he gleans from it.
  2. enthralled |enˈTHrôl|(also Brit. enthral ) verb ( enthralls, enthralling , enthralled ) [ with obj. ] capture the fascinated attention of: she had been so enthralled by the adventure that she had hardly noticed the cold.
  3. enduring |enˈd(y)o͝oriNG| adjective continuing or long-lasting: he formed a number of enduring relationships with women | an enduring problem.
  4. elegant |ˈeləgənt| adjective pleasingly graceful and stylish in appearance or manner: she will look elegant in black | an elegant, comfortable house.
  5. perspective |pərˈspektiv| noun a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view: most guidebook history is written from the editor’s perspective.
  6. sumptuous |ˈsəm(p)CHo͞oəs| adjective splendid and expensive-looking: the banquet was a sumptuous, luxurious meal.
  7. idiosyncratic |ˌidēəsiNGˈkratik, ˌidē-ō-| adjective of or relating to idiosyncrasy; peculiar or individual: she emerged as one of the great idiosyncratic talents of the Nineties.
  8. betrayals |biˈtrā| verb [ with obj. ] be disloyal to: his friends were shocked when he betrayed them.
  9. ominous |ˈämənəs| adjective giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen; threatening; inauspicious: there were ominous dark clouds gathering overhead.
  10. smarmy |ˈsmärmē|adjective ( smarmier , smarmiest ) informal ingratiating and wheedling in a way that is perceived as insincere or excessive: a smarmy, unctuous reply.

Source: Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus

Reading Comprehension

True /False/NA-Statements

  1. F- Accordig to the article the novel opens with 7-year-old Violet Minturn.
  2. F- Violet’s father is a Chinese painter.
  3. NA Violet’s mother had a happy childhood.
  4. T- Violet’s father, Lu Shing, met her mother in San Francisco.
  5. NA We learn that Violet’s father was a little town in China.
  6. T- Violet discovered Lu Shing’s landscape painting, “The Valley of Amazement”  when she was little.
  7. F- Lulu is an enterprising and astute businesswomen.
  8. T- In the novel Violet was abandoned by her mother.
  9. T- Within the novel Tan loops back to tell the story of Lulu’s early years.
  10. F- LuLu meets an American who tricks her.

 Grammar Focus

Structure and Usage

I. 2. Tan created portraits of fierce immigrant mothers.

II. 3. Tan sets the stage with sumptuous furnishings.

III. 2. Violet and her mother reinvent themselves.

IV. Listening Activity   

Video Clip: Amy Tan Discusses  The Valley of Amazement.

 While Listening Activities

True /False/NA-Statements

  1. F- Amy Tan’s books have sold more than 5 million copies world wide
  2.  T-Her books have been translated into  35 languages.
  3. NA- Many Chinese people  read her novels.
  4. T- Tan found a photo of her grandmother which led her to write this novel.
  5. F- Amy Tan’s grandmother was dressed as a courtesan in the photo.
  6. F- A courtesan  was a woman who courted men in high-class brothels in Shanghai.
  7. T- In the novel the protagonist Violet is half American and half Chinese.
  8. F- According to Tan, the courtesan’s life was one of beauty and brutality.
  9. T-During this era, Chinese women were restricted in general.
  10. T- Tan wants readers to understand the book is about mothers and daughters, and how people are shaped by their circumstances or by choices they make.