An E-mail Project on Young Adult Literature in CMC

While-reading activities accompany the actual reading of the novel. Many different tasks are possible, e.g. make the pupils write letters which are similar to those Ahn Joo writes to her mother.

1.) Ahn Joo’s mother leaves her family in a cab which has the word "reliable" written on its doors. Ahn Joo doesn’t know the meaning of the word reliable. She asks her teacher who explains the meaning of the word and tells her to write an acrostic (chapter 3, page 23/24).

Task: Read Ahn Joo’s acrostic of the word "reliable". Then think about things and persons you can rely on (family, friends,….). Write your own acrostic and send it to your partner(s).

2.) Ahn Joo has to overcome the loss of her mother. Therefore, she starts writing letters to her mother although she doesn’t know where she lives (Chapter 11, page 105-109). After having read chapter one the pupils should write a letter to the mother without knowing the letters which can be found in chapter 11.

Task: Imagine that you are Ahn Joo. Write a letter to the mother and express your feelings.

Send this letter to your partner(s).

3.) Boris is Ahn Joo’s first boyfriend. He is the only person she can rely on after her mother has left her. In Chapter 8 (p. 72) Boris and his family move to Texas.

Task: Imagine that you are Ahn Joo. Write a letter to Boris and tell him what has happened since you moved to Potomac, Maryland. Send this letter to your partner(s).

4.) Ahn Joo has got an identity problem because some people think that she is Chinese or Japanese . This makes her very angry.

"Why you giving me that Chinese look like you can’t speak no English? You Chinese? No, I am not Chinese, nor am I Japanese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, dirty knees or look at these. I am a Korean-American. They sneered at me with their what-the-difference look. The difference is as apparent as night and day, rich and poor, salvation and damnation, heaven and hell, awareness and ignorance, literate and illiterate, you and me". ( Chapter 12, p. 111)

of them has to be Chinese because those eyes, those eyes aren’t Korean eyes. The shape of your face, your hair, even the way you blink. It’s not Korean." (Chapter 13, p. 129)

Task: Have you made similar experiences, e.g. when you spent your vacations in a foreign country? Did someone ever mistake you being… because of your outer appearance or your language? How would/did you react? Write an e-mail to your partner(s).

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