vocabulary
What does Solitude mean?
to feel lonly or a lone
Why is Tet important to Ha’s mother?
if you have a great day on New year’s eve it will predict your future
Routine 79
What does Ha draw? Why?
Ha was drawing food because she desire’s these foods. because she is hungry.
Unpack and Repack
What happens in this peom?
When his wife sees them she is not happy and sends them to the basement.
How does the butcher treat Ha and her mother in the poem? What evidence in the text supports your answer?
The butcher treats Ha and her mother badly. I know that because “ mother starts telling him to get her something he comes out with peas then ignore’s them because she was vientaim.
What does composure mean?
one having self control and calmness.
Inside out
What does Ha wish she will be able to do in the new year? Based on the end of the poem, will she be able to do these things? Why or why not
she wishes she could jump rope at night and never have to go under the bed when they hear the whistle.
What evidence in the poem tells us that Ha misses her home and her old life?
all she sees is water and land feels like something that she once knew and everything she does is the same routine. she takes a nap on a hammack
What is the mother's message at their family meeting
mother tells them the only thing they should focus on right now is learning English.
What does Ha do when Pink Boy runs at her?
Has ducks him and dodg his attack’s and is thrown to ground by someone unknown.
what does sonnet mean?
peom of fourteen lines with fixed ryhme scheme
Why do Ha and her mother go to the President’s speech?
because their husband is captured or killed, the president is giving them food.
Last Respects 85
What two objects does Ha place in the white handkerchief?
a doll and the dead chick.
How does Ha feel when the woman pats her on the head? Why does she feel this way
Ha is upset because she is being pityed on and she feels this way because mother told her that the pity giver feels better than the pity receiver.
Why does Ha get the papaya out of the trashcan?
Ha go gets the papaya out of the trash can because she feels guilty.
What does Giddy mean?
to feel dizzy
Think about what the president says and how mother reacts to what he says. What does mother think the president will do?
She thinks that he is lying and that he will leave.
ONE ENGINE
How does Mother feel in the poem? What evidence in the text gave you the answer?
Mother feels worried, our ship stops. Mother hugs me, and Mother would not let go
What is important to Ha’s mother? How can you tell?
Mother wants her kids to go to college. I know this because on page 136 the book says, “ Mother says one word: College.
What does the family learn in the letter from Father’s brother?
Ha’s family learns that no one knows where father is.
what does fermented mean?
unedrwent chemical breakdown or agitation.
CHOICE
What is the family taking with them and why?
one pair of pants, one pair of shorts, three pairs of underwear, sandals, toothbrush and paste, soap, rice, and Ha took her doll with her.
What is the man from Alabama looking for?
he is looking for a mechanic to fix his cars and tractors.
Why is Ha frustrated when she meets Miss Scott?
Ha is frustrated at Miss Scott because she laughs at Ha’s name.
A Sign
What is mother doing in this poem? Why is she doing this?
mother is chanting every night waiting for a sign that father is alive.