Lesson Plan for
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
For High School Level Students
Samra Hausey
English 280 – Section# 39264
Dr. Kathleen Dunley
Dec 31st, 2012
Hausey 1
Samra Hausey
Dr. Kathleen Dunley
English 280 – Section# 39264
Dec. 31st, 2012
Lesson Plan for
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
For High School Level Students
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang is a graphic novel which covers stereotypes,
finding ones identity and the struggle of being different than other people. This book would be a
great addition to an English class at the high school level especially to cover these subjects.
Students in this age range will be able to comfortably handle to slight crude humor as well as the
serious of parts of the book. Three different stories are woven together about the Monkey King,
the All-American white boy Danny and the second-generation Chinese boy Jin Wang. These
tales come together to find “acceptance in a world different from theirs” (Neibauer).
Begin the lesson by passing out the Vocabulary list and reading aloud the definitions. The
Word Search will be for homework. Then pass out the true/false anticipation survey and
encourage students choose ONE answer and defend this choice (Mortensen AG). As the class
goes through this novel, refer back to it to see if opinions have changed due to the reading. Next,
discuss what a stereotype is, be it good or bad and “Explain that when we make assumptions
about an entire group of people… [they] influence our attitudes… making a fair judgment about
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someone or something is difficult” (Unkown). Write different ethnic groups on the top of a few
sheets of paper. Examples are: White, Black, Asian, Woman, Jewish, Native American, etc. Pass
these around the class room having each student write a stereotype for each without repeating. At
the end, post them up where students can read them. Discuss with them the following:
-How did these stereotypes made you feel?
-What do you notice that these stereotypes have in common?
-Where have you seen these portrayed: TV, movies, magazines, books, etc?
-How do you think a stereotype might cause someone to act unfairly toward another person?
A follow-up homework assignment for this section could be having the students identify
stereotypes in the media and keeping a diary for the next week about it. An example would look
like the following:
Date | Name of Show, Movie | Group Stereotyped | Stereotype Portrayed | Thoughts or Feelings
| or Product Advertised |
| Experienced
1/1/13| The Big Bang Theory | Jewish
| Loud mother
| Is this true?
Begin reading the first half of American-Born Chinese (ends at page 106) during this
week. Leave time for discussion of Chin-kee, Danny, the Monkey King and Jin Wang as they
appear. Also discuss possible importance of Wei Chen, Steve, Amelia and Suzy. How did the
students feel about the racist incident on page 96? Have the students write a few paragraphs (300
words or more) on how they feel about the book so far and how they relate to the identity and
stereotyping issues within it.
Have students read the ICV2 interview with Gene Luen Yang as well as view
America.gov’s interview for American Born Chinese as well. Discuss both in class before
continuing the book. After finishing the book, ask the class how they feel about whom Danny,
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Chin-kee and Wei-chen really are. Review the issues concerned in the novel: Identity,
Stereotyping, Coming of Age, Friendship and Vocabulary (Mortensen CVA). Display this Prezi
and engage in class discussion: (http://prezi.com/atr1oycqgiri/american-born-chineseissues/?auth_key=47d1aceb77001ee4a4054527bdb88e0454bfa665&kw=viewatr1oycqgiri&rc=ref-17475057)
Finally, have the students write a few paragraphs (300 words or more) on how they feel
about the book now, referring back to the AG survey at the beginning and if any opinions have
changed regarding those subjects. Also review the Stereotype Diary and how students have
become more aware of them in their surroundings.
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American Born Chinese Vocabulary List
1.) American-Born: A child of foreign descent whose parents were born in another country.
2.) Antiquity: of ancient times.
3.) Chinese: people from the country of China and surrounding areas.
4.) Deity: God or Goddess.
5.) Descend: to move down something.
6.) Dissipate: disperse; disintegrate.
7.) Eloquence: forceful or persuasive.
8.) Emissary: representative or agent of someone else.
9.) Fervent: passionately intense about something.
10.) Frolic: to move about cheerfully.
11.) Haggle: to bargain about the price of something.
12.) Humanoid: having human characteristics.
13.) Ignoramus: utterly ignorant person.
14.) Imbecile: fool or idiot.
15.) Impudence: lacking modesty; showing a disregard for others.
16.) Jeopardize: to endanger.
17.) Parable: a story told to teach a moral or spiritual lesson.
18.) Prerequisite: something required before something else.
19.) Rollicking: carefree; high-spirited.
20.) Tangible: touchable.
21.) Twit: a silly, annoying person.
22.) Vulnerable: easily harmed or hurt.
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American Born Chinese
Anticipation Guide
Name _______________________________________
Answer “True” or “False” to what you believe about each of these statements.
True False
1. ___ ___ An individual’s value is determined by how much they accomplish?
2. ___ ___ True friendship means always agreeing with each other.
3. ___ ___ Anyone who lives in America should learn English.
4. ___ ___ If you want something that is good, it is okay to change yourself to get it.
5. ___ ___ We should always defend friends and family members, even when they embarrass us.
6. ___ ___ We should follow our family traditions, even when they make us unhappy.
7. ___ ___ When something is hard, the best answer is to quit, or run away.
8. ___ ___ When you have something to say, it is always best to say it.
9. ___ ___ If you have feelings for someone, you should tell them.
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American-Born Chinese Vocabulary Word Search
Antiquity
Emissary
Ignoramus
Prerequisite
Deity
Fervent
Imbecile
Rollicking
Descend
Dissipate
Frolic
Haggle
Impudence
Jeopardize
Tangible
Twit
American-Born
Chinese
Eloquence
Humanoid
Parable
Vulnerable
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Hausey 7
Works Cited
ICV2. Interview with Gene Luen Yang and Mark Siegel. GCO LLC, 2007. Web.
(http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/10833.html)
Mortensen. Anticipation Guide. BYU. 2009. Web.
(http://novelinks.org/uploads/Novels/AmericanBornChinese/Anticipation%20Guide.pdf)
---------. Concept/Vocabulary Analysis of American Born Chinese. BYU. 2009. Web.
(http://novelinks.org/uploads/Novels/AmericanBornChinese/Concept%20Analysis.pdf)
Neibauer, Adrian. American Born Chinese Review. The Graphic Classroom, 2011. Web.
(http://www.graphicclassroom.org/2011/10/american-born-chinese.html)
Unknown. Lesson Plans for American Born Chinese. Graphic Novels in the Classroom,
2011. Web.
(http://graphicnovelsintheclassroom.wikispaces.com/Lesson+Plans+for+American+Born
+Chinese)
Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. New York, New York: Square Fish Books,
2006. Print.
Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese Interview. America.gov: 2009. Web.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYCZqt5WSOM)