Absent Work Assignment: (Remember, this is due within a week of your absence)
Literarture Book: Page 99-106***Read the story “Two
do the following:
Kinds” by Amy Tan (1952- current) and
After finishing the story, write about how the following two song titles explain the author’s experiences with
her mother:
2 song titles: “Pleading Child”
“Perfectly Content”
Before reading the story, look back in your Literary Terms Glossary and give a definition for the following:
l. Connotation
2. Denotation
Write the above definitions on this page AND on your Literary Terms Handout (for further reference for tests).
Before reading the story, write a definition for the following words because they apply to the “Two Kinds”
story:
1. Prodigy
2. Sabotage
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE/ FOCUS:
Our focus with this story will be to identify IMPLICIT ideas from the text. IMPLICIT means “implied”, so the
ideas aren’t clear and spelled out for the reader. We, as the readers, must put the pieces together to interpret
the characters’ motives, moods, emotions, etc. It is very important that you understand the word IMPLICIT
because it is used a lot in testing. Also, the opposite of IMPLICIT is EXPLICIT. EXPLICIT is easier. The explicit
information in a text is “explained” (pay attention the ‘exp’ in both words to link the meanings). Explicit
elements in a story are clear, spelled out, and there is no question about their interpretation. Remember the
definitions of both of these words.
So...as you are reading “Two Kinds,” stop and answer the questions about IMPLICIT information as you go. I
have given you the page numbers to the left as a guide. Each answer should be several sentences in length.
Page 100: IMPLICIT (Implied): From the information on this page, the narrator of the story (Jing- Wei) uses
the allusion to Cinderella and the Christ child. In several sentences, explain what the young girl might see
herself achieving in the future from following the coaching of her mother.
Page 101: IMPLICIT: In several sentences, what are the possible reasons that you see for the narrator
becoming angry and determined to resist her mother’s expectations.
Page 102: IMPLICIT: Think about what we know about the mother. What do you think she will be motivated
to do after seeing this child perform on The Ed Sullivan Show? Explain in several sentences.
Page 103: IMPLICIT: Give two possible reasons as to why she didn’t try to be a good pianist.
Page 103: IMPLICIT: Waverly Jong is her cousin who is very accomplished at playing chess. Write two
possible ways that Jing-Wei and her mother could feel about the cousin. Explain why you think that.
Page 104: IMPLICIT: After reading this page, stop and think about how odd it was that Jing-Wei became
excited before she started her performance. What would be an IMPLICIT idea as to why she acted this way?
Answer this in a few sentences.
Page 105: IMPLICIT: After reading page 105, it says that the mother felt “that she had lost everything”. Why
might she mother have felt that way? Write your explanation in a few sentences. Also, why does Jing-Mei
feel that she, too, has lost everything?
Page 106: IMPLICIT: What do you think motivates Jing-Mei to refer so cruelly to the babies her mother lost?
Explain in a few sentences.
Page 107: IMPLICIT: Why do you think Jing-Mei feels frightened to ask her mother why she had given up
hope? Answer in a few sentences.
Page 107: IMPLICIT: Why do you think Jing-Mei didn’t accept the piano why her mother offered it to her?
Answer in a few sentences.
CLIMAX: What do you see as being the CLIMAX of the story and why?
Now that you have finished reading the story, go back to the first of your notes and fill in the box about the
song titles.
WHAT IDEA REALLY JUMPED OUT AT YOU AS YOU READ THIS STORY? Write a 4-5 sentence response of an
insight that you gained while reading this story. Explain with details from the story and link it to your own
experience, if possible.
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