Dragonwings by Laurence Yep

Grade 7, Semester 2 Lexile 870L
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Dragonwings, Laurence Yep
In the first years of the twentieth century, 8-year-old Moon Shadow leaves China to join his father, Windrider, in San
Francisco. Moon Shadow learns that his father, a master kitemaker, dreams of building and flying his own airplane.
Chinese tradition and culture come vividly to life as father and son face the challenges of living in America. They
experience discrimination, but also make valued friends. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire bring destruction
but new opportunities for the boy and his father. In the dramatic conclusion, Moon Shadow and Windrider execute a
dangerous attempt at flight.
I.D.3 Main Characters:
The Company – a laundry business run and operated by the
Chinese in San Francisco
White Deer:
Cook & devout
Buddhist
Windrider (father)
Windrider is not a co-owner
of The Company yet.
Moon Shadow (Windrider’s
son)
Hand Clap
Bright Star (Uncle) in his eighties,
has a son named Black Dog who
belongs to the brotherhood “The
Sleepers”
Lefty from
Canton
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Pre-reading:
Here are some things that will help you understand the book before you get started:
Land of the Golden Mountain = United States of America, specifically San Francisco
Demons or White Demons = Americans
Tang or Tang People = The Chinese people who helped settle land 1,000 years ago
Queue:
This is a picture of an elderly Chinese American with a
queue. The Chinese queue was a specific hairstyle worn
by the Manchus of central Manchuria and later imposed
on the Han Chinese in China. The hairstyle consisted of
the hair on the front of the head being shaved off above
the temples and the rest of the hair braided into a long
ponytail, or queue. The ponytail was never to be cut for it
would justify execution as treason. In the early 1910s,
although the Chinese no longer had to wear it, many still
wore it as a tradition.
This is a rice paddy, a field that is a flooded piece of land used for growing rice in countries of east, south
and southeast Asia.
Tuberculosis: In the past, tuberculosis has been called consumption, because it seemed to consume people
from within, with a bloody cough, fever, pallor, and long relentless wasting.
Confucius (Chinese: 孔夫子; pinyin: Kǒng Fūzǐ; Wade-Giles: K'ung-fu-tzu), lit. "Master Kung,"[1]
September 28, 551 BC - 479 BC) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and
philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought and life. Confucius'
thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism
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Traditional
Chinese
电
开
东
车
红
无
鸟
热
时
语
佛
惠
拜
黑
冰
兔
妒
English
electricity
open
east
car, vehicle
red
nothing
bird
hot
time
language
Buddha
favor
pray, worship
black
ice
rabbit
jealousy
Traditional
Chinese
龙
龟
岁
图
团
转
广
恶
丰
脑
乐
气
学
体
点
猫
虫
English
dragon
turtle, tortoise
age, year
picture
group
turn
wide, broad
bad, evil
abundant
brain
fun
air
learn
body
point
cat
insect
Chapter I: The Land of the Demons
I.B.2 Vocabulary Preview:
Amiably
good-natured
Dubiously
doubtfully
Dynasty
succession of family rulers
Heirlooms
treasured family possessions
Insolent
disrespectful; rude
Intuitive
instinctive, by hunch
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I.D.4 As you read fill in the chart below:
Character
Hand Clap
Distinguishing traits
Exaggerates; good humor
Bright Star (Uncle)
White Deer
Lefty
Black Dog
Windrider
Moon Shadow
I.C.1 On page 24 the author states:
“There was a breeze blowing down the hill and the men had gathered outside, standing on the sidewalks,
their hands behind their backs, talking amiably. In their dark tunics and pants, they looked like shadows – a
street of shadows, flitting here and there…”
In this quote describe what the author means by “they looked like shadows”
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I.B.2 On page 25 the author states:
“Then the vendors had to dodge nimbly to avoid being trampled under the heavy hooves, while demon
drivers shouted largely unintelligible curses at them.”
What does “dodge nimbly” mean?
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I.C.4 On page 26, re-read the second paragraph that begins “I should say now that there were no
women…” On the following lines paraphrase what this paragraph is about, be sure to include important
supportive details.
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I.C.4 Re-read this poem from page 28:
“Upon my bed
Lies the bright moonlight
Like frost upon the earth.
Lifting my eyes,
I see the bright moon.
Closing my eyes,
I see home.”
What do you think this poem means from Lefty’s point of view?
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I.B.2 On page 29 what is “Mah-Jongg?
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I.B.2 On page 31 what does “dialect” mean?
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I.C.4 Read only page 40 then predict what you think will happen next.
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Father said: “I had gone to sleep with the others, but I woke to find
myself on a strange beach, I scooped up some of the sand and saw
that it was really tiny sapphires that made noises like laughter…”
I.C.4 Create a drawing below of what you think and interpret
Windrider’s (Father’s) story to be while you read pages 45 – 60.
I.B.2 & I.B.3 In reading page 51 what do you think the following words mean:
Pg. 51: Ruby: ______________________________________________________________
Pg. 51: Turquoise: ___________________________________________________________
Pg. 51: Jade: ______________________________________________________________
Pg. 51: Bone: ______________________________________________________________
Pg. 51: Sinew:______________________________________________________________
Pg. 51: Tissue:_____________________________________________________________
Pg. 51: Polltice:_____________________________________________________________
Pg. 55: Iridescently:__________________________________________________________
I.C.4 Why does Moon Shadow refer to white people as “demons”? Do you think Moon Shadow will still feel
this way after he has spent some time in the United States?
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I.C.1 Pages 63 – 65, the author describes Moon Shadow’s sixteen-hour day,
Summarize what Moon Shadow does for that long of time, compare that to what you do during that amount
of time.
Moon Shadow’s 16 hour day
My day:
The Americans as well had participated in the whole "dirigible story". An American inventor Thomas S. Baldwin had made a 16
meter long ship, the "California Arrow, that had a Curtiss motor of 15 kilowatts in power. In 1908, he had sold it to the American
military forces. This machine was the first American military airship.A year earlier, an American journalist, Walter Wellman, tried to
reach the North Pole with his dirigible but did not make it.
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This is a photo of the Wright brothers’
plane.
I.C.4 Read pages 89 – 97. Using complete sentences summarize the search for Black Dog, including
specific details that are interesting and support your summary.
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I.C.1 During pages 94-100 Black Dog is caught by Lead Hand and accused of beating and stealing money
from a woman, if it were not for Windrinder, Black Dog would have been shot.
Explain how the author lets the reader know that Black Dog is addicted to cocaine include supporting
details from the text to support your answer.
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I.C.1 On page 110, why was Lefty standing outside Windrider’s door?
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I.C.1 When Windrider left why did Moon Shadow follow his father?
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I.C.4 Pages 114-117 Include important details in your summary of the fight between Windrider and Black
Dog. Why were the others involved?
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I.C.1 Page 131, describe who is “Stove King”, and what does he do?
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I.C.1 Page 136, What is a “stereopticom”? Briefly describe and then draw an image of what you think
“stereopticom” is.
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Stereopticom -
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I.C.1 Read pages 137 – 143. In the boxes below compare and contrast the dragon tales of Windrider and
Moon Shadow and the dragon tales of Miss Witlaw and Robin.
Dragon tales of Windrider & Moon Shadow
Dragon tales of Miss Witlaw & Robin
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Glider of 1910
I.B.2 On page 157 what does the word “schematic” mean?
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I.B.2 On page 159 describe what “configuration” means?
I.B.2 On page 162 what does “aeronautical” mean?
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I.C.4 On page 162 Robin says
“And as for telling whoppers, there probably never was your like.
You tell some mean stories about dragons.”
What did Moon Shadow think Robin meant when she said this?
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I.D.10 What does Robin really mean by this statement?
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I.B.3 On page 164 what does “Awash with gore” mean?
I.C.4 Re-read pages 166 – 170. Write a summary of these pages with complete sentences, including
important and supportive details.
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I.D.10 Re-read the last paragraph on page 182. What is Robin trying to have Moon Shadow do? Why?
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I.B.2 What does the word “constellation” mean?
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I.B.2 On page 189 what does the word “bribe” mean?
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The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California and the coast of Northern
California at 5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and inland as far as central
Nevada. The earthquake and resulting fire is remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United
States. The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire, estimated to be above 3,000,[5] represents the greatest loss of
life from a natural disaster in California's history
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I.C.1 On pages 197 – 216, the earthquake occurs, write down the characteristics of the earthquake, what
happened, when and who did the earthquake affect? What does the town look like now?
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I.D.10 In the quote, Windrider, a Tang man, describes Miss Whitlaw as “She is a superior woman.”
Why is this statement so important?
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I.C.4 Review pages 229 – 236. Summarize the sequence of the first night of tenting after the earthquake.
Include important details in your summary.
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I.C.1 On page 245, Uncle, and everyone else is tired of being moved around from place to place after the
earthquake. The soldiers are pushing the Tang people around at gunpoint until Uncle comes up with a plan.
What is Uncle’s plan?
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I.D.10 On page 250 Windrider states: “Yes, and you go on losing those new friends that you make just
like you lose the new house you build. Don’t you want something better, purer, freer in this life”?
What does Windrider mean by this statement?
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I.C.1 What is Windrider’s solution to this problem?
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I.C.4 On page 256
“. . . but it was like trying to describe colors to a blind man.”
What does this quote mean?
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Ferry service for passengers and automobiles.
I.C.4 On page 263 Re-read Moon Shadow’s letter from his mother then summarize in complete sentences
what she is telling Moon Shadow to do.
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I.C.1 Page 270: How long did it take Windrider and Moon Shadow to build the aeroplane?
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I.C.1 Explain in complete sentences what part of the aeroplane was covered in canvas?
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I.D.10 When you read page 270 what images come to your mind? Draw those images below:
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I’m not going to build another Dragonwings. When I was up there on it, I found myself wishing you were up
there, and your mother with you. And I realized I couldn’t have the two of them together: my family and
flying. And just as I saw the hill coming at me, I realized that my family meant more to me than flying. It’s
enough for me now to know that I can fly.”
“But what about becoming a dragon?”
“Ah, well, there’s more to being a dragon than just flying,” Father said…”
I.D.10 What characteristics and attributes was Father referring to when he said,
“Ah, well, there’s more to being a dragon than just flying,”?
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