Introduction to the Ladder

First of all, this literature ladder has been created under the assumption that my students will be able to participate in an online blog, much like we have in this class. I understand that budget constraints may be likely in any situation, so this would also work fine with journaling. I just really like the way that the blog can serve as a multi-faceted teaching tool.

For privacy issues, students could have the option of making their blog posts public (to interact with their classmates) or keeping them private (only between the student and me). Students' parents should be included in the discussion, as well.

Next, I would like all students to determine how long their blog posts should be; therefore, I have not given them a mandated length. I would hope for enough content to fill a letter size page, but hopefully, the students will take the wheel here. If not, I would provide direction and encourage them to talk more. In situations like Rung Three, where the distribution among two blog posts are obviously different, I would direct the students to take note of that in their discussions, and that they would be graded according to the depth of what they talked about, not the length. The greater detail included, the longer the piece should be, anyway.

I have arranged this literature ladder by rung, and then by when the activity is to be completed, either before, during, or after reading the book.

Rubric is as follows, for a total of 100 points:

Rungs One & Two - 20 points
Activity One - 5
Activity Two - 5
Activity Three - 10

Rung Three - 20 points
Activity One - 5
Activity Two - 20

Rung Four- 30 points
Activity One - 10
Activity Two - 10
Activity Three - 10

Rung Five - 30 points
Activity One - 20
Activity Two - 10

Rung One & Two - Author and Characters

BEFORE

Activity One
Visit the following sites and blog a biography of the author. Summarize her major life events, and tell how the author was inspired to write the book. Do you have anything in common with the author? How might your life relate to hers?

Ji-Li Jiang Home Page
Author profile on LibraryThing
Author interview by Annie Wang on Chinese Culture Net

DURING

Activity Two
Use the following major character study guide to create a family tree (or series of interconnected family trees, perhaps) of the people in Ji-Li's life. Your design doesn't have to be perfect. Use either brackets or a traditional family tree style, or create a map that you understand even better. The purpose is that you understand the interconnectedness of the characters in Ji-Li's story.

Major Characters

Jiang Ji-li is a twelve-year-old girl growing up in China. She is happy, bright, and ambitious, but her fortunes change as the Cultural Revolution sweeps across China. She and her family suffer because of their class status.

Jiang Ji-yong is Ji-li’s younger brother. He becomes a target for bullies, also because of the family’s class status.

Jiang Ji-yun is the younger sister of Ji-li and Ji-yong.

Jiang Xi-reng, Ji-li’s father, is an actor who works at the Children’s Art Theater. He is held prisoner at the theater when false accusations are made against him.

Chen Ying is Ji-li’s mother. Once an actress, she now works in a sporting-goods store. She has occasional bouts of illness that make it necessary for Ji-li to take on more responsibility. Chen Ying writes a letter protesting the abuses to the family. The letter is discovered during a search by the Red Guard.

Grandma is Xi-reng’s mother. She lives with the family and helps take care of the children. Because her husband was a wealthy landowner, the whole family is given a poor class status.

Song Po-po, originally the children’s nanny and now the family’s housekeeper, lives in a room downstairs. When the political situation forces the Jiangs to let her go, Song Po-po continues to care for the family.

An Yi, Ji-li’s best friend, also suffers under the Cultural Revolution. Her mother is humiliated, and her grandmother is driven to suicide.

Du Hai is one of Ji-li’s classmates, a terrible student, and a bully. His mother is the Neighborhood Party Committee Secretary, ensuring that Du Hai has a good class status.

Chang Hong is a girl of excellent class status who befriends Ji-li.

Bai Shan is a boy who is ambitious and bright, like Ji-li. He shows interest in Ji-li, but she is afraid to respond to him.

Six-Fingers is a neighborhood man who is responsible for most of the searches and arrests.

Thin-Face is Ji-li’s name for a man who tries to get her to testify against her father. He leads the search of the Jiang house that discovers the incriminating letter written by Ji-li’s mother.

(Novel Study Guide original content copyright by Holt, Rinehart and Winston.)

AFTER

Activity Three
Focusing on a scene in the book that interests you, write a blog entry from another character's point of view.

Rung Three - Setting and Historical Background

DURING

Activity One
Follow this link and explore the site, which details the Cultural Revolution. You may also want to visit this Cultural Revolution media library and view video clips of the historical event. Next, explore this site and view images from the period of time Ji-Li grew up in. Now, think about how your world differs from that of Ji-Li's. Write a blog entry about your reflections.

Activity Two
Obviously, revolutions are commonplace world-wide from time to time. Revolutions have occurred in Germany, Russia, France, America, Mexico, Vietnam, and Iran, to name a few.

If you could start a revolution, what would you be fighting for? Write a blog entry about your revolution. Be sure to detail what you're demanding, and who you're demanding it from. Give your revolution purpose! Who's on the good side and who's on the bad side in your battle?

Rung Four - Interdisciplinary

BEFORE

Activity One
Look carefully at this Wikipedia entry on the Cultural Revolution. Explore at least three web sites that are cited within the wiki and, in a blog post, write a minimum of a two-paragraph summary for each web site you explore. You may choose to explore any topic related to the Cultural Revolution, as long as it is cited within the Wikipedia entry. The purpose of this activity is to understand that Wikipedia can be a useful resource if it is used as a starting point only. Many educators deter students from using Wikipedia, but each page's reference section can many times be useful in directing researchers toward more wholesome, trustworthy information.

DURING

Activity Two
Follow this link and look at some da-zi-bao from the Cultural Revolution. Now it's time to create your own! For this activity, you'll design a piece of revolutionary propaganda for your revolution. Posters must be at least 1 1/2 ft. wide by 2 ft. tall. Use whatever medium you desire.

Activity Three
Follow this link, listen to, and read some revolutionary songs from Ji-Li's childhood. Now, it's time to give your revolution voice. Write a revolutionary song (or poem) defining your purpose.

Rung Five - Personal Connections

DURING

Activity One
Immediately after reaching certain points in Red Scarf Girl, you will write blog posts reflecting upon the material you just covered. These posts will be due at page 51, page 155, and page 285. Talk about what has interested you the most about the book so far.

AFTER

Activity Two
Check out this web page, which talks primarily about the Four Olds. Write a blog entry about what would have labeled you "black" during the Cultural Revolution. What things do you now cherish that would've made you a target of the Red Army?