American Born Chinese

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Creative Writing: Graphic Novel”

In this activity, students will retell a scene from a story in graphic novel format.

Yang uses the format of a graphic novel to allow the audience to both read and see the story. For this activity, retell a scene from a story in graphic novel format (3-5 pages). This could be a favorite childhood story, an interesting myth or fairytale, or even a story of your own creation. Use the questions below to guide your drafting process:

• Who is your protagonist? Who/what is your antagonist?
• Where and when is your scene set?
• What is the plot of your story, and what plot points occur in your scene?
• What is the climax of the scene?
• How does the story resolve? What circumstances in your scene contribute to the resolution?
• What important themes will your scene convey? Reflect on the ways the author shows the themes of Otherness and the Effects of Racism and Discrimination, Identity and the Limitations of Transformation, and Growing up in America as the Child of Immigrants In the novel; how can you reveal theme ideas in parallel ways?