Starter quiz
- Who is the author of 'Front Desk'?
- Mia Tang
- Kelly Yang ✓
- Elle McNicoll
-
- True or false? Kelly Yang based all of 'Front Desk' on her own childhood.
- True
- False ✓
- 'Front Desk' is which of these?
- an information text
- a children's fictional story ✓
- a biography
-
- Match the terms to their definitions:
- author⇔the person who writes a text ✓
- illustrator⇔the person who creates the drawings for a text ✓
- protagonist⇔the main character of a text ✓
- Where is 'Front Desk' is set?
- China
- United States of America ✓
- England
-
- Select the appropriate age group for readers of 'Front Desk'.
- 5-7 years olds
- 2-3 year olds
- 9-11 year olds ✓
- 6-7 year olds
-
Exit quiz
- Match the keywords to their definitions:
- protagonist⇔the main character in a story ✓
- immigrant⇔a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country ✓
- motel⇔a hotel designed mainly for motorists ✓
- plot⇔the series of events that make up a story ✓
- theme⇔a central idea that the author intends the audience to engage with ✓
- The protagonist of 'Front Desk' is ...
- Mia ✓
- Kelly
- Lupe
- Mr Yao
-
- Mia and her family immigrated from _____ to America.
- England
- China ✓
- Australia
-
- Are Mia's experiences in 'Front Desk' the same experiences faced by all immigrants?
- yes
- no ✓
- maybe
-
- Which of the following are themes within the text 'Front Desk'?
- life and death
- resilience and determination ✓
- identity and belonging ✓
- war
-
- Order the events from the author, Kelly Yang's, life:
- 1⇔immigrated to the US from China, aged six
- 2⇔lived in three different motels
- 3⇔attended Harvard Law School
- 4⇔became a writing teacher
- 5⇔began writing books
Worksheet
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Understanding where and when a story is set enhances our understanding of characters and events.
- Understanding the authorial context enhances our understanding of why authorial choices are made.
- 'Front Desk' is a fictional story, but the plot of the narrative is based on real events from the author's childhood.
- Kelly Yang is the author of ’Front Desk’.
- 'Front Desk' was published in 2018 and it has won many book awards.
Common misconception
Pupils may confuse the author's life experience with those of the protagonist.
Learning cycle 1 draws explicit comparisons and discussion around the similarities between the two.
Keywords
Protagonist - the main character in a story
Immigrant - a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country
Motel - a hotel designed mainly for motorists; they usually have rooms with parking directly outside
Plot - the series of events that make up a story
Theme - a central idea that the author intends the audience to engage deeply with
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