Unlocking Identity

Unit: Unlocking Chinese Cinderella

Lesson 1 of 15
Year Level: Year 9
Curriculum Area: English
NCEA Alignment: Junior Secondary | Aligned to The New Zealand Curriculum (Level 4–5)
Big Ideas: Understanding how literature reflects culture, identity, and resilience.
Enduring Understandings:

• Authors draw deeply from their cultural backgrounds and personal experiences.
• Literature provides a lens through which we can explore complex themes such as identity, family and belonging.

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🧠 Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, students will:

• Identify key facts about Adeline Yen Mah and her cultural background.
• Understand the socio-cultural and historical context in which Chinese Cinderella is set.
• Begin to explore the major themes — particularly family, identity and resilience — in the story.

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✅ Success Criteria

Students can:

• Articulate at least 3 key facts about Adeline Yen Mah and her childhood.
• Describe one aspect of Chinese culture or history relevant to the novel.
• Express a personal opinion about one theme introduced in the story and how it might relate to their own world.

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⏰ Time Allocation

Time	Activity
0–10 min	Mihi / Karakia / Class Warm-Up
10–20 min	Author Exploration: Who is Adeline Yen Mah?
20–35 min	Mini Culture Carousel
35–50 min	Theme Discovery: Family, Identity, Resilience
50–60 min	Reflection + Term Journals Setup

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🌱 Culturally Responsive Practices

• Begin with a mihi and optional karakia to support tikanga Māori and manaakitanga.
• Place emphasis on how Adeline's experience as a minority echoes the experiences of other marginalised voices in Aotearoa.
• Encourage diverse interpretations and make space for ākonga to connect with the protagonist beyond culture — through shared emotions or experiences.

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🧩 Resources Required

• Printed A4 author biography handouts (Adeline Yen Mah)
• 4 x interactive mini-posters about 1940s China (culture, gender roles, language, family)
• “Theme Cards” (3 with sample quotes or blurbs for each theme)
• Student Notebooks or Term Journals
• Whiteboard and markers
• Painter's tape or magnets (for carousel posters)

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🔍 Lesson Breakdown

0–10 min | Mihi + Class Warm-Up

• Begin with a quick welcome and mihi led by teacher or nominated student.
• Pose the warm-up question on the board:

  “How much do your family and background shape who you are today?”

• Students pair-share for 1 minute each, then share highlights in a group discussion.

Kaiako Tip: Draw a visual mind map on the board from students' responses—link it to the novel’s theme of identity.

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10–20 min | Author Exploration: Who is Adeline Yen Mah?

• Hand out brief author biographies. Read aloud as a class with pause points for understanding. Clarify difficult words.
• Discuss:
  • Where she was born
  • Her family dynamic
  • Key events in her early life (e.g., losing her mother, being called 'bad luck')
• Prompt discussion:

  "Why might someone decide to write about painful experiences?" "How does Adeline’s story help us understand 'voice' in writing?"

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20–35 min | Mini Culture Carousel

• Split the class into four small groups. Assign each group a culture station:
  1. Gender roles in 1940s China
  2. Education and expectations of children
  3. Family and Confucian values
  4. Language and ancestral respect
• 5 minutes per station → rotate clockwise
• Each group uses a response sheet: “One new fact I learned... One question I have...”
• After the carousel, allow 2 minutes for a quick group report-back: each group shares one jaw-dropping fact.

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35–50 min | Theme Discovery

• Using brightly coloured “Theme Cards” (pre-written quotes or blurbs for each: Family, Identity, Resilience), have students move into trios.
• Each group discusses:
  • What do you think this theme means?
  • How might this show up in a true story?
  • Where have you seen this theme in your own life or in other stories?
• Rotate groups twice to ensure everyone sees each theme.

Extension: Prompt confident groups to connect the theme to the warm-up or cultural carousel content.

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50–60 min | Reflection + Term Journals Setup

• Distribute term journals (blank exercise books or digital folders).
• First Prompt (written only):

  “Today I learned… I wonder… I can’t wait to…”

• Ask students to label and decorate their journals at home (optional: bring stickers or coloured pens next class).

Kaiako Tip: These journals will become important reflective tools, drawing on metacognitive processes as encouraged by the Key Competencies in the New Zealand Curriculum.

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📘 Key Competencies

This lesson explicitly develops the following:

• Thinking: Interpreting text and themes critically
• Relating to others: Sharing and comparing cultural understandings
• Using language, symbols and texts: Engaging with visual and written materials in context

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🔄 Differentiation Strategies

• ESOL learners: Provide bilingual vocab sheets (home–school dictionaries optional)
• Neurodiverse learners: Use visual icons on biography and carousel posters; offer one-on-one explanation if needed
• Extension: Challenge advanced students to explore resilience in their own whānau history

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📝 Homework (optional)

Bring an artefact (photo, poem, heirloom, memory object) that represents an aspect of your own identity to share in Lesson 2’s circle activity.

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📣 Looking Ahead

In Lesson 2, students will dive into the structure of memoir and write their own “Snapshot Memory” paragraph inspired by Chinese Cinderella.

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🔗 Teacher Reflection Prompt

After the lesson, consider:

• Which students engaged confidently with the cultural material?
• Were there any unexpected connections made during the theme carousel?
• What refinements could better scaffold understanding of resilience?

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This thoughtful and culturally responsive introduction sets the tone for a deep, personal, and culturally rich engagement with Chinese Cinderella over the next 14 lessons.