The Ballad of Mulan

Everybody has probably seen the Disney movie "Mulan".  The movie was based on an actual Chinese legend, "The Ballad of Mulan".  This week we will begin working with the legend of Mulan and how to apply the literary skill of inference to analyze why Mulan chose to do what she did, and the motivations behind her actions.  We will also compare and contrast the legend of Mulan with the movie.  Students will see that movies sometimes are very different form the stories they are based on.

Our study of inference will begin on Thursday with our next touchstone text, "Jin Woo" by Eve Bunting.  In "Jin Woo", a young boy, Davey, worries how his parents adopting a new child form Korea will effect his life.  We will use story clues to help us infer Davey's feelings, as well as what his parents are feeling.  Then, we will use the techniques of inferring to analyze the story "The Ballad of Mulan".