Inside Out & Back Again - by Thanhha Lai - Novel Guide Teacher Edition Grade 6 - Amplify
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Novel Guide • Teacher Edition • Grade 6
Inside Out &
Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Published and Distributed by Amplify.
Copyright © 2019 by Amplify Education, Inc. 55 Washington Street., Suite 800, Brooklyn, NY 11201 www.amplify.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form, or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of Amplify Education, Inc., except for reprinting and/or classroom uses in conjunction with current licenses for the corresponding Amplify products.
Table of Contents
Teacher Edition
Welcome to Amplify ELA’s Novel Guides 1
Part 1: Introduction 2–3
Part 2: Text Excerpt and Close Reading Activities 4–6 RL.6.5
Step 1: Close Reading Activity 6–7 RL.6.1, RL.6.2, RL.6.4, RL.6.5
Step 2: Connected Excerpts to Continue Close Reading 7 RL.6.1 , RL.6.2, RL.6.4, RL.6.5
Step 3: Writing Prompt 8 W.6.1
Part 3: Additional Guiding Questions and Projects
Step 4: Guiding Questions to Read the Whole Book 8–14 SL.6.1.A
Step 5: Extended Discussion Questions 14–15 SL.6.1
Step 6: Writer’s Craft 15–16 RL.6.5
Part 4: Summative Projects
Step 7: Writing Prompt 16 W.6.1
Step 8: Final Project 17 RI.6.4, RI.6.7, SL.6.1.A, SL.6.2
Step 9: Challenge 18 RL.6.4, SL.6.2, W.6.3.D
Step 10: Extended Reading 19
Note: The student worksheets can be found on pages 21–37. Teachers can make copies of
these pages to distribute to students.Inside
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Back •Again • TeacherInside Out & Back Again • Teacher
Welcome to Amplify ELA’s Novel Guides
We created a series of Novel Guides to provide you with a flexible resource
for the books you most want to teach. Some of the titles are in the digital
library while others will need to be accessed through your school, public,
or classroom libraries. We selected one strong aspect of each novel and
are having students focus on this element as they explore and analyze a
key theme.
Rather than fully built-out lessons, these guides offer lean, targeted
instruction that follows Amplify ELA’s pedagogy as students explore great
literature. Each Novel Guide provides activities and questions with sample
answers for the Teacher Edition, including:
• A
complete close reading session, • Discussion questions
including the text excerpt
• Writing Prompts
• C
onnected excerpts to extend
• Exploration of Writer’s Craft
reading and skill practice
• Role-playing opportunities
• G
uiding questions and activities
to support reading the whole book • Collaborative learning
• A
n introduction to the book and • Social-emotional learning
the author discussion questions, Writing
• A Prompts, or activities
ctivities that focus on a range
of literacy skills • Standards alignment
• Project-based learning
The diverse selection of books we chose comprises a range of genres
from mystery to non-fiction, and themes from social justice to identity
and courage. Students explore classics and contemporary award winners,
expand their literacy skills, and discover the rewards that come with close
reading compelling texts. The guides are designed to be used flexibly and
offer suggestions for implementation.
All the guides are housed in the Amplify Library as downloadable,
printable PDFs. They include student worksheets and instructions for the
teacher that will take students through a close reading of a passage all the
way to the end of the novel.
Inside Out & Back Again Novel Guide 1Inside
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Part 1 Introduction
About the story
Inside Out & Back Again tells the story of Hà, a ten-year-old girl who must
flee Saigon with her family during the Vietnam War and seek refuge in the
United States. Debut author Thanhha Lai based Hà’s story on her own
childhood experiences and wrote the book as a series of first-person verse
poems, each 1–3 pages in length, that span the course of a single year. In
Hà, Lai has created an original voice that a Kirkus reviewer described as
“enlightening, poignant and unexpectedly funny.” Inside Out & Back Again
is a Newbery Honor book, a National Book Award winner, and a New York
Times bestseller.
Themes that align with this guide
This guide focuses students’ attention on the author’s use of free verse
Inside Out & Back Again and poetic imagery to communicate Hà’s voice, her use of symbolism to
by Thanhha Lai develop themes, and the ways in which the characters, particularly Hà,
HarperCollins e-books evolve over the course of the book.
EPub Edition © January 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-206972-6
About the author
Thanhha Lai was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 1965 and
immigrated to Alabama as a young girl. In 2011, she won the National
Book Award for Young People’s Literature and in 2012 she received a
Newbery Honor for Inside Out & Back Again. In 2015, she published Listen,
Slowly, a New York Times Book Review Notable Book and a Publishers
Weekly Best Book of the Year. She lives in New York with her family. You
can hear her pronounce her name here: https://www.teachingbooks.net/
pronounce.cgi?aid=15573
2 Inside Out & Back Again Novel GuideInside Out & Back Again • Teacher
When and how to use the Novel Guide
Amplify’s Novel Guides can provide flexible teaching options. They can be
used at any point in the year or paired with thematically related core units,
before or after teaching the units. Or, if you would like to build out lessons,
the guides can be used as the foundation for a more fully developed
curriculum, based on the titles.
The Inside Out & Back Again Novel Guide aligns with the
following core units:
6A: Dahl & Narrative
Sub-Unit 3: Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl
In Boy, Roald Dahl uses a first-person narrator to
communicate the frightening and funny experiences of his
childhood.
6E: Summer of the Mariposas
Sub-Unit 1: Summer of the Mariposas by
Guadalupe Garcia McCall
In Summer of the Mariposas, Guadalupe Garcia McCall uses
a first-person narrator to tell the story of a group of sisters
who must brave the unknown as they travel from Texas to
Mexico and back.
Inside Out & Back Again Novel Guide 3Inside
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Part 2 Text Excerpt and
Close Reading Activities
Part I: Saigon
Focus standard for Part 2:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
“Papaya Tree”
Skill: Analyze how a
particular chapter fits into
It grew from a seed
the overall structure of a I flicked into
text and contributes to the the back garden.
development of the theme.
A seed like
Hà describes how her papaya a fish eye,
tree has grown and vows to
witness its first ripe fruit before
slippery
her brothers do. shiny
black.
The tree has grown
twice as tall
as I stand
on tippy toes.
Brother Khôi spotted
the first white blossom.
Four years older,
he can see higher.
Brother Vũ later found
a baby papaya
the size of a fist
clinging to the trunk.
At eighteen,
he can see that much higher.
4 Inside Out & Back Again Novel GuideInside Out & Back Again • Teacher
Brother Quang is oldest,
twenty-one and studying engineering.
Who knows what he will notice
before me?
I vow
to rise first every morning
to stare at the dew
on the green fruit
shaped like a lightbulb.
I will be the first
to witness its ripening.
Inside Out & Back Again Novel Guide 5Inside
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Step 1: Close Reading Activity (with sample answers)
Possible answers are provided
under each activity.
1. In one color, highlight the places where the author uses figurative
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1 language to describe the appearance of something.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2 Sample answer: “A seed like / a fish eye, / slippery / shiny / black” (4–8), “a
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4
baby papaya / the size of a fist / clinging to the trunk” (18–20), “...the dew /
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
on the green fruit / shaped like a lightbulb” (29–31).
2. Annotate each highlighted description with a note about the
feelings or ideas that the language brings to mind for you.
Sample answer: “A seed like / a fish eye, / slippery / shiny / black” (4–8)—
The seed seems alive, mysterious; “a baby papaya / the size of a fist / clinging
to the trunk” (18–20)—The new papaya is like a human baby holding on for
its life; “...the dew / on the green fruit / shaped like a lightbulb” (29–31)—The
papaya is growing bigger and changing shape.
3. In a second color, highlight any language that communicates ideas
about how the papaya tree is changing and growing.
Sample answer: “The tree has grown / twice as tall / as I stand / on tippy
toes” (9–12), “the first white blossom” (14), “a baby papaya” (18), “...its
ripening” (33).
4. In a third color, highlight any language that communicates ideas
about how people change and grow.
Sample answer: “Four years older, / he can see higher” (15–16), “At
eighteen, / he can see that much higher”” (21–22), “twenty-one and studying
engineering” (24), “I vow / to rise first every morning” (27–28), “I will be the
first / to witness its ripening” (32–33).
5. With a partner, create a list of 2–3 themes (central ideas) that are
developing in this chapter. Choose the theme that seems most
important and explain how it is developed in this chapter. Then
make a prediction about how this theme may evolve in the story.
Sample answer: Growth / change / determination / hope / beauty: Hà has
grown a papaya tree from a seed and watched it grow twice as tall as her.
She has been awed and delighted by its beauty and strangeness throughout
its development and is excited to see how it continues to grow and change.
She also seems possessive of her special tree. She is frustrated that her
brothers are taller and better able to observe it, but she doesn’t give up. She
is determined to take any advantage she can think of—like being the first to
rise every morning—to make sure she gets the first peek at the first fruit’s
ripening. Although Hà doesn’t make explicit connections between the papaya
tree’s development and her own, the way she presents the stairsteps of her
brothers’ growth seems to hint at the changes in her own future. It seems fair
to predict that Hà will keep feeling tenderness and stubbornness for the things
6 Inside Out & Back Again Novel GuideInside Out & Back Again • Teacher
she cares about, and that she will continue to be frustrated by any limitations.
But she will grow and change just like her papaya tree, and maybe even her
relationships with her brothers will develop into something sweeter and more
nourishing.
Step 2: Connected Excerpts to Continue
Close Reading CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Continue your work with theme in the chapters that mention papayas.
Use the same steps as above when close-reading these pages. When you
get to steps 3 and 4, you can substitute other ideas (like “love” or “home”)
if they feel more relevant in those moments than “change” or “growth.”
Part 1, “Kim Hà”: Hà is tormented by her brothers.
Part 1, “Sssshhhhhhh”: Brother Khôi tells Hà that he must protect his chick
and she must protect her papayas.
Part 1, “Wet and Crying”: The family decides to harvest an underripe papaya
before they leave.
Part 2, “Rations”: Hà thinks of papayas while she eats plain rice.
Part 3, “Can’t Help”: Hà compares her yearning for papayas to Mother’s
yearning for Father.
Part 3, “War and Peace”: Miss Scott shows the class pictures from war-torn
Vietnam.
Part 3, “MiSSSisss WaSShington’s Response”: Miss Washington shows Hà
pictures that her son took in Vietnam.
Part 3, “Not the Same”: Miss Washington gives Hà dried papaya for Christmas.
Part 3, “But Not Bad”: Hà tries the dried papaya after it has soaked in water.
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Step 3: Writing Prompt
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.1.
Analytical:
The word "papaya" occurs over 15 times in Inside Out & Back Again. Why
are papayas so important to Hà? What do they represent for her? Choose
at least three chapters that include the word “papaya” and that relate
to a single theme. Discuss how the author develops this theme over the
course of the book, and in these chapters in particular.
Part 3 Additional Guiding Questions
and Projects
Step 4: Guiding Questions to Read the
Whole Book (with sample answers)
Possible answers are provided
under each activity.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.A
Use the discussion questions below to guide reading throughout the
whole book. Students should come prepared to discuss their answers by
referring to evidence from the text. Students should also be prepared to
respond to comments made by classmates.
Part 1: Saigon
1. In “1975: Year of the Cat” (the first chapter in the book), what clues
offer hints about the narrator’s character traits?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Sample response: The narrator feels “An old, angry knot” (35) expand in her
throat when her mother says that “...only male feet / can bring luck” (33–34).
This suggests that she does not believe that boys or men should be more
important than girls or women. She shows determination, secrecy, and a
stubborn loyalty to her own beliefs (rather than tradition) when she “...decided
/ to wake before dawn / and tap [her] big toe / to the tile floor / first” (37–41).
2. What clues in “Kim Hà” offer hints about the relationships that the
narrator, Hà, has with her brothers and mother?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
8 Inside Out & Back Again Novel GuideInside Out & Back Again • Teacher
Sample response: Each brother tells the narrator, Hà, a different made-up
story about her name. This suggests that her older brothers all like to tease
her, each in his own way. Hà gets revenge on her brothers: “I can’t make
my brothers / go live elsewhere, / but I can / hide their sandals” (18–21).
This shows that she is not a passive victim—she pays them back when they
torment her. Her mother tells her the true story of her name and insists that
her brothers tease her because they adore her (38–39). Hà thinks that her
mother is “wrong” (40) but she still loves “being near her, even more than I
love / my papaya tree” (41–43) and vows to “...offer her / its first fruit” (44–
45). This shows that Hà is devoted to her mother.
3. These three back-to-back chapters offer insight into how Hà’s
mother’s life has changed since losing her husband: “Missing in
Action,” “Mother’s Days,” and “Eggs.” What challenges does she
face?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Sample response: In “Missing in Action,” it says that Hà’s mother locks
away the portrait of her husband every year “as soon as her chant ends” (34)
because “She cannot bear / to look into Father’s / forever-young / eyes”
(35–38). This shows that she must cope with a very painful loss. In “Mother’s
Days,” it says that Mother works as a secretary by day and designs and cuts
up baby clothes at night. Even though “hardly anyone buys anymore” (21)
she “continues to try” (25). This shows that she is determined to provide for
her family, even as this becomes increasingly difficult. “Eggs” shows just how
extreme her financial challenges have become: eggs, rice, and gasoline are all
as expensive as gold.
4. In “Unknown Father,” how does Hà feel about not knowing her
father? How can you tell?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Sample response: Hà says that she sometimes whispers “tuy t sút” to
herself “to pretend / I know him” (27–30). This shows that she wishes she had
known him and could share the inside jokes that the rest of the family shares.
She also starts the chapter by saying that she only knows “...the small things /
Mother lets slip” (3–4) and ends the chapter with “I would never say tuy t sút
/ in front of Mother. / None of us would want / to make her sadder / than she
already is” (31–35). This suggests that she would probably ask more questions
about her father if she weren’t worried about upsetting her mother.
5. These two back-to-back chapters offer insight into the conflict in
Vietnam: “TV News” and “Birthday.” How serious does the conflict
seem to be?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Inside Out & Back Again Novel Guide 9Inside
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Sample response: The conflict seems very serious. In “TV News,” it says that
a pilot for South Vietnam, who was a spy for the Communists, bombed the
presidential palace. This suggests that the conflict is very violent. In “Birthday,”
we learn that land and houses are being taken by the state. “The country
divided in half” (47) and “North and South / closed their doors” (59–60) also
show that there is some sort of civil war happening within Vietnam and people
are losing their money, their property, and even their connections to family in
other parts of the country.
6. In “Bridge to the Sea,” what plan does Uncle S n share with Hà’s
mother?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Sample response: Uncle S n says that, when the time comes to flee, they
will go through the back door of their house, into an alley which bypasses a
checkpoint, and go to the port, where they’ll board a navy ship.
7. The narrator in "Sssshhhhhhh," "Quiet Decision," and "Should
We?" includes details that show how each of her brothers and their
mother feel about leaving. What is each character’s point of view
about this decision?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Sample response: Brother Quang doesn’t want to go because he believes
it will be dishonorable (“Should We?” 11–16). Brother Khôi is worried about
leaving because their father, who may still be alive, won’t know how to find
them (“Should We?” 17–19). He is also determined not to leave his pet chick
behind (“Sssshhhhhhh,” 10–13). Brother Vũ is positive about going to the US
because his idol, Bruce Lee, lived there (“Should We?” 20–24). Their mother
is conflicted but seems to feel that they must go. At the end of “Should We?”
she predicts the bad things that will start happening once a different party is
in power (25–35). At the end of “Quiet Decision,” she says that her children
deserve to grow up “where you don’t worry about / saving half a bite / of sweet
potato” (19–22).
Part 2: At Sea
1. What are the living conditions on the ship like for Hà’s family in the
first four chapters of Part 2—”Floating,” “S-l-o-w-l-y,” “Rations,”
and “Routine”?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
Sample response: They are living in cramped conditions with barely any food
and fresh water. They seem to have less food than some of the other families.
Using the bathroom is embarrassing. Hà’s mother has Brother Quang give
English lessons to the children onboard.
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2. In “Brother Khôi’s Secret,” what do you learn that Brother Khôi has
been hiding? And what does Hà do in “Last Respects” to make him
feel better?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Sample response: Khôi has been hiding his pet chick in his pocket. At
some point it died, and the corpse has begun to stink: “He keeps clutching
something / in the left pocket, / where the stench grows” (“Brother Khôi’s
Secret,” 10–12). Hà ties the chick into a bundle with her doll and their mother’s
handkerchief and gives it a burial at sea.
3. Why does Hà pluck one hair from the man’s arm in “Golden Fuzz”?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Sample response: She takes it as a “souvenir” (31) because she doesn’t know
if she will “have another chance to touch golden fuzz” (18–19).
4. What are the living conditions like for Hà’s family in Guam
according to these three chapters in Part 2—”Tent City,” “Life in
Waiting,” and “N c M m”?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
Sample response: They settle into a routine that involves English lessons
and American movies. The food doesn’t taste good until Brother Vũ, who
prepares much of the food they eat, adds fish sauce. Everyone seems more
comfortable and happy than they did on the ship.
5. Summarize the major events in the last four chapters of Part
2—”Choose,” “Another Tent City,” “Alabama,” and “Our Cowboy.”
Where is the family going next, and how did they end up going
there?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
Sample response: Hà’s mother chooses America as their final destination
because she believes her sons will be able to earn scholarships and go to
college. They live in another tent city in Florida and wait for a family to sponsor
them. When Hà’s mother learns that Christians have a better chance of being
sponsored, she “amends [their] faith” on their application (“Another Tent
City,” 35). They are sponsored by a man who lives in Alabama. He was looking
to sponsor a single person because he “...wants to train / one young man
/ to be a mechanic” (“Alabama,” 4–6). He is impressed by Brother Quang’s
engineering studies, and Hà’s mother convinces him to sponsor the whole
family by “staring, blinking, / wiping away tears, / all without speaking English”
(“Alabama,” 17–19). The man’s appearance convinces Hà that he must be a
cowboy.
Inside Out & Back Again Novel Guide 11Inside
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Part 3: Alabama
1. What clues in “Unpack and Repack” and “English Above All” offer
hints about how the cowboy’s wife feels about Hà’s family?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Sample response: When she first sees them, her “arms, lips, eyes” are all
“contorted into knots” (“Unpack and Repack,” 19–20). This body language
suggests that she’s unhappy. The fact that they immediately have to pack
back up the clothes that they have just unpacked suggests that she does not
want them to live with her. They have to “sleep in the lowest level / of [their]
cowboy’s house, / where [they] never see / the wife” (“English Above All,” 1–4).
The wife also insists that they “keep out of / her neighbors’ eyes” (“English
Above All,” 11–12), which suggests that she is ashamed to be associated with
their family.
2. Why does English seem like such a strange language to Hà?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Sample response: Adding “es” to plural nouns and “s” to certain verbs
makes her feel like she’s hissing like a snake in “First Rule,” and causes her
to spit a lot, which she says gets better in “Second Rule.” She also finds the
inconsistent rules of English grammar frustrating in “Third Rule,” “Fourth
Rule,” and “Spelling Rules.” Even the sound of a horse whinnying is conveyed
in an unfamiliar way in English in “Neigh Not Hee.”
3. Besides not knowing the language, why does Hà feel out of place at
school?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Sample response: First, she notices how different she looks from everyone
else: “I’m the only / straight black hair / on olive skin” (“Rainbow,” 13–15). At
lunch, she doesn’t know where to sit or how to eat the food (“Black and White
and Yellow and Red”). Then at recess she is surrounded by the other students,
who laugh when a classmate pulls her arm hair and pokes at her cheek and
chest (“Loud Outside”).
4. How do Hà’s brothers help her after her classmates at school start
tormenting her?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Sample response: In “Fly Kick,” Brother Vũ agrees to teach her self-defense.
Then in “Chin Nod,” Brother Khôi agrees to take her to and from school every
day on his bicycle.
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5. How does Hà’s family’s relationship with the neighborhood evolve,
and what causes it to change?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2
Sample response: In “Neighbors,” the neighborhood kids egg and toilet paper
the cowboy’s house. Then someone throws a brick through the window with a
rude or threatening note. When they knock on doors to introduce themselves,
they are met with slammed doors and shouts. Only Miss Washington is kind
and offers to tutor the children. In “HA LE LU DA,” some community members
begin to act welcoming after they start attending the Del Ray Southern Baptist
Church.
6. What qualities make Miss Washington such a good tutor for Hà?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Sample response: In “New Word a Day,” Miss Washington is good at
motivating Hà: she makes her learn new words and rewards her with food.
She’s also very understanding when Hà voices her frustrations and seems
to have “an answer for everything” (32), even English’s “illogical rules” (30).
She is concerned not just about Hà’s academic performance, but also her
happiness. In “Someone Knows,” she finds out Hà has been eating lunch
alone in the bathroom every day, and she promises to “fix that” (35). In “Most
Relieved Day,” Hà is allowed to begin eating her lunch in the classroom, and
she is joined by two students who become her friends: Pam and Steven.
Part 4: From Now On
1. What makes Hà’s mother accept that their father has really gone?
How does this change the family?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Sample response: First, in “Letter From the North,” they receive a letter from
Father’s brother that has no word of Father. They are unsure what to make of
it. In “What If,” each brother imagines a scenario where their father still lives,
but when Hà suggests that he might really be gone, she can tell by her family’s
facial expressions that “they have begun to accept” this possibility (26).
Mother keeps chanting and Hà says that she is “...waiting / for a sign” (“A Sign,”
9–10). After Mother loses her amethyst ring in “Gone,” she seems to take it as
a sign because, after one more session of chanting, she announces that “Your
father is / truly gone” (“Truly Gone,” 16–17). Although everyone is sad, Mother
says “At least / we no longer live / in waiting” (“Eternal Peace,” 35–37) and
she predicts good things for their future in “An Engineer, a Chef, a Vet, and
Not a Lawyer” and “1976: Year of the Dragon.” It seems that she is somewhat
relieved that they are able to move on.
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2. How has Hà changed since her first days living in Alabama? How
can you tell?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Sample response: Hà seems happier, more confident, and more content in
her new life. When Hà accidentally wears a nightgown to school, her friends
Pem and Steven shrug it off, and she takes it in stride: “I look down / at the tiny
blue flower / barely stitched on. / I rip it off. / Nightgown no more (“No More,”
40–44). She seems much less sensitive to the other students’ teasing. This is
reiterated when she tells the story to her mother, since she seems much more
focused on wanting a present for Pem than on feeling embarrassed in “Seeds.”
She’s also grown more willing to speak in English, to speak up for what she
wants, and to make optimistic plans for the future in “Start Over.” The story
ends with the sense that Hà is going to be okay in Alabama.
Step 5: Extended Discussion Questions
Questions for social and
emotional learning (with sample answers)
Possible answers are provided
under each activity.
1. In Part 2, Hà makes a sacrifice after her brother loses something
important to him. Why do you think she does this? What message
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1 was she communicating without using words? How do you think
this made her brother feel?
Sample answer: After Brother Khôi’s dead chick is discovered, she ties it up in
a bundle with her doll and Mother’s handkerchief and throws them overboard.
I think she is trying to give the chick, which Brother Khôi really cared about, a
proper burial. By sacrificing her doll, the only non-essential personal item she
was allowed to take with her, she is showing Brother Khôi that she is willing to
share this loss with him. She’s also showing him that they will be okay without
these things. I think this made Brother Khôi feel comforted and loved.
2. In Part 3, Hà is teased and bullied by her classmates. What
different kinds of strategies did Hà use in response? Which ones
seemed most effective?
Sample answer: At first, Hà tries to avoid conflicts. She walks away after
Pink Boy and his friends bother her. Then she realizes she needs protection.
Brother Vũ agrees to teach her self-defense and Brother Khôi agrees to take
her to and from school. Mrs. Washington helps Hà by talking to Miss Scott,
who allows Hà to eat in the classroom and invites two other students. Mrs.
Washington also tells the cowboy about Pink Boy’s bullying, which leads to
the school conference. When Pink Boy retaliates, Hà learns to insult him back.
Finally, when he tries to attack her after school, she uses self-defense and
he falls down and hurts himself. I think that asking for help from her brothers
and from adults was important in helping Hà feel safe enough to develop
confidence to deal with her problems on her own. Ultimately, I think that
standing up for herself and showing she wasn’t afraid was the most effective
way to get the bullying to stop.
14 Inside Out & Back Again Novel GuideInside Out & Back Again • Teacher
3. In Part 3, Hà makes some friends. What do you notice about the
friendships that Hà builds with Pam and Steven? What kinds of
actions do they take to support one another?
Sample answer: Pam and Steven are kind to Hà, smiling at her when she
expects them to laugh at her. Pam shows concern for Hà when she outwits
Pink Boy in math class. Pam and Steven help her interpret social cues, like
nodding to show it’s okay when the girls want to put barrettes in Hà’s hair. The
friends stick together, even after Hà becomes more popular. And they help Hà
relax when she accidentally wears a nightgown to school: they both shrug and
tell her it’s not a big deal. On gift-exchange day, Pam gives Hà a doll to replace
the mouse-bitten one Hà had told her about. Hà adores the doll, but feels
terrible embarrassment until she and Mother can think of a gift Hà can give
in return. Once they become friends, Hà, Pam, and Steven continue to show
each other kindness, support, and consideration.
Step 6: Writer’s Craft (with sample answers)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Poetic Imagery
In an interview at the end of the book, Thanhha Lai explains why she told
Hà’s story in free verse poetry: “One day I just started jotting down exactly
what Hà would be feeling, lonely and angry on the playground. The words
came out in quick, sharp phrases that captured her feelings in crisp images.
These phrases reflected what Vietnamese sounded like. Remember, Hà was
thinking in Vietnamese because she hadn’t learned English yet. Then I knew
I would be able to penetrate her mind by writing in phrases choked with
visuals.”
Lai uses many visual images that communicate important information
about plot and characters without long explanations.
Example 1
Part 3, “Unpack and Repack”:
• “One look at / our cowboy’s wife, / arms, lips, eyes / contorted into
knots, / and we repack.” (17–21)
»» Lai’s description of the wife’s body language shows the reader that
she is unhappy that her husband has invited Hà’s family to live with
them. Lai does not include any dialogue or explanations of what
the wife says, why she says it, or how the cowboy and Hà’s family
respond. She simply ends that chapter with the phrase “we repack”
and begins the next chapter, “English Above All,” with a clue that the
family has been moved to the basement: “We sit and sleep in the
lowest level / of our cowboy’s house, / where we never see / the wife”
(1–4).
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Example 2
Part 3, “Rainbow”:
• “Fire hair on skin dotted with spots. / Fuzzy dark hair on skin shiny
as lacquer. / Hair the color of root on milky skin. / Lots of braids on
milk chocolate. / White hair on a pink boy. / Honey hair with orange
ribbons on see-through skin. / Hair with barrettes in all colors on
bronze bread. / I’m the only / straight black hair / on olive skin”
(6–15).
»» By describing the physical appearances of Hà’s classmates and then
Hà’s own physical appearance, Lai communicates how different and
out-of-place Hà feels. Lai does not include any internal monologue or
explanations of what Hà is thinking or feeling. By simply pointing out
the differences, the reader can imagine Hà’s loneliness and isolation.
Also, by including such precise descriptions of the classmates’ skin
and hair, Lai makes it clear that Hà has never before seen people who
look so different from her.
Find three other places where Lai uses visual imagery to communicate
important information about plot and characters without long explanations.
Underline these moments and annotate them with notes about what they
reveal.
Part 4 Summative Projects
Step 7: Writing Prompt
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.1
Inside Out & Back Again begins and ends on T t. Though the events of the
story take place in just one year, the main characters’ lives are profoundly
changed during that time. In your opinion, does the book have a happy
ending? Use evidence from at least three different chapters to support
your answer.
16 Inside Out & Back Again Novel GuideInside Out & Back Again • Teacher
Step 8: Final Project
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.4
Thanhha Lai based Inside Out & Back Again on her own experiences CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.7
fleeing Vietnam as a refugee when she was a child. In the dedication at the CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1.A
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2
beginning of her book, Thanhha Lai writes: “To the millions of refugees in
the world, may you each find a home.”
Visit https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/teaching-about-refugees.html, a
learning resource created by the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees.
1. Go to the “Words matter” section of the site and watch the videos
titled “Refugees,” “Migrants,” “Where do refugees come from?,”
“Where do refugees go?,” and “Refugee rights.” Take notes about
the following topics:
• The meaning of the word “refugee,” and how its meaning
differs from the word “migrant”
• Which countries the majority of refugees worldwide
come from
• What options are available to refugees once they have fled
their home country
2. Go to the “Facts and figures about refugees” section of the site and
use the resources there to expand on your notes.
3. With a group, choose one of the videos in the “Words matter”
section and download the discussion guide. Discuss the questions
with a group.
4. Now that you are more of an expert on the plight of refugees,
reread the following chapters in Inside Out & Back Again: Part
1, “Early Monsoon,” “The President Resigns,” Left Behind,” “In
the Dark,” and “Saigon is Gone”; Part 2, “One Engine,” “Tent City,”
and “Another Tent City.” Discuss with your group: What details
stand out on your second reading? In what ways does Hà’s family
seem lucky? What kinds of supports were they offered by various
people and organizations? Why do you think these people and
organizations were willing to offer these supports?
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5. Optional: Visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/
lastdays/firstdaysstoryproject, a collection of interviews and
photographs that communicate the individual experiences of many
Vietnamese refugees who fled Vietnam at the same time as author
Thanhha Lai. Choose one of the stories and compare and contrast
it with Hà’s experiences in Inside Out & Back Again. Present your
findings to your group or to the class.
Step 9: Challenge
Richard Blanco is a renowned presidential inaugural poet who immigrated
to the United States as an infant when his family was exiled from Cuba.
His poem “América” was included by the Poetry Foundation in a collection
of poems that tell the stories of immigrants, refugees, and people who
have been exiled from their homes. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
collections/144265/poems-on-immigration
1. Read the poem a few times. With each reading, annotate the details
that stand out to you.
• In your first reading, make observations.
»» What words or phrases catch your eye? Why?
»» Does the poem tell a “story,” or is it perhaps more like a picture?
• In your second reading, think about structure and form.
»» How does the poem look on the page? Is it boxy? Skinny? Regular?
Irregular? Why do you think the poet wrote it this way?
»» When you read the poem aloud, do you notice any rhythm or rhyme?
• In your third reading, think about how this poem relates to history
and/or current events.
»» Are there any historical, political, or cultural allusions (references) you
can identify?
»» Can you identify the perspective of the poem’s speaker (the “narrator”
of the poem)?
• In your fourth reading, listen to and enjoy the language.
»» What sounds do you hear in the poem?
»» What images or scenes does the poem’s language help you to see?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4
18 Inside Out & Back Again Novel GuideInside Out & Back Again • Teacher
2. Next, reread the chapters in Inside Out & Back Again that contrast the
kinds of foods Hà and her family enjoyed eating in Vietnam with the kinds
of foods they eat in Guam and in Alabama: Part 1, “A Day Downtown”;
Part 2, “Tent City,” “N c M m”; Part 3, “American Chicken,” “Cowboy’s
Gifts.” Compare and contrast the ideas presented in Blanco’s poem with
the ideas explored in these chapters of Lai’s novel. Where in each text do
you see descriptions of old, familiar foods? Where in each text do you see
descriptions of strange, new foods? In what ways does each family find a
way to combine the old and the new?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2
3. Optional: Think of a food that you love and that you associate with
certain people or with a specific place. Write a poem that uses
description to convey the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of
this food.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.3.D
Step 10: Extended Reading
• Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
• A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
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