Reading Grid

Name of the
Work &
Author

Mother
Tongue
by Amy
Tan

What is this
work about?
Or what
concepts are
especially
emphasized?

Amy Tan is
narrating about
the English that
she grew up with,
the broken
English her
mother speaks.
Also talks about
her struggle with
school/life
because of the
broken English.

When and for

what
audience was
it written?
How do you
know?
(Include
quotes to
back up your
claim).

Why is this
work
significant?
Cite some
quotes that
would help
your stance if
you were
arguing for
something.

How can you

apply what
you learned
to future
classes / your
career?
(Transfer)

Where do you
think this will
apply in your
writing?

This was written

for an audience
that seeks for a
simple English.
She even says it
at the end of the
story.

She is showing
her audience that
we all come from
somewhere, and
that its okay to
not speak the
perfect English
every American is
supposed to
speak.
While my
English skills
were never
judged as poor,
compared to
math, English
could not be
considered my
strongest suit.

This story made

me feel more
comfortable with
my broken
English, since
Spanish is my
first language.

This will apply in

my writing by
encouraging me
to introduce my
Mexican heritage
into my writing.

Reading Grid
Superm
an and
Me by
Sherman
Alexie

Similar to Amy
Tans Mother
Tongue,
Sherman Alexie
talks about his
struggles for
being a Native
American person.

This story talks to

the people with
similar stories,
coming from an
ethnicity/race
other than
white.

Learnin
g to Read
and
Write by
Frederick
Douglass

This story is about

a slave that tells
his experience on
how he learned to
read and write,
even though
slaves were not
supposed to.

This was written

for an audience
that is interested
in reading literacy
narrative, as he
wrote this in a
way that the
reader can
actually
understand what
was going on at
the time all these
things happened.

This story shows

the stereotypes
Indians often
get. We were
Indian children
who were
expected to be
stupid.

This story is
significant
because it
showed how
reading and
writing can be a
key to succeed in
life. Back then,
slave-owners did
not want their
slaves to read
because that
could lead to the
abolition of
slavery. It was
always used in
such connections
as to make it an
interesting word
to me. If a slave
ran away and

This lecture
helped me realize
that I should
never listen to
what other
people think of
me based on my
race. Not because
Im Mexican it
means that I
shouldnt have a
career like any
other race.
I can apply what I
learned while
reading this story
by never
doubting the
power of
knowledge.
Education is
always the key to
success.

Same as with
Mother Tongue,
it will apply in my
writing by
encouraging me
to introduce my
Mexican heritage
onto my writing.

Reading Grid

Salvatio
n by
Langston
Hughes

This story talks

about how kids
sometimes dont
understand the
way adults mean
things, how
sometimes they
think that literally
everything they
are told is true.
This is used to
show how
innocent a kid can
be.

Maybe this can be

meant to be for
parents? I say this
because I believe
that the purpose
of this story is to
show how
disappointed a
kid can be when
he feels like hes
been lied to, or
how he feels
when he has to
pretend to believe
in something just
to satisfied
adults. That
night, for the first
time in my life but
one for I was a
big boy twelve
years old - I cried.

succeeded in
getting clear, or if
a slave killed his
master, set fire to
a barn, or did
anything very
wrong in the
mind of a
slaveholder, it
was spoken of as
the fruit of
abolition.
Like I said before,
this is important
for adults to
understand how
kids perceive
things in life.

Probably by
always being
honest in
everything I do.

By being honest
in my writing, no
matter what
audience I am
writing to.

Reading Grid
I cried, in bed
alone, and
couldn't stop. I
buried my head
under the quilts,
but my aunt
heard me. She
woke up and told
my uncle I was
crying because
the Holy Ghost
had come into my
life, and because I
had seen Jesus.
But I was really
crying because I
couldn't bear to
tell her that I had
lied, that I had
deceived
everybody in the
church, that I
hadn't seen Jesus,
and that now I
didn't believe
there was a Jesus
anymore, since
he didn't come to
help me.

Reading Grid
Whats
Your
Name,
Girl? by
Maya
Angelou
On
Dumpste
r Diving
by Lars
Eighner

This story is about

the experience of
an AfricanAmerican girl that
worked fro a
White lady. She
talks about racial
issues between
whites and
blacks.
About how a man
learned the
culture of
dumpster diving.

This was written

to inform the
audience about
the racial
interactions and
issues back in the
slavery days.

It shows the
racism issue that
existed back
then, and still
exists today.

The audience for

this story is
probably young
people that are
struggling with
money? Maybe he
is trying to
persuade them to
try dumpster
diving.

It shows how
sometimes
people might
think something I
trash for them,
but it might be a
treasure for
somebody else.

Road
Warrior
by Dave
Barry

This author talks

about road rage.

The audience is
all drivers, and it
is intended to
persuade them to
not get road rage.

This is important
because the story
shows sarcasm
towards road
rage, with a little
bit of humor the
author helps the
reader
understand how
pointless it is for
someone to get

This will help with

not being
ungrateful for
anything.

Maybe this will

help me think
twice about
doubting myself
when writing. Just
because
somebody may
say that my
writing is bad, it
does not mean
that is going to be
bad for everyone
that reads my
writing.

Reading Grid
mad over
somebody elses
driving skills.

My Visit
to
Niagara
by
Nathaniel
Hawthore

This story is about

a man that tries
to avoid and
pretends not to
be astonished by
the Niagara falls,
even though hes
been wanting to
see them for a
long time.

The audience is
readers seeking
entertainment.

This is important
because it shows
that people may
often be scared of
not getting what
they expect.