1. Dr. Catherine Kurkjian Central Connecticut State University Dept. of Reading and Language Arts RDG 588 Teaching Children’s Literature Section 70, spring 2005, 4:00 PM

2. Author Pegi Deitz Shea visited our class on the evening of our literature circles to discuss her books The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee’s Story and its sequel Tangled Threads. She gave our class an insider’s view on the development and background of the writing of these amazing books. We viewed slides of her trip to Thailand and the refugee camp in which part of the story takes place. Pegi shared artifacts from the story including a Hmong storycloth, a pa’ndau, that is integral to both books. The class shared their literature circle response projects and Pegi shared interesting asides about aspects of these powerful books.

3. Ali, Marcie and Kimberly created an amazing ABC PowerPoint presentation that addresses aspects of the Tangled Threads from A to Z along with quotes from the book to illustrate what is being portrayed for each letter of the alphabet. Click on link to view. ABC PowerPoint presentation

4. Katrina, Melissa, Erin, and Elena retold the important events in chapters in Tangled Threads in pictures. Melissa shares a calendar.

5. Suzanne, Marrissa, Robyn N., Elizabeth, and Cindy created a web representing Mai’s relationships to the people in her life. These includes Miss Susan, Yer, Grandmother and her cousins.

6. This literature circle group created character bookmarks for their response project. Each member (from left to right Amy, Debbie and Roger) selected two different characters and provided an insightful analysis of the characters they chose.

7. Michelle P., Jenn Castelli, and Robyn S. created posters to extend background knowledge about history, conditions at the refugee camp, and Hmong culture.

8. Jodie, Carrie, and Paula created storycloths describing important aspects of selected characters lives. Paula explains: Creating a pa’ndau was the perfect way to describe the key events in Mai’s life. The border consists of triangles that symbolize a barrier like the one that was put around her at the refugee camp. By placing a car on a curvy road, I was able to establish the ups and downs that existed in her young life. The rice, elephant, and thread represent the part of Mai’s life that she was ready to leave behind, while the globe and flag represent her excitement about coming to America. As she adjusts to her new home, Mai’s experiences with food, clothes, and school help define who Mai will become as a Hmong-American. But letting go of her resentment in regards to the “family secret” will be her greatest gift of all!

9. Visit Pegi’s Website for more information on her wonderful books. Visit The Hmong Home Page at http://hmongnet.org to gain more insights about the characters in Tangled Threads. http://hmongnet.org