Bamboo People​ Summative Writing Task

Task:​ ​You will write four separate TEPAC paragraphs on different topics for this
assessment.​ ​The first three paragraphs have an assigned topic, and the fourth one you
may choose the topic you want to write about. Each paragraph should be around 250
words. You will have class time on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next
week to complete this task.

● Be sure to use specific examples and quotations from the novel as evidence in
your answer.
● After you finish ​ALL ​of your writing, please answer the following questions:
○ Which paragraph do you think shows your best Analyzing?
■ I think I showed my best Analyzing in paragraph 1.
○ Which paragraph do you think shows your best Organizing?
■ I think I showed my best Organizing in paragraph 3
○ Which paragraph do you think shows your best Using Language?
■ I think I showed my best Using Language in paragraph 1

Paragraph #1

Explain the ways that Chiko and Tu Reh are similar or different. You may consider their
personalities, their family or social surroundings, or the events that happen to each of
them in the book. Use examples from the novel to support your ideas.

The characters Chiko and Tu Reh from the book ​Bamboo People ​by Mitali Perkins are similar

in several ways, even though they have very different surroundings and backgrounds. They

were both kind and understanding, “He’s lying about the war. About the tribal people”(p.56).

Chiko doesn’t think the Karenni people are “ruthless killers”(p.48), he thinks there is just some

misunderstanding between the government and the tribal people. Tu Reh decided to save

Chiko even when he is an enemy, “I hear it. I understand it. This boy wants his mother.”
 (p.152). He heard Chiko repeating about his mother in a muffled voice, and he knew he

couldn’t kill him. Chiko tried to tell Tai that the Karenni people aren't bad. He tries to look at

problems from the Karenni's view and see how they would feel in this situation. Tu Reh

thought of how he would feel when he was deciding whether or not to kill Chiko. He thought

of his mother and realized he can't kill a boy younger than him when the boy’s mother is

waiting for him to come home. Tu Reh and Chiko both put themselves in other people’s shoes

to look at things from a different perspective. Chiko was Burmese, but he doesn’t hate the

Karenni. This shows that Chiko is very open-minded and he thinks of how others would feel.

Tu Reh is Karenni, and he also didn’t kill Chiko just because he is Burmese. Even though

Chiko and Tu Reh were from opposite sides and grew up differently, they can be very similar

in different ways.

Paragraph #2

Consider the statement of inquiry for our unit:

“The way we understand our reality is shaped by our
context and our group affiliations.”
Write a paragraph that explains how two different people or groups understand the
same aspect of reality differently because of their context or their group affiliations.

People in different group affiliations can understand matters differently even when they are in

the same reality. For example, the captain and Chiko in the book ​Bamboo People​ by Mitali

Perkins look at the same situation from a different perspective. The captain thinks the Tribal
people are breaking their country apart. The captain believes the Karenni are ruining their

country and their peace. The captain had once said, “You may have heard that the rebels who

call themselves the Kayah are among the most evil of our enemies.”(p.48). He is teaching the

recruits that the Karenni are evil and should be killed. Chiko sees the Karenni differently even

though he is a Burmese himself, “They call themselves the Karenni, actually. Father used to

tell me about a good Karenni friend he had in school”(p.48). Chiko’s father had taught him

that the Karenni people aren’t as bad as they think. Chiko doesn’t see the Karenni as enemies.

He doesn’t hate Karenni people because his father had told him another version of the story

and had taught him that the Karenni aren’t bad people. He has been brought up that way, so he

sees the war differently than the captain. The captain thinks the Karenni are evil because he

has been taught like this. His captain might have told him the same things he is telling the

recruits now. People look at the same matters differently depending on their group affiliations

and context.

Paragraph #3

Explain how the two sides in the conflict between the Karenni and the Burmese Army
have been shown so far in ​Bamboo People.​ What message or theme do you think Mitali
Perkins might be trying to show about the conflict?

Mitali Perkins, the author of ​Bamboo People​, is trying to use the war to show readers that

people can have a very different perspective of the same situation. The Burmese army believes
that the Karenni are trying to destroy their peace, "were it not for the tribal people. They want

to break our country apart and divide it among themselves."(p.48). He thinks the Karenni

people are “ruthless killers”(p.48) who are attempting to take over Burma while the Karenni

thinks the Burmese are the evil people: "They kill without remorse—that’s why our village had

to evacuate three months ago."(p.138) The Burmese soldiers burned down their villages and

killed their families. The Burmese army sees themselves as heroes who are saving their

country from the Karenni people. The Karenni people think the Burmese soldiers are

damaging everything they own and possess. They had seen the Burmese soldiers burn down

their houses, so they see them as killers who are trying to destroy their lives. The Karenni

aren’t wrong about that because it is their opinion and their perspective, but the Burmese can

look at things from a whole other perspective. The Burmese army thought the Karenni are

trying to take over their country. The Burmese army and the Karenni are experiencing the

same situation, but they think about it from opposite sides. Neither of them are right or wrong,

they are just looking at the situation from a different perspective.

Assessment Criteria

You will be assessed on the following criteria:

Criteria A - Analyzing
i. identify and comment upon significant aspects of texts
ii. identify and comment upon the creator’s choices
iii. justify opinions and ideas, using examples, explanations and terminology
iv. identify similarities and differences in features within the text.

Criteria B - Organizing
i. employ organizational structures that serve the context and intention
ii. organize opinions and ideas in a logical manner
iii. use referencing and formatting tools to create a presentation style suitable to the
context and intention.

Criteria D - Using Language

i. use appropriate and varied vocabulary, sentence structures and forms of expression
ii. write in an appropriate register and style
iii. use correct grammar, syntax and punctuation
iv. spell with accuracy