Activity Overview
Moon Shadow had many challenges to overcome when he moved to America. As a Chinese immigrant in the early 1900s, he and his family faced a great deal of racism and cruelty. Some of the other challenges that Moon Shadow faced were language, lack of money, making friends, troubled family members, the earthquake, missing his mother, and adapting to the culture of his new home. For this activity, students will create a three cell storyboard that illustrates some challenges that Moon Shadow faced in America.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Due Date:
Objective: Create a spider map that identifies challenges that the Moon Shadow faces in Dragonwings. Illustrate instances of each challenge and write a short description below each cell.
Student Instructions:
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Identify the challenges you wish to include and write them in the headings.
- Create an image for an example that represents this challenge using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
- Write a short description of each of the examples.
- Save and exit when you're done.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Beginning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | The challenge descriptions are clear and at least two sentences. | The challenge descriptions can be understood but it are somewhat unclear. | The challenge descriptions are unclear and are not at least two sentences. |
| Illustrations | The illustrations represent the challenges using appropriate scenes, characters and items. | The illustrations relate to the challenges, but are difficult to understand. | The illustrations do not clearly relate to the challenges. |
| Evidence of Effort | Work is well written and carefully thought out. | Work shows some evidence of effort. | Work shows little evidence of any effort. |
| Conventions | Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are mostly correct. | Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are somewhat correct. | Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are mostly incorrect. |
Activity Overview
Moon Shadow had many challenges to overcome when he moved to America. As a Chinese immigrant in the early 1900s, he and his family faced a great deal of racism and cruelty. Some of the other challenges that Moon Shadow faced were language, lack of money, making friends, troubled family members, the earthquake, missing his mother, and adapting to the culture of his new home. For this activity, students will create a three cell storyboard that illustrates some challenges that Moon Shadow faced in America.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Due Date:
Objective: Create a spider map that identifies challenges that the Moon Shadow faces in Dragonwings. Illustrate instances of each challenge and write a short description below each cell.
Student Instructions:
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Identify the challenges you wish to include and write them in the headings.
- Create an image for an example that represents this challenge using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
- Write a short description of each of the examples.
- Save and exit when you're done.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Beginning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | The challenge descriptions are clear and at least two sentences. | The challenge descriptions can be understood but it are somewhat unclear. | The challenge descriptions are unclear and are not at least two sentences. |
| Illustrations | The illustrations represent the challenges using appropriate scenes, characters and items. | The illustrations relate to the challenges, but are difficult to understand. | The illustrations do not clearly relate to the challenges. |
| Evidence of Effort | Work is well written and carefully thought out. | Work shows some evidence of effort. | Work shows little evidence of any effort. |
| Conventions | Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are mostly correct. | Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are somewhat correct. | Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are mostly incorrect. |
How Tos about Challenges in Dragonwings
Engage Students with Empathy Mapping for Moon Shadow’s Challenges
Empathy mapping helps students deepen their understanding of Moon Shadow’s experiences by putting themselves in his shoes. This activity fosters critical thinking and meaningful discussion about the character’s struggles.
Introduce empathy mapping as a class activity
Explain that students will create an empathy map for Moon Shadow, focusing on what he might think, feel, see, and hear as he faces challenges. Highlight how this will help them connect with the character’s perspective.
Divide students into small groups to brainstorm
Ask each group to discuss and list possible thoughts, emotions, and sensory details Moon Shadow might experience. Encourage collaboration and respectful sharing of ideas to build a richer empathy map.
Guide students to organize their empathy maps
Provide a template with four labeled sections: Think, Feel, See, Hear. Have students fill in each section with specific examples from the novel, supporting their choices with evidence.
Facilitate a class discussion to reflect on insights
Invite groups to share their empathy maps. Lead a discussion about how Moon Shadow’s challenges might influence his actions and decisions, helping students build empathy and gain deeper literary understanding.
Frequently Asked Questions about Challenges in Dragonwings
What challenges did Moon Shadow face in Dragonwings?
Moon Shadow faced many challenges in Dragonwings, including racism, language barriers, poverty, missing his mother, and adapting to a new culture in America.
How can students illustrate Moon Shadow’s challenges for a classroom activity?
Students can use a three-cell storyboard to show different challenges Moon Shadow faced by drawing scenes, adding characters, and writing short descriptions for each example.
What is a spider map and how is it used in this Dragonwings lesson?
A spider map is a graphic organizer that helps students visually list and describe each challenge Moon Shadow faces, making it easier to organize ideas for assignments.
Why did Moon Shadow struggle to adapt to life in America?
Moon Shadow struggled because he encountered racism, unfamiliar language, new customs, and missed his family, all of which made adjusting to American life difficult.
What are effective ways to help students understand character challenges in historical fiction?
Teachers can use storyboards, spider maps, and class discussions to help students connect with characters’ experiences and explore the impact of historical events on their lives.
More Storyboard That Activities
Dragonwings
Testimonials
“By using the product, they were so excited and they learned so much...”–K-5 Librarian and Instructinal Technology Teacher
“I'm doing a Napoleon timeline and I'm having [students] determine whether or not Napoleon was a good guy or a bad guy or somewhere in between.”–History and Special Ed Teacher
“Students get to be creative with Storyboard That and there's so many visuals for them to pick from... It makes it really accessible for all students in the class.”–Third Grade Teacher
© 2025 - Clever Prototypes, LLC - All rights reserved.
StoryboardThat is a trademark of Clever Prototypes, LLC, and Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
