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The Roses in My Carpets Presentation - Teacher Guide

 

 

 

About Rukhsana Khan 

 

Rukhsana has been writing for over fifteen years with seven books published, several of which have been nominated and/or won various awards.  Along the way she also became a storyteller and has performed at numerous festivals.   

Rukhsana was born in Lahore, Pakistan and immigrated to Canada, with her family, at the age of three.  She began by writing for community magazines and went on to write songs and stories for the Adam's World children's videos.  She currently has six books published and others under contract.  Rukhsana is a member of SCBWI, The Writers Union of Canada, CANSCAIP, and the Storytelling School of Toronto.   She lives in Toronto with her husband and family.  Rukhsana has four children, three girls and a boy. 

 

The Roses in My Carpets Presentation

 

 This presentation is a behind the scenes look at the inspiration and creative process of this award-winning story.  

 

Themes in the Performance

 

  • Racism and wanting to fit in

  • Foster children and refugees 

  • Conditions of war

  • Poverty and living conditions in the third world

  • Putting oneself in the point of view of someone else

  • A visual tour of an Afghan refugee camp

  • The ingenuity of mud houses

  • The importance of revision in the creative process

  • The importance of perseverance

  • Helping orphans and developing libraries in Afghanistan

 

Pre-Performance Discussion Topics and Activities

Exploring the Setting:   

The story is set in Peshawar, Pakistan.  Peshawar lies on one of the routes of the ancient Silk Road.  The Khyber Pass is the most important route between Pakistan and Afghanistan.   To find out more about this strategic area see the webpages below: 

http://www.afghan-network.net/Culture/khyber.html 

http://members.tripod.com/victrav/pass2.html 

Afghanistan has long been the victim of invasion from ancient times to modern.  In recent history the British, the Russians and the Americans have invaded.  They have always been met with fierce resistance because the Afghan are a proudly independent people.

The correct term for a person from Afghanistan is ‘Afghan’ not Afghani.  ‘Afghani’ is the name of the currency.

There are three predominant languages in Afghanistan:  Dari, Pushto and Farsi. 

 

Junior

  1.  Read the book to the students.

  2. Find Afghanistan and Pakistan on a world map.

  3. Find the city of Peshawar.  Note how close it is to the border. 

  4. What land features are prevalent in the area?  (This area is part of the Himalayas.What mountain(s) in the area have the students heard of?)

  5. What is the climate of the area?  How cold does it get in winter?  How hot in summer?  How would that affect living conditions for the characters in the story? 

  6. Discuss wars and how many children are involved in war all over the world. What are refugees? The term ‘refugee’ comes from the word ‘refuge’ which means ‘a safe place’, so refugees are those who are looking for a safe place. Ask if they know anyone who is a refugee.

  7. Ask if they know what a foster child is, and how you can have a foster child from another country.

  8. Conflict resolution--Discuss ways in which people can solve problems without having a war.

  9. Tell the children that they are going to meet a story-teller, author who has written a story about a refugee camp in Afghanistan, after she visited her foster child.

Intermediate and Secondary:

  1. Read the book.

  2. Find Afghanistan and Pakistan on a world map.

  3. Find the city of Peshawar.  Note how close it is to the border. 

  4. What land features are prevalent in the area?  (This area is part of the Himalayas.  What mountain(s) in the area have the students heard of?)

  5. What is the climate of the area?  How cold does it get in winter?  How hot in summer?  How would that affect living conditions for the characters in the story? 

  6. What are the countries that have recently invaded Afghanistan?  When would this story be set?  Is the story still applicable today?  If so, why? 

  7. When the boy says “Black is for the night that cloaks us from enemy eyes” would that statement still be true today according to current technology?

  8. Why do you suppose the author did not identify the country responsible for the bombing?  Does the anonymity of the enemy help or hinder the story?

  9. Why is the protagonist nameless?  Why do you suppose the author chose not to name him?

  10. Discuss current wars and how many children are involved in war all over the world.

  11. What are refugees?  Where does the term ‘refugee’ come from.  What is the root meaning?

  12. What does the word ‘foster’ mean?  What does the word ‘sponsor’ mean?  Both terms are used in the story.

  13. Examine the paragraph where the boy describes himself as a foster child.  How does he feel about being sponsored?  What is this story ultimately about?

 

 

Post Performance Discussion Topics

 

Language Arts:

Junior:

  1. What two words on the first page let you know that the bombs and the airplanes are not flying now?

  2. In what other countries could this story be true?

  3. Why does the boy say that washing his face is "a useless habit"?

  4. What does he mean when he says "I will pull my sash a little tighter."?

  5. How can you tell how the boy felt about his father?

  6. In what ways does the boy show he cares for his sister? 

  7. What is the best description in the story?  Why did you choose that particular sentence?

  8. Describe in your own words where the boy lives with his mother and sister.

  9. Discuss what happens next in the boy’s story when the book is over.

Intermediate/Secondary: 

  1. One of the basic rules of writing is ‘show don’t tell’.  Ie. Show the emotions of the characters, show their situation, don’t tell what they’re feeling.  The word ‘poor’ doesn’t occur at all in the text of the story.  How has the author shown the family in the story is poor?

  2. A motif is a recurring element that has symbolic significance to the story.  What are some of the recurring motifs of the story?  (bread, bombing jets, dreams)

  3. The bread motif appears three times in the story.  How does the author use the bread motif to illustrate the relationship between the main character and his sister?

  4. How would this story be different if told through his sister’s eyes?

  5. The boy says his father would never have taken money from a sponsor.  The boy does, would you in these circumstances?

  6.  Imagine you had to work to support your family, what job would you be interested in learning about?  Why?

  7. Discuss what happens next in his story when the book is over.

 

Post Performance Activities: 

 

Junior: 

  1. Using a box, create a diorama of one of the scenes in the book. You can use any media that you wish.

  2. Write a "found poem" based on the text in the book.  Choose a particularly vivid scene and pair down the words to their most basic elements.  Then experiment with line breaks for effect.  Be sure to write Rukhsana Khan as the author, and the full title but list yourself as the person who "found" the poem within the text.

  3. Write a story about a ‘refuge’ you know.

  4. Research the United Nations and the way it ministers to refugees all over the world.

  5. Write a story where you have to move from your home because of war.  How would you feel?

  6. Weaving activity--talk about looms and knotting of rugs. Discover Mathematical formulas to make a pattern. Provide carpet mesh and yarn for rug hooking or use graph paper and colored pencils. Look on the back of a carpet and count the number of knots per inch. Discuss ways of repeating a pattern.

  7. Cut out the shape of a pallet (don’t forget that little donut hole in the corner) and choose a pallet of colors you would use to tell this story. [Teachers: this is particularly effective if you at first don’t let them see the illustrations] What do different colors mean to you? What is ‘white’ for you? What is ‘black’? What are the colors of the rainbow. Discuss the mixing of colors--red + yellow = orange, etc.

Intermediate/Secondary: 

  1. Brainstorm ways students can participate in the ongoing effort to help orphans in Afghanistan and other war-torn countries.  Visit the author’s website:  http://www.rukhsanakhan.com/orphanafghan.htm

  1. Have the students cut out an article from a newspaper or magazine.  The article should be accompanied by a picture of the person in the story.  Have the students examine the facial expressions of the person, and compare it to the newspaper story.  Have the students rewrite the story as if they were the person in the picture and it had happened to them.

  2. Weaving activity--talk about looms and knotting of rugs. Discover Mathematical formulas to make a pattern. Provide carpet mesh and yarn for rug hooking or use graph paper and colored pencils. Look on the back of a carpet and count the number of knots per inch. Discuss ways of repeating a pattern.

  3. During the presentation the process for making mud houses was outlined.  In groups, make your own model mud houses using clay or mud mixed with grass. Mold the clay into small (lego-size) bricks, let them air dry and then stack then up into walls. Plaster over with more mud, lay sticks across the top and build them into the little huts. On top of that, lay plastic wrap (to represent the garbage bags) and then more mud inside. Doors and windows are made with beams of wood laid across in lintel fashion.  Explore how bricks are made here.  Show how the process differs from Afghan houses.

  4. In groups create a comparison chart of your daily life compared to the boy’s daily life.

  5. Write in role:  e.g. Write a letter from one character in the story to another.  Write a letter from a reader of the story to one of the characters in the story. Write an imaginary diary entry or a newspaper report or prepare a documentary on Afghanistan.

  6.  Make a character change chart showing how one character changes during the story and what caused the change.

 

Music/Drama

Junior/Intermediate:

  1. Act out the scene where the boy goes to the hospital because of Maha’s accident. Don’t use the book as a script, just stay true to the story.

  2. Find and listen to some traditional Pakistani music. Describe what it sounds like to you and what instruments you think are being used.

  3. On slips of paper write the major events of the story: bomb dream, learning carpets, school, accident, hospital, etc. Pick one out and try to-without saying a word, or even using gestures, have your partner guess which scene by “reading” your facial expressions.

 

Other Related Books:

Junior picture books and novels:

From Far Away by Saoussan Askar and Robert Munsch

Sami and the Time of Troubles by Florency Parry Heide & Gilliland Judith Heide

The Color of Home by Mary Hoffman

The Carpet Boy’s Gift by Pegi Deitz Shea

Parvana’s Journey by Deborah Ellis

 Mud City by Deborah Ellis

 Intermediate and secondary: 

The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini

 

Curriculum Connections: (selected from Grades 3, 6, and 8)

Teachers please note: These curriculum connections were taken from the Ontario guidelines.  Curriculum requirements vary from board to board but many of these connections may be applicable to your classroom.

 The suggested activities provide students with opportunities to demonstrate achievement levels in many of the curriculum expectations, including the following:  

Language Arts

 Junior/Intermediate

  • demonstrate an understanding of the information and ideas in a variety of oral texts by summarizing important ideas and citing important details

  • extend understanding of oral texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights

  • identify the presentation strategies used in oral texts and analyse their effect on the audience

  • identify some non-verbal cues, including facial expression, gestures, and eye contact, and use them in oral communications, appropriately and with sensitivity towards cultural differences, to help convey their meaning

  • read a wide variety of texts from diverse cultures, including literary texts

  • develop interpretations about texts using stated and implied ideas to support their interpretations

  • extend understanding of texts by connecting, comparing, and contrasting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insight

  • identify the topic, purpose, and audience for a variety of writing forms

  • gather information to support ideas for writing

  • establish a distinctive voice in their writing appropriate to the subject and audience

  • identify their point of view and other possible points of view

 Social Studies 

Junior/Intermediate

  • use base maps and a variety of information sources to sketch the relative position of places

  • describe Canada's participation in international efforts to address current global issues (e.g. peacekeeping and reconstruction in Afghanistan; international foster child programs)

  • analyse, synthesize, and evaluate historical information from different points of view

  • communicate the results of inquiries for specific purposes and audiences, using media works, , oral presentations, written notes and descriptions,  and drawings,

  • summarize the factors that affect patterns of urbanization, industrialization, and transportation. (E.g. how geography affects life in Afghanistan

  • use a variety of geographic representations, resources, tools, and technologies to gather, process, and communicate geographic information about regional, national, and international economic systems; (e.g. compare Canada and Afghanistan)

  • describe a variety of ways in which people use and manage renewable, non-renewable, and flow resources to meet their needs (e.g. daily coping  with life in the refugee camp)

The Arts 

Junior/Intermediate

 

Music

  • communicate their thoughts and feelings about the music they hear

  • using language and a variety of art forms and media express their responses to music from a variety of cultures

Drama/Dance

  • demonstrate understanding of ways of sustaining the appropriate voice or character (e.g. body language, voice, facial expression

  • write in role in various forms (e.g., monologues, speeches, radio or television broadcasts), showing understanding of the complexity of a dramatic situation

Visual Art

  • describe how artists representing a variety of historical periods, styles, and cultures have used the elements and principles of design to create a specific effect

  • describe how the repetition of elements of design creates rhythm, which unifies the composition