Lesson Plan: Everything I Need to Know I Learned in a Thai Restaurant

Essential Questions

• How can food bring people together across cultures and differences?
• What does it mean to work hard and with dignity?

Literature Connection

• Short story collection: Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers by Rose Brock (editor)
• Graphic memoir: Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back by Ruth Chan
• Graphic memoir: Maybe an Artist by Liz Montague

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the story. Then preview text features with the following prompts.

• Read the story’s title and subtitle. Then read the “Know the Genre” sidebar, which tells you the text is a memoir. Have you read a memoir before? How is a memoir different from an autobiography? Answers to the first question will vary. Sample answer for the second question: A memoir is different from an autobiography because it focuses on specific moments in a person’s life rather than telling their entire life story.
• Skim through the story and notice the callout bubbles along the margins. Read the skills in each one, such as Build Knowledge, Figurative Language, and Inference. Are there any skills that are not familiar to you? Answers will vary.
• Find the “About the Author” section at the end of the story. Who is Christina Soontornvat? Why are two photos of her included? Christina Soontornvat is an award-winning author with a father from Thailand and a mother from Texas. A photo of Soontornvat from seventh grade is included along with a photo of her as an adult. It’s possible that the memoir will include events that took place when Soontornvat was in seventh grade.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the terms (loyal, unifying, furiously, elegantly, comeuppance, dignity) aloud and discuss their definitions.
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow

Make a Plan for Reading

• Before students startn to read, set a purpose for reading by telling them that they will make inferences about “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in a Thai Restaurant.” Explain that making an inference means using clues from the text  to figure out something that isn’t directly stated. (You may also consider showing our “Skills in Action: What Is an Inference?” video.)

• Read the story (or visit Action Online and click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud). Then discuss the close-reading questions found in the margins (answers below) and the critical-thinking questions below.

Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes)

• Figurative Language (p. 16) The author compares a restaurant to a swimming duck—calm on the surface but paddling furiously underneath. This metaphor shows how hard restaurant workers are working behind the scenes to create a calm, pleasant experience for customers.
• Interpreting Text (p. 16) Soontornvat is saying that many workers go unnoticed and unappreciated, even though they work extremely hard. She’s reminding readers to recognize and respect the people who keep businesses, schools, and other parts of daily life running smoothly.
• Figurative Language (p. 17) When the author says “I had earned my duck feet,” she means she handled a problem quickly without appearing stressed, just like a duck that looks peaceful while paddling hard. “Be a duck” means to get something done in a hurry without showing panic.
• Inference (p. 17) The author describes the woman as “elegantly dressed” with a “large designer handbag,” which suggests she is wealthy or wants to appear that way.
• Compare and Contrast (p. 18) The lesson in this section is that appearances don’t always tell the full story and that we shouldn’t assume things about people based on how they look. While the woman with the fancy handbag appeared to have plenty of money, she tried to steal from the restaurant. In contrast, the man with the scuffed boots was wealthy and left a generous tip.
• Make a Prediction (p. 18) The title of this section suggests that instead of reacting negatively to unfair treatment, Christina’s family chooses to keep being their best selves. The section will likely show how the family responds to rudeness politely and professionally rather than with anger.
• Interpreting Text (p. 18) Soontornvat is saying that, instead of allowing other people’s bad behavior to change him, her father took the high road. He treated people with respect even when he didn’t feel respected by them, and he had the satisfaction of knowing that his behavior was better than theirs.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

• Soontornvat says, “I learned some big, important lessons about people and about life. Now I pass these lessons on to you.” Which lesson from the essay are you most likely to use in your own life, and how? Answers will vary. Sample answer: I think the lesson “We are all influencers” is most likely to stay with me. It will remind me that my behavior and how I treat people could have a greater effect than I’ll ever know. That will help me remember to be generous and respectful in all my relationships. 
• The author describes how her family’s restaurant helped introduce people in her town to Thai food and culture. How can food be a window into another culture, and what are some other ways that cultural traditions can be shared? Sample answer: Food shares the history of a place and its people through ingredients, flavors, and cooking styles, passing down traditions over time. It can show where people have come from and what they value. Besides food, culture is shared through music, language, celebrations, and clothing, all of which can help people connect and understand each other better.

• Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Inference activity at the end of the play.
• Assign students to work independently on our FIgurative Language Skill Builder. (Click here to see all your Skill Builders for this feature.)
• Writing prompt: In her essay, Soontornvat states, “Food is love. Food is peace.” She means that sharing good food can lead to greater peace and love among people, and also that eating good food can be very satisfying and comforting. Think of a food that you find especially appealing or comforting. Write a paragraph describing the food and explaining why you like it so much. Include details about how the food looks, feels, smells, and tastes (and sounds, if you want). You can also include information about your own experiences with the food (for instance, maybe you find it comforting because it reminds you of childhood visits to your grandmother’s house).