When You Trap a Tiger

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY: Adding to the Stories within the Story

In this activity, analyze the connections between the stories Halmoni, Lily, and the tiger tell and the framing plot of the novel. Then create another story that also connects to the plot.

• Review each story told by Halmoni, the tiger, and Lily.
• Draw a 2-column chart. In the first column, list details from the told stories that have a parallel detail in the framing plot of the novel. For example, the staircase in Lily’s favorite tiger story told by Halmoni parallels the staircase that winds up to Halmoni’s front door. List each parallel from the novel’s plot in the second column.
• Now make a list of plot details that have no corresponding parallel in any of the told stories, such as the muddy pudding or Sam’s fear of driving.
• Choose a few of the details from this list. Write a brief folktale-style story incorporating your chosen plot details as symbols, images, motifs, or other representative elements. Include a tiger or some other creature as a central character. Try to emulate the style and formality of the tales told by Halmoni, the tiger, and Lily.