Rules of the Game

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

In “Rules of the Game,” Waverly’s mother often instructs her children through proverbs, or short wise expressions. What is the meaning of the following Chinese proverb? “One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.”

Teaching Suggestion: Review metaphors with students: comparisons between two objects, suggesting a similarity. The words “like” or “as” do not appear.

• Provide students with interpretative sentence frames. The author compares _____ to _____ to show the similarity _____.

Short Activity

Utilize a copy of the rules and a physical or digital chessboard to familiarize yourself with the game of chess before playing the game for 10-15 minutes. Discuss the experience in a brief paragraph in your notes or a reading journal.

Teaching Suggestion: Place students into groups. If possible, place someone familiar with chess in each group. After the activity, lead students to discuss the appeal of chess, a game that has existed since its origins in ancient India.

• “How to Play Chess” from The New York Times gives a brief how-to overview of the game of chess. (Subscription may be required.)

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who find technical texts challenging, an instructional video regarding chess might be a good supplement.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the story.

What was your favorite game as a child? How were you introduced to the game? How did you learn the rules of the game and how to play? Who were your opponents, and what strategies did you develop for winning? What was the etiquette of losing? What was the level of competition?

Teaching Suggestion: Prior to discussion, ask students to brainstorm a list of games they played as children. Record the list on the board. Encourage students to support their thinking with examples based on the games listed on the board.

• “Top 10 Historical Board Games” describes popular board games from 5,000 years of history. Point out to students that mahjong is the game played by the Joy Luck Club, of which Waverly’s mom is a member.

Differentiation Suggestion: Tap into prior knowledge by allowing students to play a simple game such as Uno prior to the discussion. This preparation will help students who are more concrete thinkers with more abstract concepts such as the etiquette of losing.