The 3 Challenges

Build Background, Preview Vocabulary, and Set a Purpose for Reading

• Preview challenging vocabulary from the play with our Vocabulary Skill Builder. Highlighted words: abandon, embers, exiled, expelled, ingenious, mental, modest, ornate, reclines, summon.
• Build background knowledge about Japan by showing the Background Builder “What You Need to Know About Japan.”
• Call on a volunteer to read the Up Close box on page 23.

• Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class or in small groups. Students can also listen to our Author Read-Aloud of the play as a first read. Note that larger speaking roles are marked with an asterisk in the character box on page 23; the smaller roles can be a good fit for students who feel less comfortable reading aloud in class.
• After reading, put students in small groups to discuss the close-reading questions. Then talk about the critical-thinking questions as a class.

Close-Reading Questions

1. Reread Scene 1. How do Lord Togashi’s actions show us the kind of leader he is?(character) In Scene 1, we learn that Lord Togashi is a foolish and hasty ruler. He is more concerned about playing with his dog than receiving important news about the village and makes the drastic decision to banish all elderly people after one elder adviser makes a mistake.
2. How does the author show that Adviser 3 has trouble hearing? (author’s craft) Instead of simply telling us that Adviser 3 didn’t hear Lord Togashi, the author shows us by including the jumbled directions Adviser 3 heard such as “feather the swords” and “horsen the arrows.”
3. Based on context clues in Scene 1, what does expelled mean? (vocabulary) Before declaring that all elderly people are expelled, Lord Togashi says that “only the young and quick” are useful to him. After demanding that all elderly people be expelled from the kingdom, Lord Togashi insists that “only the young and strong will remain.” Based on these context clues, we can guess that expelled means forced out.
4. Reread Scene 2. How do Hanzo and Baachan help each other on their way up the mountain? What does this tell us about their relationship? (theme) Hanzo helps Baachan with his youth and strength by carrying her up the hill. Baachan helps Hanzo with her wisdom by creating a path for him to follow back home. This tells us that they rely on each other and appreciate each other’s abilities.
5. What does Hanzo’s decision to take Baachan back home tell us about him in Scene 2? (character’s motivation) When Hanzo decides to take Baachan back home, we learn that he loves his grandmother enough to defy Lord Togashi by continuing to live with her.
6. Reread Scene 5. How does the author show us that Hanzo is struggling to keep his secret about who solved the challenge? (author’s craft) Hanzo almost tells Lord Togashi that Baachan was responsible for solving the first challenge but quickly corrects himself by turning the start of “my grandmother” into “my grand idea.” Hanzo’s body language at the end of the scene—looking down and remaining silent when he receives praise— also tells us that he is feeling guilty about taking credit for Baachan’s wisdom.
7. Reread Scene 7. Why is Hanzo worried when Baachan decides to eat a snack and feed the ant? (inference) Hanzo is worried because he doesn’t realize Baachan’s snack break and the ant helped her solve Lord Matsuda’s second challenge.
8. How does the illustration on page 26 help you understand Baachan’s solution to Lord Matsuda’s second challenge? (text features) The illustration on page 26 shows the string tied to the ant after it has gnawed its way through the shell to get to the soy sauce.
9. Reread Scene 8. How does the author create suspense after Lord Togashi learns Hanzo’s secret? (author’s craft) After Lord Togashi learns Hanzo’s secret, he doesn’t immediately reveal what he is thinking. We can only assume at first that he plans to punish Baachan when he asks to see her because of his previous order and quick-tempered decisions. It takes 10 lines in the play before we finally learn that Lord Togashi would like to make Baachan his chief adviser.

Critical-Thinking Questions

• How does Baachan manage to solve the three challenges? How are her solutions different from those Lord Togashi expected to use to defeat Lord Matsuda? (problem and solution) Baachan uses her wisdom to solve the three challenges. Her age is an advantage because she has the thoughtfulness and experiences that build up over time. Lord Togashi thought he would defeat Lord Matsuda on the battlefield, but when Lord Matsuda instead poses mental challenges, the youth that Togashi values can’t come up with the solutions.
• In Scene 7, Baachan tells a tiny ant “Indeed, everyone has something to offer.” How is this line related to the theme, or the big lesson, of the story? (theme) The story’s theme teaches us that everyone has a unique strength to contribute to the larger group. The line in Scene 7 shows us that Baachan knew this all along. While Hanzo couldn’t imagine why Baachan would pay attention to an ant when an important challenge needed to be solved, she understood that there was something to learn from everyone and everything around her. After learning that Baachan solved the three challenges and saved the village, Lord Togashi echoed Baachan’s wise observation from Scene 7 by telling the village “we all have value in this world” in Scene 10.

Featured Skill: Problem and Solution

• Distribute or digitally assign the Problem and Solution Skill Builder. Have students complete it independently or with a partner. This skill builder will help prepare students to respond to the writing prompt on page 27. Then you can send their work to our writing contest (see page 2 of the magazine for details)!