Narrators 1, 2, 3 (N1, N2, and N3)*
Emperor*
Aides 1, 2, 3
Jun (chuhn), the Emperor’s nephew*
Lan (lahn), the Emperor’s niece*
Characters
Choose the character you will play. *Starred characters have large speaking roles.
Art by Heng Zeng
Play,
The Emperor's Contest
Who has what it takes to become China’s next ruler?
By Sari Bodi and Karen Trott
From the October/November 2022 Issue
Learning Objectives: Students will determine the theme of the play by identifying the lesson the Emperor wants to teach the children.
Complexity Factors
Guided Reading Level: S
DRA Level: 40
Featured Skill:
Theme,
Other Key Skills: sequence of events, key idea, character, character’s motivation, text evidence, key details, plot, theme, evaluating evidence, inference, compare and contrast
Standards
Scene 1
The Emperor's gardens in ancient China
Jim McMahon/Mapman ®
N1: The Emperor and his aides look out over beautiful white roses, purple tulips, and yellow daffodils.
Emperor (sighing) : What will happen to my gardens when I’m gone? They’re my pride and joy. If only I had children to inherit my empire.
Aide 1: Sire, you have your nieces and nephew.
Emperor: I do not trust their hearts. Their pleasant words seem insincere.
Aide 2: That may be. They were playing near the lemon trees and became silent as ghosts when I passed by.
Emperor: I see them now.
Aide 3: Let’s find out what they’re up to.
N2: Near the trees, Jun, Lan, and Mei are chatting, completely unaware that the Emperor and his aides are approaching.
Jun: Hey, has anyone seen our Uncle the Emperor, Ruler of the Sun, and blah, blah, blah?
Lan: He’s probably under a rosebush, checking for root rot.
Mei: Achoo! I hate roses. I’m allergic.
Lan: How many gardeners do you think he has?
Mei: One thousand. Achoo!
Jun: What a waste of effort.
Lan: If I inherit this, it all gets buried under shiny, cool marble.
Mei: Let’s put lots of statues of us on top.
Lan: Then our beauty will be on display for eternity!
Mei: Which is way longer than any stupid flower will last. Plus—achoo!—I’m not allergic to statues.
Jun: If I take the throne, I’ll dig all this out, turn the garden into a lake, and have boat races for me and my friends.
N3: The Emperor can stand no more. He steps out from behind the trees.
N1: Jun, Lan, and Mei gasp in surprise.
Lan: Uncle! We didn’t know you were so near. We’ve been taking in the scented air.
Mei: It is as fresh and pure as your roses.
Jun: Dear Uncle, teach us how to make your garden last for an eternity.
Emperor (angrily) : Enough! Leave me, now!
N2: The children are stunned but depart.
Emperor: So they are all liars—and heartless ones at that.
Aide 1: Sire, can we help?
Emperor: Gather all the children in the land. I have an idea.
Scene 2
A flower stall in the market
N3: A girl named Ling hands pots of flowers to one of her buyers.
Ling: Here, I wrote down how much water and sun each should get.
Buyer: I’m afraid they’ll all wither in my hands. I don’t have your green thumb, Ling.
Ling: Just remember, each plant has different needs, just like people.
Buyer: Yours are so healthy. It must be hard to let them go.
Ling (laughing) : Oh yes, but I always keep a little cutting and grow another plant from it.
Buyer: You can do that? My, you have a gift.
N1: The buyer hands her coins and turns away.
N2: Ling counts them and calls out.
Ling: Wait! You gave me too much!
Buyer: I meant to. You charged too little for these lovely plants.
Ling: Oh, but I can’t take more than I asked for.
Buyer: I insist.
Ling: Here then, take this pot of mint. I insist!
Art by Heng Zeng
Scene 3
The Emperor’s gardens, a week later
N3: The gardens are packed with children from across the empire.
N1: Ling stands alongside the Emperor’s nieces and nephew.
N2: She looks about in wonder.
Ling: I never imagined so much beauty contained in one place.
Lan (whispering to Jun) : I never imagined so many commoners contained in one place.
Mei: It’s so crowded. Why are we here?
Jun: Uncle is going to make an important announcement.
Ling: About what?
Jun: Declaring me the next emperor.
Lan: Or me.
Mei: What about me?
N3: A gong rings, and an aide appears.
Aide 2: Silence for our Supreme Emperor!
Emperor: Children, welcome to our glorious gardens.
Aide 3: They speak to the world of our greatness.
Emperor: You are here to help me find the worthiest subject to replace me as Emperor when the time comes—one with the rarest of qualities.
Aide 1: We will choose this person through a contest.
Jun (whispering to Lan) : We have to compete?
Aide 2: The Emperor commands you to each take home one pot and one seed.
Aide 3: Plant the seed, make it grow, and return a year from today with your pot.
Emperor: I shall choose the winner.
N1: As Ling lines up to collect her pot and seed, her heart beats with excitement.
Scene 4
A small hut surrounded by a beautiful garden
N2: Ling shares the news with her parents.
Mama: Oh child, you are sure to be chosen.
Papa: You are the finest gardener of any age.
Ling: I’ll get to work right away!
N3: Ling washes her pot and adds a few scoops of rich soil.
N1: She plants the seed and adds more soil.
N2: Then she pours a glass of fresh water over the pot and waits. And waits and waits.
N3: For weeks, nothing happens.
Ling: Come on, little seed. Grow!
N1: Ling turns the pot around in the sun. She even reads to her seed.
N2: Months pass, seasons change, and still not the tiniest leaf.
Ling (weeping) : Mama, Papa, it’s not growing. I have failed at what I do best.
N3: Mama and Papa hug Ling tight.
Mama: There, there, my child.
N1: When winter comes, Ling sleeps with the pot at her feet to keep the seed warm.
N2: More and more months pass.
Ling (defeated) : Tomorrow I must return to the Emperor, but with what?
Papa: Go with your heart.
Mama: You tried your very best, my child. That is all anyone can ask of you.
Art by Heng Zeng
Scene 5
The gate of the Emperor’s gardens
N3: Ling and her parents watch children pass by.
N1: Each lugs a pot overflowing with flowers of all colors and sizes.
N2: Jun, Lan, and Mei sweep past Ling.
N3: Servants carry their pots.
Ling (shocked) : They all have big, blooming flowers! I have only an empty pot. Please, let’s go home. I can’t go in.
Mama: Your Emperor commands you, my child.
Papa: Be brave.
N1: Ling drags herself through the gate.
N2: The other children all point and laugh.
N3: Ling looks down, ashamed.
N1: Then a gong rings.
Aide 1: Presenting the Emperor of China!
Emperor: Children, show me what you’ve grown.
N2: His nieces and nephew push to the front.
Lan (boasting) : Uncle, look! My lilac bush is as tall as you.
Emperor: It is truly a wonder, to have grown that big in only a year.
Mei: Mine is a plum tree. I know how much you love plums.
Emperor: As do you, since you seem to have eaten all of them.
Jun: Uncle, look, my Venus flytrap is swallowing a fly! Works better than a fly swatter.
Emperor: Amazing, Jun, when I’ve never actually seen you make the effort to swat a fly.
N3: The Emperor’s face darkens as he moves through the crowd toward Ling.
Emperor: What about you, child? Have you nothing to show me?
Ling: Your Majesty, I beg you to forgive me. I planted, watered, and even read to my seed. But in the end, nothing would grow.
N1: The Emperor claps his hands together.
Emperor: Excellent! What is your name?
Ling (confused) : Sire, it’s Ling. But what is excellent? My plant didn’t grow.
Emperor: True. Yours alone did not. Which tells me that you are the only honest one among all these children.
N2: The Emperor points to Ling’s pot.
Emperor: Children, the seeds I gave all of you were boiled. They could not grow.
N3: The children gasp.
Emperor: What Ling has in her empty pot and in her heart is the most precious seed of all—the seed of honesty.
N1: The Emperor takes Ling’s hand.
Emperor: Ling, you have won the contest and will succeed me on the throne.
Ling: Oh, Sire, thank you! You can count on me to do my very best.
Jun: That’s not fair! It was supposed to be me.
Lan: No, me!
Mei: Me! Me! Me!
Emperor: Well, as you three can see, your dishonesty cost you the throne. But I can’t be heartless with my own flesh and blood.
N2: Jun, Lan, and Mei look expectantly at their uncle.
Emperor: Starting early tomorrow morning, you will begin working in my gardens alongside me. It’s time I got to know you better.
Jun: No!
Lan: I can’t believe it!
Mei: Achoo!
Write to Win
Write a speech from the Emperor to his nieces and nephew explaining why he chose Ling to succeed him. Use specific examples from the play. Send it to “Emperor Contest” by Dec. 1, 2022. Five winners will each receive a $20 gift card to the Scholastic Store Online. Visit the Storyworks Contests page for more information.
This play was originally published in the October/November 2022 issue.
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Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Table of Contents
Close Reading, Critical Thinking
4. Differentiate and Customize
Striving Readers, Advanced Readers, Multilingual Learners
1. Preparing to Read
Introduce the Story (5 minutes)
Build Knowledge, Introduce Vocabulary, and Set a Purpose for Reading
- Before reading, ask students to think about qualities that are important for being a ruler. Tell them that in the play they are about to read, an Emperor will choose his successor based on the quality he thinks is most important. Ask students to predict what quality the Emperor thinks is most important.
- Explain that the play is based on a folktale that’s popular in China. Watch our Background Builder on China to build background knowledge about this country.
- Distribute or digitally assign the Vocabulary Skill Builder to preview challenging terms. Highlighted terms: inherit, insincere, eternity, wither, green thumb, commoners, subject, succeed, flesh and blood.
- Call on a volunteer to read the Up Close box on page 23.
2. Reading the Play
Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class or in groups. You can also listen to an Editor Read-Aloud of the play (available in your Resources tab)!
- After reading, put students in small groups to discuss the close-reading questions. Then talk about the critical-thinking questions as a class.
Assign parts and read the play aloud as a class or in groups. You can also listen to an Editor Read-Aloud of the play (available in your Resources tab)!
Close-Reading Questions
- Read Scene 1. What is the Emperor worried about? Why is he worried? (key details) The Emperor is worried about what will happen to his gardens when he is gone. He does not have any children to inherit his empire, and he doesn’t trust his nieces and nephew.
- Based on Scene 1, is the Emperor correct to believe that his nieces and nephew are not trustworthy? What evidence supports his claim? (text evidence/evaluating evidence) The Emperor is correct to believe that his nieces and nephew are not trustworthy. When Jun, Lan, and Mei think that no one is listening, they say that the garden is “a waste of effort,” call the flowers “stupid,” and admit that they would bury it under shiny marble if they inherit it. Once they are in front of their uncle, they pretend that they were admiring the garden and ask him to teach them how to make it “last for an eternity.”
- Based on Ling’s actions in Scene 2, what can you figure out, or infer, about her character? (character/inference) Based on her actions in Scene 2, I can tell that Ling is a very caring and capable gardener who enjoys her work. She is also extremely honest and humble, refusing to take more money than her asking price.
- At the end of Scene 3, the narrator says that Ling’s heart “beats with excitement.” Why does she feel excited? (character’s motivation) Ling feels excited because the Emperor will choose a successor based on a contest. The contest is to plant a seed, make it grow, and return in a year. Ling is passionate about gardening and is excited to participate in the contest.
- Describe Ling’s actions in Scene 4. Do you think she tried her best? (sequence of events) Ling carefully washed the pot and added rich soil. She planted the seed and added more soil. She watered the seed and waited, for weeks, for the seed to sprout. She tended to the seed all winter, and slept with the pot at her feet to keep the seed warm. She even read to her seed. Although nothing happened, she gave her best effort to make the seed grow.
- In Scene 5, how does Ling’s pot compare with the other children’s pots? (compare and contrast) Ling’s pot is the only empty pot. All of the other children have big, blooming flowers. There is a lilac bush, a plum tree, and a Venus flytrap.
- What do the actions of the other children, including the Emperor’s nieces and nephew, tell you in Scene 5? (plot/key idea) The other children all point and laugh at Ling and her empty pot. This tells me that they don’t care about how their actions make Ling feel. The Emperor’s nieces and nephew arrive with their servants carrying their pots. They push to the front and boast to their uncle. This shows that they are self-centered and lack morals. Finally, they all arrive with plants that did not come from the seed they were given. This shows that they are dishonest.
- Why is the Emperor happy when he sees Ling’s pot? (key idea) He is happy when he sees Ling’s pot because it is the only pot that does not have a plant in it. The seeds that he gave to the children had been boiled, and were not able to grow. The Emperor is able to see that all of the other children lied, and Ling is the only honest child there.
Critical-Thinking Questions
- What lesson does the Emperor teach the children? (theme) The Emperor teaches the children that the most important thing a person can be is honest. Through the contest, he demonstrates that success is not determined by appearances or end results, but through hard work and honesty.
- How does Ling show courage in the play? (character) Ling is scared to face the Emperor with her empty pot. She feels defeated and is embarrassed to enter the Emperor’s garden. Seeing the other children’s blooming flowers only makes it worse. But although she is nervous and feels ashamed, she is brave and goes to face the Emperor as promised. She could have given up or lied like the other children, but instead she was honest and showed courage.
3. Skill Building and Writing
Featured Skill: Theme
Assign the Theme Skill Builder or assign the Slide Deck. Have students complete it independently or together with a partner. This skill builder will help prepare students to respond to the writing prompt on page 26.
Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers
As students read, use the illustrations to help guide them in reviewing the major plot points of the story. After each scene, have students look at the corresponding illustrations and summarize what they see happening in each drawing. (Scene 4 is illustrated on page 25, and Scene 5 is illustrated on pages 22-23 and 26). Students can use sticky notes in the magazine or use notes in the Presentation View on the website for their summaries.
For Advanced Readers
Have students create illustrations for Scenes 2 and 3 of the story. Students should make sure their illustrations include the main characters of each scene. At the bottom of each illustration, have students write a summary of the scene.
For Multilingual Learners
Have the students listen to the read-aloud of the play online before reading the play together as a class. The read-aloud will model fluent reading and expression.
Can't-Miss Teaching Extras
Make a Science Connection
Have students work in small groups to complete a hands-on investigation about how plants grow from seeds with our Science Hands-on Slideshow. Have students check their seeds and record observations for a few minutes each day. At the end of the investigation, have students share their results with the class. (Note: The beans may take 8-10 days to sprout and not all beans may sprout, which is part of the investigation.)
Explore the Storyworks Archive
Delve into other play adaptations of folktales with morals, such as “Stone Soup,” “The Elephants and the Mice,” and “Feathers in the Wind.”
Read a Book
The book The Empty Pot by Demi is based on the same folktale as our play. Or, enjoy this video of actor Rami Malik reading the book aloud. (Note: The video begins after a short ad.)
Watch a Video
This video from CBC Kids shows kids talking about the theme of the play: honesty. (Note: The video begins after a short ad.)
Text-to-Speech