Read “The Alternate History of Susan Chung” and answer the following questions. Then “submit” your work.
1. Fact or Opinion The author writes, “Maybe my parents would have preferred a son instead of a daughter” (para. 16). Is this a statement of fact or opinion?
2. Visual A photo appears on p. 257. Why do you think it was included? How does the inclusion of this photograph affect your response to the reading?
3. Inference What can you infer from the last sentence of Callahan’s essay?
4. Conflict and Tension How does the author build tension? What is the climax of the story, and how does she resolve the tension?
5. Writing Write the letter that you think Callahan would have written to her birthparents, given what she learned from her adoption file. Be prepared to share your letter with the class, and discuss the reasons you wrote the letter you did.