American Like Me

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Introduction-Essay 10

Reading Check

1. In the ninth grade, one of America Ferrera’s teachers draws attention to her first name, embarrassing her. What subject does this teacher teach?

2. What holiday is Ferrera named after?

3. What is Reshma Saujani’s primary method of cultural assimilation, as she describes in Essay 1?

4. What trait is passed down through generations of Madrigal men, according to Al Madrigal, the popular comedian in Essay 2?

5. What chain restaurant does Jenny Zhang’s family idolize while growing up, as she describes in Essay 3?

6. To what borough of New York City do Bambadjan Bamba’s parents move from the “Ivory Coast” in Africa in 1994?

7. When Padma Lakshmi was a child, her mother enrolls her in Catholic school. Of what religion is her mother a devout practitioner?

8. Randall Park, a Korean American, confesses that he does not know many details about his parents’ past. To what kind of reading material does he compare his parents being like more than a history book?

9. As described in Essay 7, what idea does Roxane Gay struggle to enforce with her Haitian parents?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Essay 8, how and why does Carmen Perez associate community with extended family?

2. Issa Rae describes her failed attempt to celebrate Ramadan as a teenager in Essay 9. How is her celebration a failure?

Paired Resource

“Children of Immigrants and Their Mental Health Needs“

• This article details the factors influencing the mental well-being of children of immigrants and the challenges they face in accessing mental health care.
• This content relates to the theme of Survival as a Catalyst for Immigration.
• This article examines the daily and longitudinal struggles of children of immigrants—the immense responsibilities and pressures, the psychological distress, and the personal sacrifice—and argues for accessible, culturally sensitive initiatives to serve those children and their families. What are the key stressors children of immigrants face, as referenced in the article? Which of those stressors are also mentioned by the authors in Essays 1-10?

“What It's Like to Be the Child of Immigrants“

• In his TED Talk, Michael Rain shares his story of being a child of immigrants and having strong ties to multiple countries, exploring the misperceptions and limited narratives of immigrants. Rain's passion project ENODI is helping research, chronicle, and share the stories, realities, and influence of first-generation and immigrant people globally.
• This content relates to the themes of The United States as a Salad Bowl, Not a Melting Pot; Survival as a Catalyst for Immigration; and Stigmatization, or Perception Versus Reality.
• Some of the authors in the book explore the duality of their cultural experiences—growing up partly in one country and partly in another—and how that has influenced their identity. What does this TED Talk teach you about the triality of Rain's experience (he considers himself “an American and an African and a Ghanaian”), how it influenced his identity, and how it motivated him to create ENODI?

“La Migra”

• “La Migra” is a 1993 poem by the Chicana poet Pat Mora, who was born in the border city of El Paso, Texas. The poem presents a dialogue between two people: A US Border Patrol agent and a Mexican woman, who either intends to cross the border or has already done so.
• Shared topics include the struggles of immigrants, language differences, power struggles, and American identity.
• Shared themes include The United States as a Salad Bowl, Not a Melting Pot and Survival as a Catalyst for Immigration.
• “La Migra” on SuperSummary.com

Essays 11-22

Reading Check

1. What are the backgrounds of Liza Koshy’s parents?

2. In Essay 13, what is Kumail Nanjiani surprised by in the grocery store when he first comes to America?

3. What sort of job does Michelle Kwan’s father work to help support the family?

4. According to Geena Rocero in Essay 15, what should be the national sport of the Philippines?

5. What is the name of Frank Waln’s Indigenous American community, as described in Essay 16?

6. Auli’i Cravalho has a heritage comprised of multiple ethnicities. What are at least two of those ethnicities?

7. What sport does Jeremy Lin eagerly want to play from a very young age?

8. What activity does Ravi V. Patel’s father suggest they do together, as a way to bond?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What are two examples of how, when Joy Cho was growing up, she taught her parents to distance themselves from their Thai culture and to be like typical “American parents”?

2. Why is Three Kings’ Day an important holiday to Lin-Manuel Miranda when growing up?

Paired Resource

“The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)“

• This video, executive produced by one of the book's essay writers, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and sponsored by Hamilton’s Official YouTube Channel, features a mix of multilingual versions of songs from the musical Hamilton. (Content Warning: Some lyrics and images may not be appropriate for all groups.)
• This content relates to the themes of The United States as a Salad Bowl, Not a Melting Pot; Survival as a Catalyst for Immigration; and Stigmatization, or Perception Versus Reality.
• What themes related to immigrant communities, America, and the American Dream are emphasized in this music video? Consider the lyrics and the visuals throughout the performance.

“The American Dream and the Children of Immigrants“

• In this NPR interview, an economist discusses longitudinal research she conducted that reveals that children of poor immigrants achieve more economic and social mobility than children of poor US-born parents. The research also revealed that where immigrants chose to settle in the United States was a factor in this increased upward mobility.
• This content relates to the theme of Survival as a Catalyst for Immigration and the shared symbol/motif of The American Dream.
• Many of the high-profile essay writers in this section of the book can be said to have achieved The American Dream with their successful careers as professional and Olympic athletes and actors. To what factors, traits, and/or behaviors do the writers attribute their success? How do these compare with those referenced in the research? What other elements from the research did you encounter in Essays 11-22?

Essay 23-Conclusion

Reading Check

1. To what country does Wilmer Valderrama’s family move when he is a toddler?

2. Anna Akana explores the clash of cultures she experienced growing up. What different heritages are represented by her father and mother?

3. Laurie Hernandez credits one family member in particular as always being there to support her dreams. Which family member is it?

4. Kal Penn draws parallels between a particular political victory and his own success. To what politician does Penn compare himself?

5. What is the name of the type or group of women from the Mexican American subculture that Anjelah Johnson-Reyes idolizes and tries to emulate while growing up in San Jose, California?

6. As a child, Martin Sensmeier loves watching movies. Which Denzel Washington movie does Sensmeier especially love?

7. In Essay 29, Carmen Carrera discusses her intersectional identity, in the form of a letter to her 10-year-old self. What are the primary parts of her identity that she explores in this letter?

8. What language is spoken by Uzo Aduba’s parents?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Uzo Aduba’s mother tells her that if Americans “can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Michelangelo and Dostoevsky, then they can learn to say” her full name—Uzoamaka. What does this advice show about Uzo’s mother’s attitude toward her Nigerian heritage? How does it connect to larger concepts of American-ness in the book?

2. In Essay 31, how does Linda Sarsour define radical in her concept of radical love?

Recommended Next Reads 

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas

• In this 2018 collection of essays, Antonio Vargas relates his struggle of coming to the US from the Philippines illegally, detailing his experience of growing up in America without the full documentation that would have made him a legal immigrant.
• Shared topics include the search for identity, the politics of immigration, and assimilation.
• Shared themes include The United States as a Salad Bowl, Not a Melting Pot; Survival as a Catalyst for Immigration; and Stigmatization, or Perception Versus Reality.
• Dear America on SuperSummary.com

In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero and Michelle Burford

• This memoir features Diane Guerrero’s personal story of growing up in America after the deportation of her parents and brother and her subsequent rise to success in acting.
• Shared themes include Survival as a Catalyst for Immigration and Stigmatization, or Perception Versus Reality.
• Shared topics include immigration and personal memoir.
• In the Country We Love on SuperSummary