The interesting point of “Autumn Gardening” is that it provides a very different perspective of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima than most students in the United States have heard. Most know the bombs brought an end to World War II, but many do not realize at what cost. Mariko’s flashbacks give a very detailed, human take on the effects of living through an atomic bomb, and many students likely will begin to wonder about other perspectives on world events.
“Autumn Gardening” is a great way to teach perspective in literature. A way to have fun with perspective is to have students also read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. After reading Jon Scieszka’s version of this famous children’s tale, have students take a story they are familiar with, either from a movie, a book, or a child’s tale like the one above. Have them use the Storyboard Creator to do a plot diagram of the same tale told from the bad guy’s perspective. For example, from Sleeping Beauty, the students might choose Maleficent; from Little Red Riding Hood, students might choose the wolf, and so on.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Summarize the plot of the story from the bad guy's perspective.