A Conversation with My Father

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

 “Intergenerational Conflict Short Story”

In this activity, students will write their own short story about an Intergenerational Conflict.  

Grace Paley’s story reveals the theme of Intergenerational Conflict through the disagreement between the writer and her father. At the heart of the conflict is the contrast in how the two characters approach Coming to Terms With Tragedy. Draw on your own experiences with a member of another generation to craft your own short story about Intergenerational Conflict. Consider how you might create another theme through the nature of the conflict in your story.

Brainstorm conflicts you’ve had or are familiar with others having with members of a different generation. Consider family, work, and school. 

• Choose the conflicts that most interest you and list a potential theme at the heart of each conflict like the contrasting ways of Coming to Terms With Tragedy in “A Conversation with My Father.”
• Share your list of conflicts with a classmate. You might hear something in their brainstorm that sparks an idea for you.
• Choose one idea to develop into a short story featuring the conflict.

After writing your story, reflect on the following: How did writing this story develop your thinking about Intergenerational Conflict? Did this writing process change your thinking about “A Conversation with My Father”?

Teaching Suggestion: Student reflections on their own experiences with Intergenerational Conflict and using that conflict to write a story will help them develop a deeper understanding of the theme in “A Conversation with My Father.”

Differentiation Suggestion: Students may benefit from a teacher model that demonstrates how someone might use the brainstorm to generate a story. Additionally, a graphic organizer such as a brain map or word web may help students brainstorm their ideas and organize them into a story.

Paired Text Extension:

Grace Paley’s poem titled “People in My Family” also addresses Coming to Terms With Tragedy.

• Read “People in My Family” by Grace Paley. As you read, annotate your thoughts on how the different generations of the poem’s speaker’s family address Coming to Terms With Tragedy.
• Share your thoughts and annotations with a classmate. Consider how your annotations were similar and how they differed.
• Discuss with your partner similarities and differences between “People in My Family” and “A Conversation with My Father.” Focus on how each piece discusses generational differences. For example, consider the level of detail available from Paley’s story, which is built around developed characters, compared to the generational differences the poem describes.
• Write a paragraph reflecting on ways in which different mediums such as a poem and a story can shape How Stories Are Told.
• For a challenge, write a poem from the perspective of one of the characters in your story that discusses how the family members address Intergenerational Conflict and your created theme.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity can help students in a multitude of ways depending on where you choose to focus. Reading Paley’s poetry can help students make connections between similar themes in different mediums. Having students write their own poem can help students consider the theme of How Stories Are Told and how it applies to their own lives.