First They Killed My Father

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What was the Cambodian Genocide? Why did it begin, and how did it impact Cambodia and the larger global community?

Teaching Suggestion: As students begin writing, consider helping them anticipate the potential sensitivity issues and themes of this unit, specifically graphic violence and How the Government Justifies Genocide. You may also consider providing students with a graphic organizer to keep track of their thoughts as they explore the resources below.

• “Cambodia 1975-1979” - This page from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum explores the causes, events, and results of the Cambodian Genocide. The links to subsequent pages help provide a more cohesive understanding of the rise of the Khmer Rouge.
• “Khmer Rouge: Cambodia’s Years of Brutality” - This page from the BBC explains the origins of the genocide and describes the ways in which Khmer Rouge officials were (and were not) held accountable for their actions.

2. Who is Loung Ung, and how has her experience as a child in Cambodia impacted her life? How did she find her way to writing, and what does writing mean to her?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider asking students to participate in a think-pair-share with a partner prior to discussing as a full class.

• Loung Ung’s website contains a variety of resources including a brief biography, videos, and information about Cambodia.
• This article from the Cleveland Arts Prize provides background information about the author.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

What does family mean to you? What is the role of immediate or extended family members—or friends whom you consider family—in your life? How do they help you through difficult times? Consider individual members of your family and your relationship to them specifically. How does your connection vary between different people?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider helping students connect this prompt to the memoir by introducing or reminding them of the unit’s theme of The Strength of Familial Love in Wartime. You may also choose to share the two poems linked below before or after having students complete the above reflection to help deepen a conversation around family. Annotating the poems for message, rhetorical technique, and tone may help strengthen their understanding of persuasive language, preparing them for the emotional content in Ung’s memoir.

• “sisters” - This poem by Lucille Clifton is in celebration of her sister on her birthday. It speaks to the connection within and the power of sisterhood.
• “Good Bones” - In this poem by Maggie Smith, the speaker conveys a hopeful message to her children in an attempt to reconcile the world’s hardships with its potential.