Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

This is the story of Sayuri Nitta, who grew up in a poor fishing village until at nine years old her father sold her. She gives us a look into a world where appearance is held above all else and love is an illusion.


Teachers: Here are some resources to help you teach ..
Teacher's Notes Here is a resource that has teacher's notes chapter by chapter along with a summary and a great deal of discussion questions. It also has some during reading activities as well as extra activities if you have extra time.
Memoirs of a Geisha This is a link to the Memoirs of a Geisha movie page. The maybe helpful to visually show clips depending on your activities. It may also be helpful to discuss the differences between a book and film and the importance of text.


Teaching Suggestions:

1. Before Reading Dictionary definition of Geisha Before beginning to read the book it is important that the students know what the title means. Here is a link to the Dictionary.com definition of a geisha.
2. During Reading Book Club Questions Here are some more questions that can be used to guide discussions while reading to further understanding. The first teacher's resource also has a good number of really excellent discussion questions.

3. After Reading After completing the reading of the book students can watch the movie as a class (if appropriate for age level and parents approve) and they can write a compare/contrast about the differences between the book and film.

Golden, Arthur. Memoirs of a Geisha. New York: Random House, 1999.