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 is immigration? Using the United States as a framework, what do you know about the immigration process? What are the different ways someone can immigrate to the United States? What difficulties might immigrants to the United States face even after they’ve obtained legal status?

Teaching Suggestion: Keeping sensitivity in mind for students who may have family members who are immigrants or who are immigrants themselves, you may want to lead the discussion by referring to history or social studies curricula that students have covered. The first question in this series draws on students’ current knowledge; the more specific questions may be beyond their understanding, and it may be beneficial to offer these and other resources to help them answer.

• This entry from Britannica Kids offers general information on immigration and some historical context.
• For more advanced readers, this article from the American Immigration Council offers a broad glimpse at the United States immigration process.
• This article from the New York Immigrant Action Fund details some of the struggles immigrants face adjusting to a new place.

2. What is culture? What elements or characteristics make up a group’s cultural identity? How can being immersed in a new culture make it difficult to preserve one’s own cultural identity? What difficulties can a lack of cultural understanding lead to?

Teaching Suggestion: Students don’t necessarily need to offer a dictionary/textbook definition to the first question in this sequence—just a general understanding of what can constitute culture (language, music, art, spiritual practices/religion, etc.). It may be beneficial to conduct initial investigation with online resources before answering the later questions.

• This article from PBS discusses common cross-cultural communication challenges.
• This video from National Geographic is about a group of immigrants learning to adjust to American culture while trying to maintain their identity (it is part of the God Grew Tired of Us documentary series about the Lost Boys of Sudan).

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Have you ever felt like someone became angry with you or blamed you for something you didn’t do? How did that make you feel, and how did you react? Did you try to communicate with the person who reacted this way? Why or why not? If yes, what did you do or say to them? If not, what do you wish you’d said or done? Do you think you handled the situation in a positive and appropriate way? Why or why not?

Teaching Suggestion: This question has the potential to be highly personal, so it may be beneficial to allow students some quiet reflection time before writing and to check in with them individually where others cannot easily overhear conversation. Some students may insist they have never had anyone treat them this way; you might suggest they consider how they would feel if someone treated them this way to prime a connection with the source text. It may be helpful for students to know that sharing their writing with peers is optional. Follow-up discussion from those inclined to share ideas will help students develop empathy for the characters and assess the choices the characters make.