Roller Girl

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.

ACTIVITY 1: “Who Is Your Hero?”

In this activity, students will produce a brief graphic narrative about a personal hero.

Create a brief narrative in the format of a graphic novel or comic book-style story about someone you find inspirational.

• Consider the person’s characteristics, actions, appearance, social skills, or other traits that you consider inspirational.
• Use techniques that author Jamieson employs (such as visual details, imagery, dialogue and thought bubbles, sound effects and vocalizations, and breaking the fourth wall) to aid in your storytelling.
• Your graphic narrative should include basic information about your hero and demonstrate ways in which they have motivated you to challenge yourself.
• Include a section of your narrative that compares your hero to Rainbow Bite or Astrid, connecting to the theme Embracing Fear.

Teaching Suggestion: Students have the chance to develop a better understanding and appreciation for conveying strong emotions in visual forms through this activity. They might benefit from a reminder that heroes can take on many forms, including everyday people. A group discussion before beginning their projects may help get students’ ideas flowing. Providing examples in Roller Girl or other graphic stories of visual details, varied ways to convey emotion (such as facial expression in the drawn images and vocalizations in the dialogue bubbles), and breaking the fourth wall may also prove beneficial for students.  

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who prefer to focus on the storytelling (as opposed to original drawings) may use collages of cut or copied/pasted images to construct their comics.

ACTIVITY 2: “Can a Negative Be Positive?”

In this activity, students work in small groups to create and perform a brief skit that demonstrates the benefits of turning failure into a positive opportunity for learning.

Astrid experiences the loss of a friend as well as repeated failures in her attempts to learn roller derby. Yet Astrid persists, and as a result she gains a new friend in Zoey and becomes a moderately skilled player. She also gains confidence in herself.

• In a group of 3-4 students, create a 2-minute skit demonstrating how loss or failure can present new opportunities and result in a positive outcome.
• Your skit can be dramatic, serious, or humorous, but it should have an underlying message or moral related to the theme Opportunity Born of Loss and Failure.
• Present your skit for the class.
• As others present their skits, take brief notes on the positive outcome that is evident. Once all groups have presented, discuss with your group the parallels you see between each skit’s actions and message.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity focuses on the theme but also gives students a real-world opportunity to experience Astrid’s trepidation and determination first-hand. If some students are nervous about presenting in front of the class or acting in a dramatic skit, remind them that many others likely feel the same and that any perceived failure is an opportunity to learn, just like the theme and activity suggests.

• Pre- or post-activity discussion might include the chance to view this 2-minute video clip of a commencement address by Denzel Washington, in which he notes the concept of “falling forward” in failure.