Stargirl

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. According to the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley, altruism is a quality used to describe our actions that “promote someone else’s welfare, even at a risk or cost to ourselves.” In your opinion, what is an example of an act of altruism? Why would someone engage in an altruistic act if they do not receive any benefit from it?

Teaching Suggestion: Altruism and Selfless Acts of Kindness are central themes of Stargirl’s behavior in the novel. The characters in the novel struggle to understand Stargirl’s motives for helping others; this short answer question should generate student discussion into possible motivations for Stargirl’s actions, as well as provide insight into her character. This question also connects directly to the Personal Response Prompt.

• This article from the Greater Good Science Center offers a definition of altruism along with other related material.

2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describe bullying as “any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths, who are not siblings or current dating partners, that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance, and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated.” About 20% of students between the ages of 12-18 have reported experiences with bullying, both in person at school and online (Stop Bullying). Read the resources provided by your teacher on bullying. What are some of the different forms of bullying? What are some of the effects that bullying has on individuals?

Teaching Suggestion: Share these or other articles on bullying with students. As a brief research assignment, students can incorporate information and statistics into their short answer response for this question. This could be a good opportunity to introduce research paper formatting such as citations and quotations.

• This is the definition of bullying from the CDC.
• This article on the website Stop Bullying provides statistics on the causes of and effects from bullying.

Short Activity

Imagine that you are representing your hometown and school at a speech contest. Your speech must be 5 minutes long and must describe your hometown and school to audience members who have never visited them before. How would you describe your hometown and school to your audience? Present your speech to the class.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity mirrors one of the main events in the book: Stargirl competes in the state oratorical contest representing her school. Use this activity as an opportunity to develop students’ public speaking skills and speech writing skills. If students share their speeches with the class, encourage positive and constructive responses from peers.

• This article from Hamilton College provides tips on how to deliver effective speeches.
• This article from Write-Out-Loud deconstructs speech writing in seven steps.