The Endless Steppe

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

What is it like to live in Siberia? How would you need to adapt if you had to move there?

Teaching Suggestion: One of the novel's settings is Rubtsovsk, in Siberia—an area that accounts for 10% of the world's land surface yet only 0.5% of the world's population. Consider building student interest in this setting by having them share what they already know about Siberia and then research what life is like in Siberia. Students may benefit from reflecting on and discussing their own adaptability, engaging with the novel's theme of Adaptability and Resistance to Change. To help students get started, you might offer interesting details or direct students to these or similar resources:

• “For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact, Unaware of World War II”—Smithsonian Magazine article about Soviet geologists' discovery of a family of six living in isolation in a remote part of Siberia
• “Climate Change Could Make Siberia an Attractive Place to Live”—2017 article examining Siberian population, resources, and climate 

Short Activity  

Write a journal entry about the role food plays in your daily life, with your family, and in your community. Discuss with a small group the similarities and differences food plays in each of your lives.

Teaching Suggestion: You may invite the small groups of students to share the similarities and differences they discovered with the class, encouraging a discussion of the cultural significance of food and potentially addressing the novel's themes related to Human Connection and Belonging. To extend the discussion to Adaptability, you may ask students to consider how the role of food might change for them if food became scarce.

• “Food in Traumatic Times: Women, Foodways and 'Polishness' During a Wartime 'Odyssey'”—article and related images on the role of food in the lives of Polish exiles to Russia in WWII

Personal Connection Prompt

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

What Will You Take?

1. Imagine that you have 30 minutes to pack a small suitcase (the size of an airplane carry-on bag) before departing for an unknown place for an unknown duration. You don't know if you'll see your home again. Make a list of everything you will pack.

2. Randomly choose your destination by closing your eyes and touching a spinning globe or placing your finger on a world map. (If you land on water, choose the nearest populated location on land.)

3. Write a short reflection on your decision-making process and how prepared you felt for your destination.

Teaching Suggestion: You may invite students to discuss what items are essential to their physical, mental, and emotional survival. Consider sharing the article below, asking students to compare the contents of their suitcases with the recommended items in the article.

• This article recommends items to bring with you from home if you have to evacuate.

Differentiation Suggestion: Visual learners may benefit from organizing their physical, mental, and emotional survival items in a Venn diagram in either text or sketch form, identifying their suitcase-worthy items in the center circle. Consider challenging kinesthetic learners by having them time themselves, physically grabbing essential items and placing them in a suitcase in 30 minutes, or even 15 minutes for an extra challenge. As an extension activity for those who might be interested, have students research and report on the regulations that govern hurricane shelters and what people are and are not allowed to bring with them.