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. Why is it important to acknowledge and celebrate differences in individuals? How might differences be connected to an individual’s need to belong?

Teaching Suggestion: Roz, the protagonist of the novel, is a robot that becomes a castaway on an island without humans. The robot struggles to make friends with the animals on the island because they perceive her as a monster. This perception is further exacerbated when Roz accidentally kills a family of geese. Students may be coached toward discussing individual differences in a general way and analyzing why it is important to acknowledge and celebrate differences in one another with examples from history and current events. These and similar resources may offer additional context on the importance of differences and how they may be connected to an individual’s sense of belonging.

• This 6-minute video explores the definition of diversity through the eyes of teens.
• This article explores the importance of belonging to a community.

Differentiation Suggestion: To engage visual learners, it could be helpful to have students construct a self-portrait where they engage in their interests.