Girl, Stolen

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

In the three years since the main character of Girl, Stolen lost her eyesight, she has developed her other senses keenly. Think of an object that helps you navigate and understand everyday life, such as a car, television, cell phone, or computer. How would you compensate if you were unable to use it? How would you do your schoolwork, get around, or entertain yourself?

• Teaching Suggestion: You may want to have students take turns brainstorming everyday  objects that help them on a day-to-day basis. Partners may also wish to share their ideas about the coping methods they would use. You may call on individual students to share their ideas with the whole group to stimulate students’ reflections on Turning a Disadvantage Into an Advantage and Seeing Things From a Different Perspective, two of the novel’s themes.
• “Ten Advantages of Being Blind,” written by a man who is vision impaired, describes 10 advantages to being blind. The blog may further students’ understanding of the main character’s blindness and touches on the themes of Turning a Disadvantage Into an Advantage and Seeing Things From a Different Perspective.

Short Activity

In this “Speed Chatting” activity, you will participate in a question-and-answer session with other students about the topic of intuition, a character trait that helps the protagonist of Girl, Stolen to overcome adversity.

First write and display a brief definition of intuition, such as “instinctive understanding of a person or situation,” and a question: “Do you believe in intuition? Why or why not?” Then, line up in two rows facing each other. One row will ask the question about the topic, and the students in the other row will answer the best they can.

You will have 60 seconds to ask and answer questions. At the end of each minute, one row will move one person to the left so that each student will interact with a new partner during each session. This rotation will allow you to hear several different perspectives. After the activity, write prediction statements on what you think the book will be about.

Teaching Suggestion: You may wish to have students brainstorm a definition of intuition, rather than providing one. This will serve as a warm-up to the topic and help them to speak more readily about their beliefs in intuition.

• This article from Psychology Today defines intuition and describes research about its usefulness and how to cultivate it.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners, you can modify this activity to use pencil and paper. For this group, it may be beneficial to participate in a round-robin type of activity. First, make sure students understand the concept of intuition by providing examples, such as “Deciding to call a friend out of the blue, and finding out that the friend really needed your support that day.” Then, provide a piece of lined paper with a T-chart. Label the left side of the chart “I believe in intuition because... ” and the right side, “I do not believe in intuition because....” Have students pass the paper around and finish one of the statements, depending on their beliefs. Projecting the paper after everyone has contributed can encourage the group to discuss their ideas.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

“Intelligent disobedience” is an important theme in Girl, Stolen. It describes the phenomenon by which a guide dog can disobey an owner’s command when the command could lead to harm. An example in the story is a guide dog that refuses to allow its blind owner to cross at an unsafe intersection. Have you ever experienced intelligent disobedience? When might it be a good response for an animal or a person?

Teaching Suggestion: You may wish to share the video below to get students focused and ready to write. After giving students a few minutes to write, they can share their thoughts with a partner. If you would like to get students up and out of their seats, you could play music briefly; when the music stops, whoever they high-five first is the person they share with.

• This video presents an example of a dog that demonstrates intelligent disobedience. The speaker uses the example to ask if people in leadership positions might consider when intelligent disobedience is an appropriate response to a situation.