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.