Slacker

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. What does “community service” mean to you? Have you ever done volunteer work through an organization or with your friends or family? Why do you believe people perform community service? What kinds of people do you think do community service?

Teaching Suggestion: This question asks students to consider their own definition of community service before thinking about the broader spectrum and impact of community service. You may want to prompt students by asking what community means and discussing the definition of community in the context of community service. As a follow-up, you can discuss the varying reasons people do community service. After that, the second link will allow you to search for local volunteer opportunities, so your students can view the kinds of community service opportunities that are available in their own area.

• This article defines community service and discusses the reasons people perform community services.
• This website allows you to search your area for volunteer opportunities.  

2. Is competition always healthy? What might be more important: competition or cooperation? Consider the different situations where one would be better than the other.

Teaching Suggestion: You could prepare students for this question by asking how many of them have entered a competition or competed in sports. You may want to define the differences between being in a competition and being competitive. The Tedx Talk linked below will cover the difference between healthy and unhealthy competition. The second video is a short experiment showing how difficult it is for people to break their competitive habits, even when cooperation is more logical.

• This 11-minute Tedx Talk features an eighth-grader discussing her competition with her twin sister, the effects of competition, and the merits of indulging in one’s competitive spirit.
• This 2-minute National Geographic video demonstrates the human drive to compete and the importance of cooperation.  

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Do you have a hobby or activity that you love to do more than anything else? Do you think some hobbies are more valuable than other hobbies? At what point might a hobby become unhealthy? What lengths would you go to protect your ability to participate in your hobby?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to remind students that hobbies and activities can range from sports and clubs to art, video games, social media, reading, television, music, and pet ownership. If students insist they do not have hobbies, encourage them to focus on the merits of hobbies by answering the second and third questions in the prompt with more detail.