The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

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 the difference between “fitting in” and “belonging”? Is one more important than the other? Is either one completely unimportant? What are some reasons that a person might struggle to fit in with their peer group? What are some reasons that a person might feel like they don’t belong?

Teaching Suggestion: In the novel, Lucy learns that she does not have to “fit in” as much as she imagines in order to “belong.” This distinction is an important one for middle-grade students to begin grappling with, and they may struggle at first to recognize that there is any difference between these two things at all. The first resource listed below, which might be offered to students before, during, or after they tackle this prompt, may help students clarify their thinking about the distinction before they read about Lucy’s struggles to understand it. The second resource may be useful in providing language and ideas for discussion.

• A 30-second video featuring Brené Brown defining the two terms
• An article from Michigan State University about helping kids understand how fitting in and belonging are different (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing.)

Short Activity

In small group, with a partner, or independently, use reputable resources to discover the answers to the following questions:

• What is “Savant Syndrome”?
• What is “Acquired Savant Syndrome”?
• What are some examples of skills that a person with either Savant Syndrome or Acquired Savant Syndrome might possess?

Teaching Suggestion: Few students are likely to already know the definition of the word “savant.” The resources linked below or similar resources might be a good starting point to gather information. If you choose to discuss the findings aloud, you might coach students ahead of time about ways to accurately and sensitively discuss such a topic without using ableist or denigrating language. (You can find ideas for how to approach this in this brief article from the University of Nevada and in this NPR article.)

• This brief explainer from the Treffert Center, which specializes in Savant Syndrome and related conditions
• This 3-minute video from CBS news profiling several people with Savant Syndrome or Acquired Savant Syndrome

Personal Connection Prompt

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

If you experienced an event that gave you an extraordinary mental ability, what would you want that ability to be? Why? What opportunities would this create for you? What do you think it would feel like to end up with a mental ability that you do not particularly care about? How might suddenly having an extraordinary ability change your life in ways that are uncomfortable or upsetting?

Teaching Suggestion: The first part of this prompt is intended to engage students on a personal level with the idea of Acquired Savant Syndrome. If students are answering in written form, they might enjoy taking a break after this part of the prompt to share their ideas aloud so that they can hear a wide variety of potential answers. This will enrich their thinking as they attempt to answer the final part of the prompt, which is intended to get them to think more deeply about the topic: Depending on the circumstances, Acquired Savant Syndrome might be positive or negative.