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 elements must be present for something to be considered a community? How might a community be important? What kinds of conflicts may arise in a community, and what might be the best way to resolve those conflicts?

Teaching Suggestion: The People of Sparks is the second novel in the City of Ember series. In the first novel, the protagonists, Doon and Lina, emerge from the underground city of Ember that was created due to a global disaster on Earth’s surface. As the people of Ember emerge, they must rely on the small town of Sparks to host them while they learn new skills to survive on Earth’s surface. Tensions arise in Sparks due to the scarcity of resources and lack of cohesion between the two communities. To help students prepare to read about these issues, consider discussing with students what defines a community, what conflicts may arise in communities (especially when there is an influx of people combined with a lack of resources), how communities can be important, and how conflicts within and across communities can be resolved.