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 is empathy? How does it relate to kindness, and how important might it be as a quality in relationships?

Teaching Suggestion: While most students understand the idea of kindness, they may be less familiar with the concept of empathy. Information and ideas from these or similar resources will help them to grasp the idea of empathy and how it relates to kindness.

• “Teaching Empathy: Evidence-based Tips for Fostering Empathic Awareness in Children” is an article that defines empathy and offers basic suggestions for understanding and promoting empathy in children.
• “5 Tips for Cultivating Empathy” from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education offers additional simple suggestions for cultivating empathy.

2. What do you know about Victorian England? List any facts, ideas, and suppositions you know or believe about life during this era. Would most people prefer to live in that time or the present time? Why?

Teaching Suggestion: This question is meant to activate students’ prior knowledge, if any, about the Victorian Era in England. Once students have shared their ideas, you might offer additional information from these or similar resources to further their understanding and direct their attention to childhood in Victorian England.