Endangered

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. List three things you think are true about the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Label each “know for sure” or “just a guess.” For each one you labeled “just a guess,” explain briefly why you guess this might be true.

Teaching Suggestion: Students may know very little about the DRC, where Endangered takes place. The structure of this prompt gives students a chance to activate their existing knowledge schemas as they make educated guesses about this country; you might ask students to complete the prompt as best they can and then offer them the resources below and allow them to correct any misunderstandings in their work. If it is appropriate to your classroom, this structure also offers an opportunity to talk about the differences among African countries and cultures and the ways in which the troubles of countries like the DRC are often misrepresented as being typical of the continent as a whole.

• This 3-minute video by BBC News follows the Congo River inland, showing the land and people along the way. The video is designed to be interactive, offering a choice at the end about whether to continue the “journey” and what to see next.
• This 12-minute video by The Documentary Channel profiles Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, and offers insight into the history and daily lives of the Congolese living there.

2. What is a bonobo? Where do these animals live, and what threatens their survival?

Teaching Suggestion: In Endangered, Sophie’s mother runs a bonobo sanctuary, and Sophie herself ends up bonding with and rescuing a bonobo. Students will be more engaged with the book’s plot if they understand what makes these animals special and what currently threatens them. You might ask students to complete this prompt to gauge their current understanding and then use one or both of the resources listed below to fill in any gaps in their knowledge.

• This 1-minute video gives a brief overview of the bonobo species. Note that it does contain a passing reference to the animals’ socio-sexual behaviors, and the video concludes by mentioning a conservation group’s fundraising efforts.
• This 4-minute video profiles Les Amis des Bonobos de Congo, a respected conservation effort taking place in the DRC.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

What do you find most interesting about bonobos? What might you personally enjoy about working in a bonobo sanctuary?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt asks students to personally connect with bonobos and the efforts to save them to increase their investment in the characters and action of Endangered. If your students are answering individually in writing, some students may try to circumvent working on the prompt by protesting that there is nothing interesting about bonobos and that there is nothing they would enjoy about working to save them. These students might instead write about what makes a different animal more interesting to them and why conservation efforts in general are important.