Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar is the captivating tale of a young girl’s survival in the sexist, racist, and oppressive society of British occupied India in 1857. Meera, only twelve years old, must run away from everyone and everything she knows to escape a dangerous ritual called sati, which would lead to her death. She ends up a servant in the house of a British general, where she must decide whether she values personal safety over the chance to help free her people.
This middle-grade novel is packed with opportunities for education, making it a rich resource for student learning. Not only does the novel explore a historical period that I feel is often overlooked in history classes, but it does so in a way that offers unique opportunities for exploration of the topics and the language of the novel. What stood out to me the most when reading this book was the vocabulary. Kelkar utilizes Hindi and Urdu words, as well as some more uncommon English words to tell her story. This variety of language captivates, provides cultural exposure, and piques the curiosity of the reader.
Vocabulary studies are always an amazing way to get students to investigate what they are reading beyond the surface level, and investigating these more uncommon and non-English words is key to developing an understanding of the plot. Many readers, and I myself am guilty of this, might skip over unfamiliar words when reading. While garnering meaning from context is not the worst strategy, with a book like Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame meaning is in danger of being lost altogether without knowledge of these words. The following vocabulary study activity is designed as a pre-reading activity so that when these students encounter unfamiliar words in their text, they have a starting place to build from.
This middle-grade novel is packed with opportunities for education, making it a rich resource for student learning. Not only does the novel explore a historical period that I feel is often overlooked in history classes, but it does so in a way that offers unique opportunities for exploration of the topics and the language of the novel. What stood out to me the most when reading this book was the vocabulary. Kelkar utilizes Hindi and Urdu words, as well as some more uncommon English words to tell her story. This variety of language captivates, provides cultural exposure, and piques the curiosity of the reader.
Vocabulary studies are always an amazing way to get students to investigate what they are reading beyond the surface level, and investigating these more uncommon and non-English words is key to developing an understanding of the plot. Many readers, and I myself am guilty of this, might skip over unfamiliar words when reading. While garnering meaning from context is not the worst strategy, with a book like Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame meaning is in danger of being lost altogether without knowledge of these words. The following vocabulary study activity is designed as a pre-reading activity so that when these students encounter unfamiliar words in their text, they have a starting place to build from.
The goal of the activity is to get students to work collaboratively to develop a deep understanding of at least one word on the list above and teach it to their classmates. First, students choose a word that is interesting to them thus making small groups of 3-4. In these groups, students are to develop a vocabulary skit. Performing skits is a fun way for students to engage in collaborative and kinesthetic learning in a format that isn’t common in classrooms. Make sure to explain what a skit is so that students are clear on what their final product will look like. Teachers could also show this example video of the word “ritual”. The teacher can assign each group a word (or words) or in addition to the interesting word chosen by the students. Teachers may challenge students to incorporate more than one word into a skit. Using this worksheet, students will explore synonyms and actions related to the word, as well as decide who will talk and in what order. After students have been given sufficient time to create and develop their skits, they will perform them in front of the class. Encourage students not to say the exact definition in the skit, instead using synonyms and actions to describe the definition. At the end of their skit, students can say their word together or hold up a sign, like they did in the example video.
The reflection portion of this activity is also key for student understanding. Since one of the goals of this activity is to get students to be able to help their classmates understand their word, the reflection piece can help gauge student understanding. There are a multitude of ways that students can reflect on the skits. Students in the audience could do a simple fist to five to show how well they understood the definition of the word based on the skit or write down their own definition of the word using context clues from the skit. If there is any confusion, performing students should be able to clarify definitions and contexts.
Skits can be recorded and stored in a shared class dictionary that students have access to, or photos can be taken during skits to put up on a class word wall. Students who perform a skit on a word can be named as the “expert” on the word in case any students have questions about the word, its definition, or pronunciation. This will allow students to maintain access to the words and their meanings as they read the book, giving them resources to refer back to when they come across the word while reading.
Now armed with a strong and deep understanding of the words in the wordbank, students will be able to confidently read, comprehend, and appreciate Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame, without having to rely on the glossary in the back of the book.
Today's post is written by Elizabeth Seeker. Elizabeth is a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University's Secondary English Education Program. This summer she started her masters degree in Reading Education. She hopes to teach middle school next year!
The reflection portion of this activity is also key for student understanding. Since one of the goals of this activity is to get students to be able to help their classmates understand their word, the reflection piece can help gauge student understanding. There are a multitude of ways that students can reflect on the skits. Students in the audience could do a simple fist to five to show how well they understood the definition of the word based on the skit or write down their own definition of the word using context clues from the skit. If there is any confusion, performing students should be able to clarify definitions and contexts.
Skits can be recorded and stored in a shared class dictionary that students have access to, or photos can be taken during skits to put up on a class word wall. Students who perform a skit on a word can be named as the “expert” on the word in case any students have questions about the word, its definition, or pronunciation. This will allow students to maintain access to the words and their meanings as they read the book, giving them resources to refer back to when they come across the word while reading.
Now armed with a strong and deep understanding of the words in the wordbank, students will be able to confidently read, comprehend, and appreciate Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame, without having to rely on the glossary in the back of the book.
Today's post is written by Elizabeth Seeker. Elizabeth is a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University's Secondary English Education Program. This summer she started her masters degree in Reading Education. She hopes to teach middle school next year!
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