PEOPLE OF SPARKS

Unit Plan

Themes:
• Community
o What is a community? What are its components and characteristics?
o How do communities form?
o What makes a community strong or weak?
• Leadership
o What are general characteristics of leaders?
o What characteristics do positive and negative leaders share? What characteristics are peculiar only to
positive or negative leaders?
o How is leadership acquired or granted?
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
o How is Maslow’s hierarchy and its theory reflected in your immediate society? In other societies in Mexico?
Among the citizens of Ember and Sparks?
o What is your opinion of Maslow’s theory? Do you think it is valid or flawed? Explain your opinion.
• Obligation to Others
o Where does our obligation to others begin and end?
o In what cases, if any, are we obligated to help others?
o In what cases, if any, should we be relieved of the obligation to help others?
o Are there any circumstances in which our efforts to help others actually result in greater harm?
• Material Value
o What is considered of material value in your immediate society? In other societies in Mexico? Among the
citizens of Ember and Sparks?
o How does the value we place on material goods reflect our society?
o Do you think that the value we place on material goods is static or dynamic? Consider this question with
respect to a society/community. Consider this question with respect to individuals.
o Would you like to see a change in any of the material value systems discussed above?
o What could cause a society or individual to change his/her perception of material value?
• Culture/Environment and Language
o Compile a list of words in Spanish that have no equivalent in English because these objects or concepts

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 don’t exist in an English-speaking context.
o Compile a list of words in English that have no equivalent in Spanish because these objects or concepts
don’t exist in a Spanish-speaking context.
o Consider the language of the Emberites and the Sparksians. Although they both speak English, what
vocabulary might be missing from each group’s language? Why would these words be missing?
o Is language static or dynamic? Explain your opinion and give examples to support it.
o Do you think that the language of the Emberites and the Sparksians will change as a result of their contact
with each other?
• Role of Government
o What kind of government exists in Sparks?
o Why do you think that Sparks developed a form of government?
o How do you think the government of Sparks developed?
o What do you think about the town meetings in Sparks? Is this an ideal way to govern the community?
Would you suggest any changes?
o Do you think that the government of Sparks will change as a result of the arrival of the Emberites?
• The Arts
o Do you find many references in the novel to literature, music, dance, or performing or visual arts?
o What types of books, titles or authors do you imagine are among the books that Edward Pocket is
organizing and Doon is reading? What impact might these books have on the Emberite and Sparksian
communities? If you were asked to select books for this collection, what topics, titles and/or authors would
you choose? Explain your choices.
o How do you account for the presence or absence of the arts among either the Emberites or the Sparksians?
o How could the arts impact the cultural lives of Emberites and Sparksians?
o How might the arts have influenced the relationship between the Emberites and the Sparksians? For
inspiration, return to the following lines from the poet William Carlos Willams, which introduced your poetry
study:

It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there.

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 • Spirituality
o Do you find references to spirituality or religious beliefs in the novel? Does religion seem play an important
role in the lives of the Emberites or Sparksians? How would you account for this?
o How could spirituality or religious beliefs impact the lives of Emberites and Sparksians?
o Do you think that spirituality or religious beliefs would have changed the course of action in the novel in any
way?
o How might spirituality or religious beliefs become a positive influence in a community? How might spirituality
or religious beliefs become a negative influence in a community?

Web resources:
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/reading45/sparks.htm
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375828249&view=tg
http://www.edhelper.com/books/The_People_of_Sparks_The_Second_Book_of_Ember.htm

Chapte Topic Activity

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Part 1: Arrival
1 What Torren Saw • Ss examine Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs with respect to own lives.
Refugees: • Ss consider hierarchy with respect to priorities of Emberites’s motivation to leave
• 322 citizens of Sparks Ember, and their priorities as they enter Sparks.
• 400+ Emberites
• What are the
implications for
Sparksians if they
accept Emberites into
their community?

2 Out from Below • Divide class into Emberites and citizens of Sparks; Ss keep journal of experiences
Flashback to flight from and perceptions (text & photos) of other group, as well as own group members, as
Ember they proceed through novel (1:1).
• Would you have left or • What would you have taken from Ember? (What was in the Emberites’ sacks?

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 remained in Ember?
3 Through the Village
Entering a new world
4 The Doctor’s House
Meetin The First Town Meeting
g consists of (topics, decisions, etc.)
5 The Pioneer
6 Breakfast with Disaster
Consider size and weight limits.) (Metaphor for what feelings/emotions/memories you
carry in life)
• Emberites and Sparksians create symbol for group, slogan, flag,
uniform/badge/bandana, anthem, etc. (Provide materials.) (1:1)
• Ss compile indications of differences between life/conditions/language in Ember and
life/conditions/language in Sparks (maybe as part of journal).
• “It was clear that no one had planned this place [Sparks], not the way the Builders had
planned Ember.” – Why would Ember have been planned, but not Sparks? What
conditions of Ember contributed to its success for generations? What conditions
contributed to its ultimate failure? (human, infrastructure, resource weaknesses)
• At some point in the novel, discuss the “conveniences” that were available to
Emberites (electricity, plumbing). Were these features of Ember necessary to sustain
life underground? Are they necessary in Sparks? Why or why not?
• Ss consider own experiences in unfamiliar culture (What differences did you notice?
Did you consider these differences good, bad, neutral? Did your opinion evolve?
How did you adapt? How was your relationship with people from other culture? What
advice would you give Emberites? Sparksians?).
• Ss keep record of signs of discord throughout novel (incident at pool of water in
Sparks plaza foreshadows future conflicts)
• Discuss the “Disaster.” What do you infer about it? What was life like before the
Disaster? How did life change as a result of the Disaster? (1:1; Ss can create
Disaster scenario, but not bomb or meteor to make the assignment more challenging)
• Ss compare doctor’s house with houses in Ember (use journal).
• Analyze Torren (behavior, family history)
• Ss predict what the conversation among the 3 leaders of Sparks (Mary, Ben, Wilmer)
• What does the use of “truck-wagons” tell you about Sparks?
• How is the Emberites’ language changing? Why?
• Do you think that sending the Emberites to the “Pioneer” was a good strategy, or
should they have stayed in Sparks?
• So far, what is your impression of Torren? Can you infer any reasons for his
behavior?
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 • From Lina’s (or others’) point(s) of view, what experiences/objects are common to
both Ember and Sparks, and what experiences/objects are unique to each city?
• What do you learn about the history of Sparks?
• What do you learn about the “Disaster”? What situations in the world today could
possibly represent the situations that led to the Disaster? OR What situations in the
world today could potentially lead to a similar Disaster?
7 A Day of New People • Analyze Ben Barlow’s organization of the Emberites. What were his explicit goals?
What do you think his implicit goals were? What is your opinion of his organizational
strategy? Would you have organized the Emberites differently?
• How prepared would you be to perform the work required of the Emberites? How do
you think you would react in their situation?
• (signs of discord)
• How has living underground affected the Emberites physically? (strength, size, skin
tone)
• Some of the names of both the Emberites and Sparksians are uncommon/unknown to
us today. To what do you attribute their unusual names? (Think about the names of
generations in your own family.)
• What’s your impression of Tick at this point in the story?
8 The Roamer and the • How did the physical/medical conditions of the Sparks citizens differ from those of the
Bike Emberites? Can you compare this to any other situation that you’re aware of?
• Consider the roamer’s items that the people of Sparks were interested in. Would you
have expected them to want these items? Were you surprised at any of the items
they were interested in? On Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, where would the different
items fall? In other words, what needs would they meet?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of an economy based on a barter
system compared to an economy based on currency?
• From Torren’s behavior and comments, what would you infer about his relationship
with his brother?
• Consider Lina’s process of learning how to ride a bicycle. Can you compare it to any
learning experience that you’ve had. What would be the advantages/disadvantages
of learning a skill independently or learning with assistance? (Check out some of the
videos and resources on www.firesinthemind.org, a site for middle-grades students

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 that asks and tries to answer the question “What does it take to get really good at
something?”)
9 Hard, Hungry Work • Consider all of the things that Emberites had to get used to in Sparks. How would the
Emberites feel at this point? What kind of personality would adapt and thrive in
Sparks? What kind of personality would fail to adapt?
• What could UPE ARK mean?
• Doon’s excited about the books he finds and takes several to read. If you could
choose books for Doon, what books do you think would be most useful/enjoyable for
him now? (give titles or topics)
• How is the relationship between the Emberites and the people of Sparks evolving?
(signs of discord) What’s your opinion of Ordney’s speech at the end of the chapter?
Consider it from both the Sparksian and Emberite points of view.
• How would you answer Doon’s question at the end of the chapter?

Restless Weeks • Torren shows Lina some examples of things that have become “extinct.” What other
things seem to have become extinct in Sparks?
• What do the comments of the people of Sparks reveal about their feelings toward the
Emberites? If you were a leader of the Sparksians, what would you do? If you were a
leader of the Emberites, what would you do?
• What do you think Doon is preoccupied with?
11 Tick’s Projects • What characteristics of a positive leader does Tick have? What characteristics of a
positive leader is he lacking?
• Why do you think the Emberites were so eager to follow Tick?
• Is the Emberites’ demonstration of pride in their city a positive development, negative
development, a combination of both? Explain your response.
12 Caspar Arrives with a • Consider the relationship between Torren and Caspar. Do you have a similar
Surprise relationship with an older or younger silbling, or do you know any siblings who do?
• As a roamer, Caspar seems to find useless items. Now that you’re quite familiar with
life in Sparks, what sorts of items do you think would be considered valuable there?
• Caspar was talking to Maddy about germs that might still exist. What types of germs
could he be referring to and why would they be of concern to him?
13 Taking Action • Revisit Doon’s conversation with Tick, particularly Tick’s comments to Doon. What

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 was Tick trying to accomplish at different points in the conversation? What evidence
is there that he was or was not successful? (signs of discord)
• Were you surprised by Lina’s decision to leave Sparks by hiding in Caspar’s truck? Do
you approve of her decision? Do you think she’ll be happier roaming with Caspar and
Maddy than she was in Sparks? Explain your answers.
• Imagine that you want to recruit a team of roamers. Write a job description for a
roamer, including the qualifications that you would consider in the job application and
interview. Guide students toward including age, physical capabilities, educational
background and skills, family status, ability to distinguish between useful and useless
items, examples of useful and useless items, etc. Some of these characteristics
would be illegal as hiring qualifications in countries other than Mexico, but they
commonly appear in Mexican want-ads for jobs.

These qualifications might lead to interesting discussion and debate:

o Should age be a limiting factor also for a roamer? Might older people be more
skilled at identifying useful items?
o How strong do roamers have to be? What kinds of items would they need to pick
up and carry? How heavy would these items be?
o Do roamers need math skills if they’re working in an economy based on barter?
o Do roamers need to be able to read?
o What do roamers need to know about animals?
o What habits of mind do roamers need?

How would you announce your interest in recruiting roamers in a society that has no
print or electronic means of communication?

Part 2: Travelers and Warriors

14 What Torren Did • Consider Torren’s series of reactions to the news that Lina left Sparks with Caspar.
Do you understand how he feels? What do you think he was hoping to accomplish
with his final actions? (signs of discord)
• Splattered tomatoes would generally represent a small amount of damage. In this
case, why do the damaged tomatoes incite serious conflict?
• Mrs. Murdo and Dr. Hester are both responsible for children who are not their own.

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 Compare and contrast their “parenting” styles. In your opinion, have the differences in
these styles influenced the personalities and/or behavior of the children they care for?

15 A Long, Hot Ride • Maddy’s personality becomes more apparent in this chapter. Based on what she
does and says, how would you describe her.
• How does Lina react when Maddy makes a fire? Why does she react in this way? Do
you or someone you know react similarly to some stimulus or event? Can you
determine the root of this reaction?

16 The Starving Roamer • Consider the distinct reactions of Caspar, Maddy and Lina to the other roamer they
meet. What can you infer about them from their reactions?
• What are the most important resources that roamers need for their own survival?

17 Doon Accused • Why is it so easy for the citizens of Sparks to believe Torren’s accusations about
Doon? Would you expect them to be more skeptical of Torren’s statements? Why or
why not?
• Doon wonders why Torren singled him out for his accusations. Why do you think
Torren chose to accuse Doon rather than some other Emberite?
• What do you think Edward Pocket was mumbling about in his sleep?
• Why would the citizens of Sparks expect the Emberites to leave in winter, when it will
be difficult for Emberites to grow food?
• Who do you think is writing the messages telling the Emberites to leave Sparks?
What is the writer hoping to achieve by doing this?

Meetin The Second Town • Examine all of the arguments and solutions presented during this town meeting.
g Meeting Which argument(s) and solution(s) do you find most convincing or reasonable? If you
were a leader of Sparks, would you offer any other solution(s)?
• Does this situation remind you of any other situation that might be occurring in your
own community or somewhere else in the world?

18 Caspar’s Quest • What do you think Lina expects to see and to find in the city? If the city were
Monterrey after the “Disaster,” what would the roamers find here? What would be of
greatest value to them and the people of Sparks?

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19 Unfairness, and What to • Consider the feelings of Doon and those of the citizens of Sparks. Can you
Do About It understand how each feels? Do you empathize more with the persons on a particular
side of the issue?
• Tick suggests a solution to the conflict between the Emberites and the citizens of
Sparks. Do you agree with his solution? Explain your response. Would you suggest
a different solution?
• Why does it seem difficult for the citizens of Sparks to show greater consideration for
the Emberites, and for the Emberites to show greater consideration for the citizens of
Sparks?
• Tick wants the Emberites to arm themselves. What kinds of arms could they use?
20 The City Destroyed • Read Billy Collins’ poem “Building with Its Face Blown Off”
(http://www.poemhunter.com/forum/discussion.asp?
forum=1007&message=318677). What is the relationship between this poem
and this chapter?
• Find photos on the Internet that resemble the view of the city that Lina sees. In these
photos, what happened before the photo was taken? How does this compare to the
history of the city that Maddy explains?
• Does Maddy’s description of “A people” and “B people” remind you of any situation
involving individuals or groups of people, either real or fictitious? Of so, explain.

21 Attack and • Do you think that the fact that Doon’s father is older accounts for his concern about
Counterattack resorting to violence? Explain your opinion.
• Consider the actions of both the citizens of Sparks and of Ember. Are the actions of
both groups justified? If you were an Emberite, would you have followed Tick’s
leadership? Explain your opinions.
• Do you think the Emberites’ actions will improve or damage their plight? Why?

22 Discoveries • Based on the sparse information you have about the city that Lina, Maddy and Caspar
found, does it remind you of any particular city that exists today?
• Would you have liked to be a roamer? Why or why not?
• In an earlier assignment, you recruited a team of roamers. Now that you have a
better understanding of a roamer’s job, imagine that you are responsible for training

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 your team of roamers. Develop a training program for your team. Some information
that you might want to include in your training is:
o How to maintain the vehicle and care for the oxen
o How to prepare for the physical demands of roaming
o What kinds of clothes to wear
o What kind and amount of food to take
o How to decide where to go
o How far to go each day
o Where to stop for the night
o How to avoid danger from thieves and animals
o How to prepare for inclement weather
o How much can be collected and transported (volume and weight; calculate
the capacity of the vehicle and oxen)
o What kinds of items should be collected (create a prioritized list)
o How to determine the value of items for barter
o (1:1 students can create a training film, maybe based on the military
training film simulated for the poem “Naming of Parts” linked in the People
of Sparks supplement document; you can divide students into groups; all
students in the group can contribute to the training plan, and in the film, one
student can serve as the instructor while the others play the part of the
roamer recruits. Students in the traditional classes can perform their
training skit live for classmates.)

Meetin The Third Town Meeting • Examine all of the arguments and solutions presented during this town meeting.
g Which argument(s) and solution(s) do you find most convincing or reasonable? If you
were a leader of Sparks, would you offer any other solution(s)?
• Does this situation remind you of any other situation that might be occurring in your
own community or somewhere else in the world?
• What kind of “Weapon” do you imagine the leaders of Sparks are talking about?

23 Getting Ready for War • Listening to Tick’s message, would you have been convinced to join him? Why or
why not?

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 • Considering the type of government and leadership that the Emberites had in the
book and movie “City of Ember,” do you think that this made it easy for Tick to
assume leadership of the Emberites? Explain your opinion.
• Read and view speeches that call people to war, that call athletes to fierce
competition or that dissuade people from conflict and violence. Assume one of the
four positions below and write and perform a speech to your fellow citizens to
convince them of the wisdom of your position:
o You are a Sparksian who wants to threaten to use the “Weapon” and who is
prepared to use it if necessary.
o You are a Sparksian who does not want the “Weapon” to be used, even as
a threat.
o You are an Emberite who believes that arms and violence are necessary in
order to acquire what you need from the people of Sparks.
o You are an Emberite who believes that arms and violence will not resolve
the conflict with the people of Sparks; in fact, arms and violence may
exacerbate the conflict.

Part 3: The Decision

24 What Torren Planned • What do you infer Dr. Hester’s attitude toward the impending war is? How does her
attitude compare to Torren’s? To what do you attribute Dr. Hester’s attitude and
Torren’s attitude?
25 Dread at the Last Minute • Lina is beginning to think of Sparks as home. Why and how do you think this change
occurred? Have you had, or do you know someone who has had, a similar
experience? Can you explain this person’s experience in adapting to a new home?
• How has Sparks change during the time that Lina was traveling as a roamer?
• Notice what Doon is finding interesting. Would you have expected this of him? Why
or why not? What does this tell you about Doon?
• If there is to be a reverse in the relationship between the Emberites and the citizens of
Sparks, who, in your opinion, should initiate the reverse? Why?

26 The Weapon • Do Tick and the other Emberites have a right to make demands on the people of
Sparks? Why or why not?

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 • Based on the description of the “Weapon,” what do you think it is?
• What motivated Doon to save Torren, especially given the trouble that Torren had
caused for Doon?

27 Firefight • What may have been all of the reasons that the Emberites initially did not help the
Sparksians extinguish the fires?
• What may have been all of the reasons that most of the Emberites eventually helped
extinguish the fires?
• If you were an Emberite, what do you think you would have done? Why? Whom
would your decision benefit, and how?

28 Surprising Truths • This chapter explains a number of the events in the novel that led to the armed
conflict. If these truths had been revealed earlier in the story, do you think that this
violent conflict would have occurred? Why or why not?
• Considering the evolution of the relationship between the people from Sparks and the
people from Ember through the progression of the novel, do you think that some type
of conflict was avoidable or inevitable? Do you think that the incidents with the thrown
tomatoes, the messages written on the hotel walls, and the poison ivy left on the hotel
steps were reasons or excuses for the Emberites and Sparksians to attack each
other? Explain your response.

Meetin The Fourth Town • How do you think the Emberites feel, knowing that they will now be citizens of Sparks
g Meeting and no longer of Ember? What suggestions would you make to both Emberites and
Sparksians to help alleviate the Emberites’ feelings?
• Do Torren and Tick deserve consequences? Why or why not? If you were asked to
administer consequences to Torren and Tick, what would they be, and why?
• Would it have been better for Tick to leave or to stay in Sparks?
• In the aftermath of the violence between the Emberites and the Sparksians, the
people of Sparks admitted their errors and were grateful for the help they received
from the Emberites. Considering this, do you think that the violent conflict was
actually beneficial, or would it have been better for it not to have occurred at all?
Consider all of the consequences of both options. Is violence ever good or
necessary?

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29 Three Amazing Visits • Given the events of the last chapter, what do you predict for:
o Lina?
o Maddy?
o Doon?
o Torren?
o Sparks?
o Former Emberites?
• Watch one or both of the following Ted Talks featuring William Kamkwamba. Which
character in People of Sparks does he remind you of? What are all of the similarities
between William and the character you identified?
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/william_kamkwamba_on_building_a_windmill.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind.html

• If you lived in Sparks, how would you be able to contribute to the community? Think
about your skills, talents and interests, and about the needs of the Sparksian
community at the end of the novel.

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