By Miriam GonzalesBest for Ages 6+

October 7, 2017- October 29, 2017

The Smartest Girl in the World

Activ

ity Guide

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Curricular Connections

Language Arts

• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

• Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

• Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.

Social Studies

• Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

• Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

• Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

• Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

• Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

• Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Visual Arts

• Make art or design with various materials and tools to explore personal interests, questions, and curiosity.

• Create personally satisfying artwork using a variety of artistic processes and materials.

• Elaborate visual information by adding details in an artwork to enhance emerging meaning

• Elaborate on an imaginative idea.

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Curricular Connections

Theatre Arts

• Make and discuss group decisions and identify responsibilities required to present a drama/theatre work to peers

• Collaborate with peers to revise, refine, and adapt ideas to fit the given parameters of a drama theatre work.

• Use personal experiences and knowledge to make connections to community and culture in a drama/theatre work.

• Imagine and articulate ideas for costumes, props and sets for the environment and characters in a drama/theatre work.

Health

• Recognize effective communication skills.

• Examine emotions and responses to various situations.

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SOCIAL STUDIES & LANGUAGE ARTSHeroes of HistoryRI.X.2, RI.X.3, RI.X.10, W.X.2, W.X.3, W.X.7, W.X.9

Near the beginning of The Smartest Girl in the World, Lizzy, Leo, and Hector rehearse a skit about the legendary Harry Houdini. In this activity, students will research a real-life hero who, like Harry Houdini, came from humble beginnings and overcame obstacles along the way. Then they will design a superhero costume for the person they researched, using the included worksheet.

Start with a class discussion about Harry Houdini and the play. Share the following biography and photos of Houdini with your students.

Who was Harry Houdini? Erik Weisz was born in Hungary in 1874 and immigrated to the United States when he was four years old. When he started performing in magic shows, Weisz changed his name to Harry Houdini. He rose to stardom through his daring escapes, which included escaping handcuffs, straitjackets, chains, and more, often in incredibly dangerous conditions.

Ask your class to reflect on the following questions:

• Why do you think Leo admires Harry Houdini?• Do you see any similarities between Leo and Harry Houdini?• Which people throughout history do you consider your heroes?

As you discuss your historical heroes, make a list on the board that your students can reference throughout their project. You may wish to make some suggestions based on past social studies

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Arts Extension: Historical Heroes to the Rescue!VA:Cr1.2.2a, VA:Cr2.1.3a, VA:Cr3.1.3a, TH:Cr1.1.3.

In theatre, costume designers are in charge of what actors wear on stage. They use clothing and accessories to help communicate specific details about a character to the audience. When designing a costume, a designer will consider such factors as the character’s personality, their social class, their culture, and the time period of the play. They may build, buy, or find the costume to create the character’s look.

For a historical play with characters that really existed, the costume designer might reference clothing that the historical figure really wore. A design like this prioritizes historical accuracy. But sometimes, a costume designer might be more interested in emphasizing other details about the character, such as their personality. It all depends on the play, and on the designer’s preferences.

For this activity, your students will imagine that their historical heroes were superheroes. Using the Superhero Cape Design Worksheet, they will design a cape for their superhero to wear. What kind of play, movie, or comic book would their heroes star in? Challenge your students to keep creating and use their knowledge and design as inspiration for further art projects or creative writing.

Recommended Resources • Who Was…? book series• I Am… book series• KidtopiaSearch Engine

Next, pass out the Heroes of History Worksheet to your students. Since the project involves research, take a trip with your class to the school library or multimedia center to learn about how to search the catalogue or how to use research databases. Alternatively, work with the school librarian to bring some relevant books into the classroom for your students to use. When your students have completed their worksheets, get creative with the Arts Extension below. You can also use the worksheets as a springboard for essays, narrative historical fiction, or even in-character speeches!

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Name of Hero: ______________________________________________________________

Place of Birth: _________________________ Year of Birth: ________________________

List two details about your hero’s childhood. Where did they grow up? Who were their parents? Did they have any siblings? Did they go to school?

1. ___________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________

What did your hero accomplish? For what are they remembered?______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What obstacles did your hero overcome?______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Books and websites I used in my research:1. _____________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________________

Heroes of History

Ideas: Alexander Hamilton, Helen Keller, Malala Yousafzai, Marie Curie

Name:_________________________

Class: _________________________

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Imagine your historical hero as a superhero. What makes them heroic? What images, colors, or symbols would they wear? Design a cape for your hero, letting your hero’s

accomplishments inspire your design.

My Hero: _______________________________

Superhero Cape Design

Name:_________________________

Class: _________________________

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VISUAL ARTS

Adventure Awaits! VA:Cr1.1.3a, VA:Cr1.2.2a, VA:Cr1.2.3a, VA:Cr3.1.2a

You will need:

• A large (11x17) sheet of construction paper for each student• Colorful art supplies such as crayons, colored pencils, markers, or paints

In The Smartest Girl in the World, Lizzy and Leo’s room features a mural that their dad created. Throughout the play, the mural comes to life to illustrate the adventures Lizzy and Leo imagine.Write the following two questions on the board:

• What are some adventures you imagine having in the future?• What kind of person do you dream of becoming?

Give the class about five minutes to write out their answers to these questions on a piece of paper. After time is up, allow any students who feel comfortable the opportunity to share their thoughts with the class.

Next, explain that a mural is a piece of artwork that uses a wall as a canvas. For this activity, your students will create a class mural based on their dreams of the future.

Give each student a large sheet of construction paper (11x17). Murals often employ bright colors, and they rarely leave any white space. Encourage your students to fill their paper completely, using the art supplies of their choice.

When all of your students have finished, collect their artwork and arrange them on a wall of the classroom to form a bright collage! You may want to have the students work together to decide how to arrange the art. For instance, the mural could be arranged by theme, color, patterns, or level of detail. Though your class worked separately, they made a mural together! Invite your students to look at the mural and discuss the following questions:

• What meaning did you want to express in your individual artwork?• Do you think the meaning changed when the art was combined into a mural? In what way?

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THEATRE ARTS & SOCIAL STUDIES

Reporting Live! TH:Cr2-3, TH:Cr2-4, TH:Cr3.1.3., TH:Pr4.1.3., TH:Pr6.1.4, TH:Pr6.1.5, TH:Re8.1.3, TH:Cn10.1.3, TH:Cn11.1.3, SL.2, SL.6

Leo and Lizzy, the main characters in The Smartest Girl in the World, love to make up skits. Leo’s favorite character to play is Anderson Cooper Martinez, an award-winning news anchor. In this activity, your students will create their own broadcast skits, playing anchors, reporters in the field, and interesting people being interviewed.

1. Have your students watch a recent news clip about events in your community. Make sure the clip shows a person being interviewed by a reporter.You may want to play the clip more than once, and encourage students to take notes. Immediately following, discuss the following questions with your students:

• What words or phrases jump out at you from the clip?• What parts did you find interesting?• What is the broadcaster’s mood or tone?• Who did the reporters speak to? Why do you think they wanted to talk to those people specifically?• Can you think of any questions you would have asked that the reporter didn’t ask?

2. Now that your students have a common understanding of the format of local news and the interview process, it’s their turn to report! What are some events happening in your school community that would make an interesting and informative news segment? Create a list on the board with everyone’s ideas.

3. Break your class into groups of four or five. Each group of students will create their own broadcast skits based around events happening at school. First, each group should pick an event or subject they would like to focus on. Have your students brainstorm some people who could be interviewed for their news clip about their subject. Then have them generate a list of questions that the reporters could ask their interview subjects.

4. Now, instruct your students to create short “broadcast” scenes with a lead anchor, reporters, and interview subjects. Students can take on the roles of any interview subjects who aren’t readily available. They should create an outline for their scenes, including the questions the reporters plan to ask and answers the interview subjects plan to give. However, there is no need for your students to create detailed scripts unless they would like to.

5. Your students should rehearse their scenes until they feel comfortable. Then come back together as a class, and have each group perform their skit for the class!

Possible Resources • WUSA9• NBC4• FOX5 DC

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LANGUAGE ARTSPoetic Pet Names W.X.4, L.X.1, L.X.5, L.X.6

In The Smartest Girl in the World, Lizzy’s aunt calls Lizzy by a nickname she doesn’t like: “Little Toot.” Even though Lizzy asks her to stop, Aunt Kid says she’ll call Lizzy “Little Toot” until Lizzy is a viejita (a little old lady). Lizzy finds the nickname embarrassing, but Aunt Kid clearly loves Lizzy and thinks that she’s wonderful and smart.

In this activity, your students will start with a pet name or nickname that their relatives or friends call them. (The name can be embarrassing, but it doesn’t have to be.) Using that pet name as a foundation, your students will write acrostic poems that highlight their own positive character traits and talents. If they can’t think of a nickname, they can make one up!

Explain to your students that acrostic poems are poems in which the first letters of each line spell out a word. Read the following acrostic poem, based on Lizzy’s nickname, out loud with your class. You may also want to write or project it on the board.

Lizzy is the smartest girl in the world:Intelligent,Talented,Tremendous!Lizzy never gives up,Even when she’s scared.

Thoughtful,Original,Optimistic,Third grader extraordinaire!

Ask your students to identify (in the above poem):• The adjectives• The punctuation marks used• Two full sentences (hint: the sentences might be broken up across lines)

Assure your students that the lines of a poem don’t have to make complete sentences.

Now, have your students write their own acrostic poems. Encourage them to use a thesaurus if they get stuck! If they use any words that they are unfamiliar with, instruct them to include a definition at the bottom of the page.

Take volunteers to read their poems out loud to the class! Can the audience spell out the poet’s nickname just from hearing the poem?

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Lizzy and Leo, our heroes in The Smartest Girl in the World, spend long hours training and studying to compete in the Challenge quiz show. Having students write questions for and compete in theirown quiz show is a great way to instill ownership over math material or review for an upcoming test!

Preparation: 1. Divide students into three to five teams, depending on class size and dynamic. Allow each team to come up with a team name, and inform the class that they will be designing their own version of the Challenge quiz show!

2. Write the categories for the Challenge on the board. The categories should reflect the options for the quiz show’s questions and could be based on sections (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.), skills (Addition, Multiplication, etc.), or type of knowledge (Fractions, Quadrilaterals, etc.). It all depends on what material you’d like to review.

3. Start a timer for fifteen minutes. Each group should use the allotted time to write a list of questions and answers to be used for the Challenge. They can come up with the questions on their own or pull them from textbooks and worksheets. As they work, remind them that there need to be questions for every category and not to be too easy on their classmates, because the questions they write are for the competition!

4. When the timer runs out, collect all potential questions. Be sure to keep the questions submitted by each group separate (we suggest putting each group’s questions in their own jar or container). Check each group’s questions and answers for accuracy, variety, and appropriateness. Discard any that are unusable. Discard any duplicate questions. At the end of this process, ensure that the number of questions in each group’s jar is roughly equal. For the best Challenge game, each jar should contain at least ten questions. Label each question jar with the team’s name.

Expansion Tip: This activity can be adjusted for any subject area, or used as an end of marking period review of everything

learned!

MATH

Math CHALLENGE!This activity is designed to fit into any math curriculum your classroom is currently tackling.

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Gameplay: 1. Write each team’s name on the board for scorekeeping and have each team sit together with pencil and paper. Give each team the jar of questions they wrote. Make sure all books, computers, and math notes are tucked away!

2. Choose a team to begin the Challenge. This team will choose another team to read a question from their jar. One reader from the chosen team will pull a random question from the jar and read it aloud to the whole class.

3. All students except those on the team who wrote the question will race to write down the correct answer. The first team to all put their hands in the air is called on. If they are correct, they score two points!

4. If the first team is incorrect, the question should be read again, and another team (besides the team that wrote the question) can “steal” a point by putting their hands in the air first and then providing the correct answer to the same question. If neither team is correct, no points are scored.

5.Play continues in this way, with each team getting a chance to choose which jar their question comes from in turn. When one jar runs out of questions, that team can continue to play as normal until all jars are empty. When all questions have been asked (or a predetermined high score is reached by a team), the team with the highest number of points are the Challenge quiz show champions!

Teacher Tip: Don’t be afraid to let out your goofy, theatrical side as the game show host! Consider using theme music, a

funny voice, or a different name to keep the game funny and exciting.

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LANGUAGE ARTS & THEATRE

Conflict Creators Language Arts Standards: W.X.3, W.X.5, W.X.10Theatre Standards: I:3-5:1, I:3-5:3, E:3-5:3, E:3-5:2

In The Smartest Girl in the World, Lizzy adores her older brother, Leo, who is sick with a very serious illness. She comes up with a plan to help him by competing in the Challenge quiz show, but her plan backfires when Leo gets jealous. This conflict between the two characters is what makes the play interesting. Conflicts make all stories more interesting!

1. Share the text of the below excerpt from The Smartest Girl in the World with your class. After they look at it once, take several volunteers to read the dialogue out loud and with emotion.

LIZZY: I wanted to…I wanted to…help.

LEO: Help? You think winning hot dogs is gonna help? Pathetic.

LIZZY: I did it for us, to save our plan, for us both to be the smartest. You said. Going to Hawaii,the new house, the candy, the-

LEO: You believed all that. “The Plan.” What a baby. Look at me. Right here. It was a big fat lie. You can’t ever be smart like me. Ever. You can’t help. Nothing’s ever gonna change!

2. Discuss the overall conflict in the play with your class. What is the relationship like between Lizzy and Leo? Did the audience understand the points of view of both characters? Which character did they agree with most? How was the conflict resolved at the end of the play?

3. Can any of your students think of another story, book, or movie where one character tries to help another character, but the plan backfires, creating a conflict? (Example: Mulan tries to help her father by fighting in a war disguised as a man, but the plan backfires when she is discovered.) Do these conflicts have anything else in common? How are they resolved?

4. Once your students have a good grasp on the concept of conflict, they can pen their own conflict-driven stories! They should use the Conflict Story Organizer Worksheet to construct their tale. Each story should contain two characters with a relationship, a setting, and of course, a conflict.

Continued on the following page

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5. When everyone has finished their Organizer Worksheet, it’s time to become playwrights. A playwright is a writer who writes for the stage. Share the interview with the playwright of The Smartest Girl in the World, Miriam Gonzales, below, with your class.

An Interview with Miriam Gonzales

1) What do you love about writing?

I love the power, fun, and freedom that I feel when I write. When you write creatively and use your imagination – the sky’s the limit! There are no “right” or “wrong” answers – your ideas are yours and no one can take them away from you. It’s great fun to create characters – build a story for them and then see it all come to life on stage.

2) What inspired The Smartest Girl in the World?

The wonderful students I taught as a fifth grade teacher in Virginia were a big source of inspiration. Most were children of immigrants, or immigrants themselves, and I was in awe of their incredible drive to do well in school and help their families succeed in this country. Their parents worked around the clock, so my students had to take care of their siblings (cook dinner, do chores) the minute they got home from school and do their homework! One of my students had sickle cell disease. He was the most joyful child I had ever met. He loved learning and worked hard, just like the character, Leo, in my play. I was also very inspired by own family memories and the great times I had growing up with my big, and very smart, loving brother.

3) Do you remember the first play you ever wrote? What was it about?

It was called, You Can’t Buy Friendship. I wrote it in sixth grade with my best buddy. We were studying the Civil War. It was about the friendship between a slave and the slave owner’s daughter.

4) What advice do you have for young people who want to write plays?

Your voice matters! Your stories and ideas matter! Audiences need to hear and learn from you because you have a story worth telling. You can express so many ideas, feelings, and solve lots of problems through writing and the characters you create – it feels amazing. Try it! Play and have fun with that powerful world of pretend inside of you.

5) Revision is an important part of the writing process. How has The Smartest Girl in the World changed since your very first draft?

It’s not as long! It was once 85 pages and now it’s about 55. I dropped a character along the way and re-wrote a lot of scenes (I revised it over two years and even made some edits last month), but the heart of the story has never changed. Revising only makes your story stronger. Writing, like anything you care about and love, requires hard work. As Lizzy, the smartest girl would say, “Never give up!”

Miriam Gonzales

September 5, 2017

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Mini Health Extension: Conflict HealersH1A, H1D

The concept of interpersonal conflict as explored in the above activity and in the plot of The Smartest Girl in the World can serve as a springboard for classroom conversations about students’ own experiences with conflict and conflict resolution. Have any of your students ever tried to help a friend or family member with a problem and had it not go as they’d hoped? How did their friend or family member react? Why? Did the conflict get resolved in the end?

Provide students a few minutes to freely journal about their memories of the conflict. After time is up, give any students who feel comfortable the opportunity to share with the class.

6. Students should use the information on their Organizer Worksheet to help them write a scene of dialogue between their two central characters. Before they write, remind them that a scene should take place in one location at one moment in time between their two main characters. Which moment do they want to explore? Is it the beginning of the conflict, the middle, or the resolution? Each scene should be at least four lines long. Encourage all to write their scene in the style of theatrical scripts, with the character’s name preceding their lines, like in the excerpt from The Smartest Girl in the World they read at the beginning of the activity.

7. When all playwrights are finished writing, divide the class into groups of three. Each playwright should get the chance to hear their scene read out loud by the other two members of their group. What changes need to be made? Sometimes, dialogue doesn’t sound quite as the playwright expected when it is first read aloud!

8. Once the scripts for the scenes are finished, rehearse! Take volunteers who wish to perform their work for the class. If needed, the playwright of each scene can give a brief introduction to provide context for the audience. Bravo!

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Name: ____________________Class: ____________________

Conflict Story Organizer WorksheetA conflict is a problem in a story. All stories have conflicts! Use the organizer below to create your own story with a conflict.

My StorySetting: ________________________________________(Where and when does your story take place?)

Character 1: _____________________________________

Character 2: _____________________________________

Relationship: ____________________________________(How do your characters know each other?)

1. One of your characters has a problem. What is it?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2. How does the other character try to help with their problem?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

3. How does their plan to help backfire or go wrong?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

4. How do the two characters solve the conflict in the end?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

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AT HOME ACTIVITIES

Helping Hand: Winter Kits

Leo, one of the main characters in The Smartest Girl in the World, suffers from sickle cell anemia, sometimes called sickle cell disease. Sickle cell is a disorder that makes it difficult for red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout a person’s body. This is due to abnormal hemoglobin, a special protein found in red blood cells. Sickle cell is genetic, meaning it is passed down from parents to children and cannot be passed from one person to another. It is a lifelong illness. Because a sickle cell patient’s blood flows through their body differently, they often have a harder time keeping up their body temperature in cold weather. To help with this problem, many hospitals collect donated winter kits in the fall months to give to sickle cell patients as it gets colder outside. Winter kits contain warming items like scarves, winter hats, mittens, gloves, warm socks, and blankets.

Does your family have any extra winter accessories in good condition? Consider gathering them and donating them to your local hospital for sickle cell winter kits!

Teachers: Adapt this activity for the classroom by starting a classroom donation box! To increase donations, make it a

competition between classrooms for who can bring the most.

When You Were My Age

In The Smartest Girl in the World, Leo and Lizzy see their parents struggle to make ends meet. They know that their father dreamed of being a professional artist, and that their mother wanted to be an actress. What do your children know about what you once wanted to be? What about some of the other members of your family? Use the questions on the next page to interview each other and learn something new.

Teachers: Adapt this activity for the classroom by having your students interview teachers or administrators at your school.

What answers are the most surprising?

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When You Were My Age

My name: My age:

Adult 1 Name:

What year was it when you were my age? :

Adult 2 Name: What year was it when you were my age? :

I live in: I lived in: I lived in:

I live with: I lived with: I lived with:

I like to: I liked to: I liked to:

My best friends are: My best friends were: My best friends were:

My favorite subject in school is:

My favorite subject in school was:

My favorite subject in school was:

My favorite music and mov-ies are:

My favorite music and movies were:

My favorite music and movies were:

When I grow up, I want to be:

I wanted to be: I wanted to be: