The Testing

Throughout the novel, we learn about the wars and their effects on the environment. People and nature have had to adapt to survive. What are some lessons the novel offers about adaptation? What transformations seem positive? What shifts are harmful? How could we apply a lesson from the novel to an issue in our world that requires adapting?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might create a class visual before the discussion, in which each student adds one adaptation of nature to human behavior (or the other way around) to a sticky note and then places it along a continuum from negative on the left to positive on the right. Students can then read each other’s ideas and view where they are on the continuum.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who are not learning in a group environment could instead perform a guided close read of a teacher-selected passage from the text where characters adapt to environmental challenges. Students could annotate the text for the author’s diction and tone. For students who would benefit from additional argumentative writing practice, this activity could extend into an essay proposing a way for our society to adapt to the changing climate.