Stay en pointe with free teaching activities inspired by Chenée Marrapodi’s Breaking Pointe

In activity one, ask your students to draw the elements of a stage. Working together or solo, have them plan a dance, making sure it has all the elements to wow an audience. Activity two teaches dance vocabulary using a crossword puzzle.

Further discussion questions for Breaking Pointe include:

• Diabetes is one of the main topics in the book. It is not until chapter nine that the reader is told Amelia has type 1 diabetes. What symptoms does Amelia have before chapter nine that are indicative of diabetes?
• The book is written in the first-person narrative, with chapters alternating between Amelia and Valentina. Why do you think the author has done this?
• Prepare a report on diabetes. Include the following information.
  a. What is it?
  b. How many types are there?
  c. What are the symptoms associated with diabetes?
  d. What does a person with diabetes have to do every day to manage the disease?
  e. What everyday factors can impact the severity of diabetes?
• After discussing the descriptive passages in the book, ask the students to write a descriptive paragraph of something they enjoy doing. It can be a hobby, a holiday they’ve had, a special time with family, etc. Revisit one of the descriptive passages in the book to provide a model for them.

You can download the activity sheets here and, for more teaching activities, download the free teaching notes here.