With the Fire on High

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What do you think about teenage pregnancy? What preconceptions might you have about this topic?

Teaching Suggestion: Emoni has a young child after an unplanned pregnancy early in high school. Students may have vastly different experiences and beliefs about teenage pregnancy, but developing an understanding of the challenges adolescent mothers often face may help them understand Emoni more deeply.

• This page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides an overview of teenage pregnancy in the United States.
• This article from Healthline details many of the mental health, physical health, and economic challenges faced by adolescent mothers.

2. Emoni’s father, Julio, is from and lives in Puerto Rico. What do you know about Puerto Rico? The culture? The food?

Teaching Suggestion: Emoni’s absent father and their relationship have a significant impact on Emoni’s relationship with her grandmother, her self-perception, and the food she prepares. Guiding students to explore the culture, the beliefs, and the food of Puerto Rico may help them to think more deeply about Emoni’s actions and thoughts.

• This page from Discover Puerto Rico gives an overview of Puerto Rican culture and provides links to explore different aspects of the culture.
• This page from Discover Puerto Rico explains some of the staple foods of the island.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

What meals are traditional in your family? Do these meals have a cultural history? Or a familial history? What do these meals make you think of?

Teaching Suggestion: Food is not only how Emoni expresses herself, but also how she shows care for her family and friends. Students can begin to make connections to the story by exploring the role of food in their own lives.

Differentiation Suggestion: Some students may benefit from doing this activity in a small-group discussion. Also, students may enjoy drawing the recipe to show to their classmates and to prompt themselves when explaining their family’s culinary traditions.