Every Soul a Star

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Team Exo Reunion Chapter”  

In this activity, students will write follow-up chapters about Team Exo’s reunion after researching an upcoming eclipse.

It's time for Team Exo to have a reunion, and they want to plan it around the next full solar eclipse in the United States.

• In groups of three, research the total solar eclipses from the time after the story’s 2008 publication that would be visible from the United States. The eclipses of 2017 and 2024 are good choices.
• Choose a place along the path of totality for your characters to have their reunion—this will be the setting for your story.
• Next, each member of your group must select one of the three main characters and narrate their chapter from that character’s point of view. Stories should be about 1000 words and include dialogue.
• Using details from the novel, estimate how old the characters will be by the date of this next eclipse. Narrate the events of the reunion and the eclipse. Feel free to bring along new characters to make your stories come alive!

For an extra challenge, include one of the novel’s themes: The Inevitability of Change, The Positive Impact of Education, or The Need to Celebrate Identity.

Teaching Suggestion: The changing nature of solar eclipses and the long paths of totality should provide a great deal of variety in student work. Since the book was published in 2008, encourage students to imagine that these characters were born around the year 1995 when calculating their ages. When writing their short narratives, you may want to provide guidance with each narrator’s writing style. Ally writes with a large, impressive vocabulary, using long sentences and great insight. Bree uses slang, short sentences, and often startling statements. And Jack stammers and is awkward—his speech is full of gaps.

Differentiation Suggestion: You may decide to share a map of an eclipse with the class (see links above for the eclipses of 2017 and 2024). Students who benefit from additional assistance with abstract analysis may find it helpful to come together as a group and decide where to set their stories. Students who struggle with written language may choose to turn in their work by creating a visual representation of the reunion with the characters aged appropriately. These students may describe the events in their stories aloud when they present to the class.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The Labyrinth at Moon Shadow has profound effects on different characters.

• How does the labyrinth provide a physical representation of different characters’ search for self-discovery? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, choose two or three characters and explain how their visit to the labyrinth affects them.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, sum up how the labyrinth helps these characters find their places in the universe.

2. One of the novel’s most important themes is The Inevitability of Change.

• How does this theme apply to each of the three characters’ lives? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, explain the changes each character experiences—both those that come from within and those that are forced upon them.
• In your conclusion, state which character you think makes the most drastic change, and why you think so.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The three young narrators in this book experience The Inevitability of Change. How can the study of astronomy, as presented in the book, show that the universe is always changing? 

2. Bree makes a long journey from the immature character at the beginning of the novel to the young adult at its conclusion. Trace her development over the course of the book, citing three or four of the most important steps of her transformation.

3. Analyze the scene in which Bree meets the Egyptian eclipse chaser outside of the labyrinth. Why did the author include this scene in the book? What does the character add to the story? How does her observation of the eclipse contribute to the theme The Need to Celebrate Identity?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What makes Moon Shadow Campgrounds an ideal place to view the eclipse?

A) It has the most sophisticated equipment.

B) It is near a large university.

C) It is on the top of a mountain.

D) It is relatively free of light pollution.

2. What lecture do Bree and Claire attend on the first day of her summer break?

A) Breaking Into Modeling

B) Understanding Dark Matter  

C) Making New Friends

D) Get to Know the Constellations

3. What is a person supposed to keep in mind while walking through the labyrinth?

A) A secret wish

B) A favorite memory   

C) An important question

D) The name of a relative

4. Which word best describes Bree’s attitude toward looking into the telescope?

A) Confused

B) Enthusiastic   

C) Hesitant

D) Jealous

5. Which character would most likely be interested in studying painters who learn how to express their growth through their art?

A) Ally

B) Bree   

C) Jack

D) Ryan

6. Which statement best describes Ally’s predicament as the novel progresses?

A) She feels that she will lose her identity if she loses contact with her school friends.   

B)  She finds it strange that others show interest in her, and her previous imaginary life suddenly seems childish.

C) She worries that her test scores will not be competitive enough to get her into the classes she wants to attend.

D) She understands she can’t be an astronomer in the city, and she isn’t ready to attend school.

7. What benefit does Jack receive from retreating into his lucid dream interludes?

A) It distracts him from his physical pain.

B) It gives him a sense of empowerment.  

C) It helps him avoid his dangerous thoughts.

D) It helps him communicate with others.

8. What do all three narrators have in common?

A) They are all experiencing the wonder of astronomy for the first time.

B) They are all emotionally devastated about an upcoming move.  

C) They are all contending with a history of academic failure and disappointment.  

D) They are all transitioning into middle school and their teenage years.  

9. What makes Bree reluctant to enter the labyrinth?

A) She worries that there is no deep meaning within her.

B) She is afraid of accessing painful repressed memories.

C) She does not believe that the labyrinth’s power is real.

D) She feels that she has enough wisdom without it.  

10.  How does the ensemble narrative structure of the novel reflect its themes?   

A) It is chaotic, like the universe that its characters obsess over.

B) It requires teamwork to tell its story, like the members of Team Exo.

C) It introduces a lot of unreliability, like the unreliable members of the team.

D) It is unpredictable and volatile, like a shooting star.  

11.  What do Jack’s interactions with Pete reveal about Jack’s character?

A) He is good at thinking on his feet.

B) He is unable to socialize with peers.

C) He is quick to anger and violence.

D) He craves the attention of a crowd.

12.  How does Mr. Silver’s departure affect the characters?

A) It causes deep rifts to grow between them.

B) It allows them to use the observatory’s equipment.

C) It shows them the power of education.

D) It forces them to work as a team. 

13. What does the Egyptian eclipse chaser at the labyrinth tell Bree she will be doing during the eclipse? 

A) Taking photographs

B) Looking in a mirror

C) Looking at the ground

D) Taking scientific measurements

14.  How does her time with Jack and Ally transform Bree?

A) It teaches her how to be well-liked.

B) It shows her that she has an artistic spirit.

C) It helps her redefine her idea of beauty.

D) It turns her into a more dedicated student.

15. What does Ally learn is the essential character of the universe?

A) Dark matter 

B) Evil

C) Competition

D) Change

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What challenges is Ally likely to face as she transitions to her new life in the city? What lessons from her time in Team Exo could she use to adapt?

2. How does his stay at Moon Shadow force Jack Rosten to change? Cite specific details from the text.