Pictures Of Hollis Woods

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

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines trauma as “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury.” How can trauma shape a person’s life? For example, if a person is traumatized by a situation, how can this affect the person’s memory? Explain.

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer question invites students to consider the theme The Lasting Effects Of Trauma and Memories. Giff’s novel centers on Hollis’s traumatic past as a part of the foster care system and the effects that history has on her present choices. This is particularly apparent when Hollis meets a family that accepts her with love; however, her insecurities related to the trauma she experienced growing up are one of the primary reasons she decides to run away. Hollis’s narrative points to the fact that trauma experienced during adolescence perseveres as a child matures.

• The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine shares a pamphlet of “How Trauma Impacts Four Different Types of Memory.”
• Adopt US Kids explores the relationship between trauma and children in foster care.

Short Activity

Giff’s novel centers on Hollis Woods, a young girl who has moved through the foster care system since she was a baby. Working in small groups, you will research the structure of the foster care system in the US to share in a brief presentation with the class. Use the following questions to guide your research:

• What is the foster care system in the US and how does it work?
• What is the history of the foster care system?
• What are some of the positives of the system?
• What are some of the negatives?
• Moving forward, what are some of the recommendations for improving the system?

Share your findings with the class in a presentation. In a post-presentation discussion, consider the prevalence of the themes The Lasting Effects Of Trauma and Memories; Running, Hiding, and Being Found; and Using Art To See Life Clearly in your classmates’ responses.

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Activity invites students to explore the US foster care system in the context of a group activity and presentation. For a more challenging Short Activity, assign each group to prepare answers to all of the above questions, while on presentation day ask each group to share their findings to only one of the above questions.

• This US Government website shares information on the foster care system in the US.
• “The Pros and Cons of Foster Care Adoption” from Consideringadoption.com helps hopeful parents make difficult decisions. 

Differentiation Suggestion: For an added research component for more advanced classes, the following question may be added to the above prompt: Research a book about a child in the foster care system and share a synopsis with the class. Overall, does this person describe their experience in foster care as positive or negative? Explain.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

How can art be beneficial in helping people work through problems? Do you use an artistic form of expression in order to deal with difficult situations? If so, how? If not, how could art be an outlet for you?

Teaching Suggestion: This Personal Connection Prompt invites students to consider their relation to the novel’s theme of Using Art To See Life Clearly. While Hollis’s life in the foster care system has not been easy, she uses art as a way to ground herself in difficult times. In particular, Hollis uses art to connect with her surrounding environment, whether it’s nature or her community, which she observes and shares through her detailed sketches. This Prompt connects to the Discussion/Analysis Prompt.

Differentiation Suggestion: For those who feel uncomfortable sharing such personal information publicly, or for a different approach to the topic, consider this alternate prompt: Art is an outlet for people to express their strongest emotions. Consider a favorite work of art that expresses the artist’s feelings of joy, love, passion, or frustration, and explain why this work is important to you. You may want to think of a painting, a song, a photograph, or a sculpture—anything that shows the artist’s deepest feelings.