How to Steal a Dog

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 is poverty? What social and emotional impact might poverty have on individuals? Is it difficult to escape poverty, or is it something anyone can do?

Teaching Suggestion: Georgina, the novel’s protagonist, lives in a car with her mother and brother because they have recently been evicted from their apartment. Throughout the novel, Georgina’s mother struggles with financial hardships, and Georgina’s living situation isolates her from her peers because she is unable to bathe regularly and fulfill all homework requirements. With sensitivity in mind for individual circumstances, partners might generate a list of social and emotional barriers that arise because of poverty before addressing the prompt privately. Readers might then use these or similar resources for additional context on the paradox of poverty.

• This 5-minute video explains the paradox of poverty, providing an explanation of why poverty is difficult to escape.
• This article describes the social and emotional effects of poverty on children and teens.

2. How should homelessness be defined? What might be some common misconceptions or stereotypes about people who are unhoused?

Teaching Suggestion: Georgina and her brother are largely unaware they may be considered unhoused when they meet a man, Mookie, who does not have a home. Mookie changes Georgina’s perceptions and prejudice against people who are unhoused as she learns of his giving nature. With sensitivity, consider constructing a class definition of homelessness and addressing common misconceptions surrounding those who do not have a home.

• This 3-minute video explores the definition of homelessness and how it is applied.
• This article addresses the common misconceptions surrounding people who are unhoused.

Short Activity 

Reflect on a time when you first tried a new sport, hobby, or activity. How did you learn how to do it? Who helped you? If you could go back and teach yourself how to do it with the knowledge you have now, what information would you need to include to make the process easier to understand? In this Short Activity, you will write your own how-to guide on a subject of your choice. As you develop your ideas, consider the following questions: What makes a how-to book successful? How is the structure, style, or content different from other genres of writing? 

Teaching Suggestion: This writing activity allows students to explore their personal learning styles through a medium of their choice. The goal is to analyze the process with which they have accomplished or learned something in the past; this will encourage empathy with and understanding of Georgina Hayes, who creates her own book on how to steal a dog as the story progresses. The activity could be brief and include a series of enumerated steps, or it could be extended into a long-term project in which students present their work to the rest of the class. The sources below might be helpful to reference in advance to help students generate ideas.

• This article from Growing Book by Book includes a list of step-by-step how-to books for children and would be suitable for a young audience.
• This 2-minute video from Chewy shows young viewers how to train their dog to give paw in five simple steps.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Recall a time when you had to face a challenging dilemma. What was so challenging about it? How did you handle the situation? Did you seek help, or did you come up with a plan of your own?

Teaching Suggestion: Convinced her mother is incapable of resolving their financial difficulties, Georgina decides to steal a dog to collect the reward money from her theft. The class might benefit from first composing a working definition of dilemma. In a connected discussion, students might address the idea of difficult goals and the consequences of compromising values to achieve these goals.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who require an additional challenge may find it beneficial to explore definitions and examples of moral dilemmas through independent or partnered research. Consider asking students to create an infographic that includes a description, the different types, and examples of moral dilemmas.