The Railway Children

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 does it mean to have privilege? What are different types of privilege someone can have?

Teaching Suggestion: The children in the novel experience a shift in their family’s financial privilege when their father is taken away. Exploring this complex term before reading can provide readers with background knowledge that can lead to greater understanding and ability to infer as they read. After defining the term, students might discuss types of privilege and how they can manifest in society. The Lean In resource might be a place to start, as it is a video and just 4 minutes. Students might watch it twice: once to take in the ideas, and a second time to take notes. The Media Smarts resource explains different forms of privilege. Since it is complex, groups of students could unpack 1-2 of the types and explain them to the class, assuring everyone understands multiple ways privilege can function. Including examples of each form can help make the topic more concrete. 

• This 4-minute video from Lean In defines privilege and discusses how it affects people.