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 kinds of stories do you envision within the fantasy genre? How do the setting and characters in fantasy differ from other genres? What are some common themes and storylines? What, if anything, can fantasy fiction do that realistic fiction cannot?

Teaching Suggestion: These questions could give individuals the opportunity to reflect in writing before entering a small- or large-group discussion. Students may benefit from brainstorming or listing popular examples of fantasy stories from literature, films, games, and other media before considering common tropes and themes. Graphic organizers facilitating comparisons between familiar fantasy stories may enable students to activate deeper knowledge, while English Language Learners or emerging readers may benefit from pre-highlighted or annotated versions of the texts below with supporting audio.

• This article from the New York Public Library outlines the qualities and history of the fantasy genre of literature and may be used to help clarify related characteristics.
• This podcast from the National Endowment for the Arts, accompanied by a transcript, provides background information on Le Guin’s vision for Earthsea and contextualizes its groundbreaking impact on the fantasy genre.