The Firekeeper's Son

Name: The Firekeeper's Son
Author: Linda Sue Park

A story that explores responsibility and opens a conversation with your child.

★★★★★ Loved by families

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♥ This book teaches: Responsibility. owning your choices and their consequences.

Before, During & After Reading

Guiding Questions for Parents.

Definition: doing what needs to be done without complaining. In short: Do what needs to be done. Summary: Sang-hee lives in a small Korean village with mountains on one side and the sea on the other. Nearby villages communicate with one another by lighting fires every night on the mountain “humps.” The last hump is where the king lives. If there is danger from enemies approaching from the sea, the fire lighters don’t light the fires, the king is warned, and soldiers are sent to defend the land. When the fires are lit, this let’s everyone know it’s safe. One night, Sang-hee is called upon to light the fire. He is tempted to not light the fire so he could see soldiers just once, but he changes his mind and dutifully completes the task. When his father explains the importance of the firekeepers job, Sang-hee realizes he did the right thing. He is trusted from then on to manage the job because of his responsible actions. Lesson Objectives:

Students are motivated to take their responsibilities more seriously because they realize there are rewards to being trustworthy.
This lesson can be linked to studies in Asian (Korean) history (teacher’s note: the story was fictional but the practice of communicating with signal bonfires in Korea was real - read the author’s note at the end of the story).

Guiding Questions:

Why did the firekeepers light fires on the mountains every night?
How do you think the villagers chose who would be the firekeeper?
Why did Sang-hee’s mother send him up the mountain one night?
What happened to Sang-hee’s father?
When Sang-hee tried to light the fire, what did he imagine?
What did the last hot coal “say” to Sang-hee?
What did Sang-hee learn from his father as they walked down the mountain?
Is there something for which you’d like to be responsible at home or at school?
Whose permission do you need to get to do it? Get some help figuring this out by asking your teacher or a family member.
Ask your parents or grandparents what responsibilities they had when they were your age

🌿 Virtue Connection: Responsibility means owning what is yours, including your choices.

About the Story.

This guide is part of the Values & Virtues library, a free collection of 400+ book guides and activities organized around 12 core virtues for children from pre-K to 6th grade. Each guide includes Guiding Questions designed to open a real conversation with your child in 10 minutes or less.

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Responsibility · Family Discussion Guide

The Firekeeper's Son

by Linda Sue Park

Guiding Questions

Students are motivated to take their responsibilities more seriously because they realize there are rewards to being trustworthy.
This lesson can be linked to studies in Asian (Korean) history (teacher’s note: the story was fictional but the practice of communicating with signal bonfires in Korea was real - read the author’s note at the end of the story).

Guiding Questions:

Why did the firekeepers light fires on the mountains every night?
How do you think the villagers chose who would be the firekeeper?
Why did Sang-hee’s mother send him up the mountain one night?
What happened to Sang-hee’s father?
When Sang-hee tried to light the fire, what did he imagine?
What did the last hot coal “say” to Sang-hee?
What did Sang-hee learn from his father as they walked down the mountain?
Is there something for which you’d like to be responsible at home or at school?
Whose permission do you need to get to do it? Get some help figuring this out by asking your teacher or a family member.
Ask your parents or grandparents what responsibilities they had when they were your age

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The Firekeeper's Son

Guiding Questions for Parents.

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Guiding Questions