Merci Suárez Changes Gears

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 a “coming-of-age” story? What are some examples of this kind of story that you have read or watched? Why do you think this kind of story is so popular?

Teaching Suggestion: Depending on their backgrounds, students may have some knowledge of the coming-of-age story—or they may know little about it. You might consider taking this prompt in stages, using the content from resources below or similar resources to ensure that all students have a strong understanding of the concept before they move on to list examples and speculate on the reasons for the coming-of-age story’s popularity. Students may benefit from discussing the second point as a class or in small groups, as this will allow them to hear a wider variety of examples.

• This guide from the University of Waterloo Communication Centre defines and offers examples of the coming-of-age story.
• This 11-minute video offers clear examples of coming-of-age stories from animated films.

2. What does “social class” mean? Have you heard the terms “classism” and “class bias”? What do they mean, or what do you think they might mean?

Teaching Suggestion: Even students who are familiar with the ideas of social class and class bias will be limited by maturity and experience in their thinking about these topics. They will almost certainly benefit from a teacher-led explanation and discussion on these topics. Allowing them time to try to answer these questions from their own knowledge before providing more thorough answers for them will activate their prior knowledge and provide a firm foundation for retention of any new information you deliver to them in this discussion. Once students have arrived at a solid understanding of what classism means, you can connect this understanding to the novel they are about to read by asking them for specific examples of bias against people of other classes and how class bias might impact people from less privileged classes.

• This chapter from Dr. Kathryn Weinland’s Intercultural Communication (teacher facing; not student appropriate)
• This article from Boston University (teacher facing; not student appropriate)

Personal Connection Prompt

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

In the book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, Merci has to face some hard facts about life as she matures. List five or six concepts that, from your perspective, are some of the hardest things about life to accept. When you look at your list, do you see any patterns in the way these things make you feel? Why do you think that people try to protect young children from these emotions?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt is intended to foster empathy for both Merci and her family. Although Merci’s frustrations and fears may be relatively easy for students to connect with, it is less likely that they will have given much thought to the difficult choices adults have to make in such situations. You can extend this discussion by asking students to debate when—at what age and under what circumstances—adults should stop trying to spare young people from difficult truths.