When I Was Puerto Rican

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 we mean when we talk about “coming-of-age” stories? What examples have you read, watched, or played?

Teaching Suggestion: When I Was Puerto Rican is—at its heart—a coming-of-age story. Students have undoubtedly encountered many iterations of this story type; this prompt will allow you to gauge whether they are clear on the definition and whether they can accurately identify examples. After students make a preliminary attempt at answering, you might offer them one or both of the resources listed below to fill in any gaps in their understanding.

• This brief article explains the basic qualities of a coming-of-age story.
• This 7-minute video analyzes Toy Story as a coming-of-age film.

2. Create a three-column list. In the left column, write down any facts you know for sure about Puerto Rico. In the middle column, write down anything you think is probably true but that you do not know for sure. In the final column, write down at least one question you have about Puerto Rico.