When I Was the Greatest

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. One of the main characters in this story has Tourette syndrome, which causes him to speak and move without his control. Make a prediction about how other characters might treat him based on these actions. When others understand the reason for someone’s actions, how might their opinions of those actions change?

Teaching Suggestion: Many students may not be familiar with Tourette syndrome, so it might be helpful to provide them with more background information. The prompt may initiate a wider discussion on the way people treat one another when they do not know or understand details or given circumstances. Once the class begins the novel, students might return to their predictions to see if they play out in the text.

• This link connects to the CDC’s definition and description of Tourette syndrome.
• This article from Nemours Kids Health includes an audio version.

2. The majority of this story takes place in a small neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, called Bed-Stuy (short for Bedford-Stuyvesant). How would one typically define a neighborhood? What might make a neighborhood’s residents feel connected to one another as opposed to simply living next to or near each other?