Rules of the Road

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. How might addiction influence family structure and function? What might individuals do to cope with addiction in the family?

Teaching Suggestion: Jenna’s life is made difficult by her father’s alcohol addiction. Because of his role in her life, Jenna feels the need to lie to protect him and feels responsible for the function of her family. Private journaling may be most appropriate for this potentially sensitive topic. Information from these or similar resources may help students develop additional context on the topic:

• This 5-minute video describes the social and emotional consequences on families with parents who have an alcohol addiction.
• This article describes the effect alcoholism has on children.

2. What do we mean by self-esteem, and what factors impact its development? How might self-esteem have an impact on individual achievement?

Teaching Suggestion: Jenna wrestles with self-esteem due to her physique and her relationship with her father, Jim. Consider discussing self-esteem, where it comes from, and how it is impacted positively and negatively. For background, these or similar resources might be helpful in providing language and vocabulary in student discussion:

• This 8-minute video describes self-esteem and how it is influenced.
• This article describes healthy self-esteem and steps that can improve it.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Have you ever faced a difficult challenge or obstacle? What strategies did you use to cope with the problem? Did your problem ever resolve? How might difficult problems contribute to character growth?

Teaching Suggestion: Jenna feels trapped by her father’s alcohol use disorder until she meets Harry Bender, an AA member and respected person in Mrs. Gladstone’s company. Harry helps Jenna confront problems with her father and in her workplace. Extended discussion topics might include strategies for challenges used by historical or literary figures and how challenges might shape character.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who require an additional challenge may find it beneficial to research the impact of seemingly unsurmountable obstacles and healthy strategies to overcome them emotionally and in ways connected to self-esteem. Students may find it helpful to record these strategies in a location where other students can view them to refer to as the novel progresses.