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: