100 Cupboards

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? Define this term in your own words. What are some novels you have read that you would categorize as “coming-of-age” stories?

Teaching Suggestion: If students are unfamiliar with this term, the resources listed below might be helpful in preparing them to answer the question. You might use these sources to prepare a brief presentation for students or simply ask students to refer to these sources on their own.

• This entry from Literary Terms gives a succinct definition and several clear examples.

2. You are about to read a book in which a young protagonist moves in with some relatives in an unfamiliar place and has a surprising adventure there. The book is a coming-of-age story. Write a paragraph that predicts what some of the features of this story are likely to be.

Teaching Suggestion: This prediction-based question might be addressed as a journal entry, an entrance or exit ticket, or a class brainstorming activity.

Short Activity

Watch the short film your teacher provides. Then explain in a brief journal entry the ways in which it displays the elements of a coming-of-age story.

Teaching Suggestion: Students might need to see the suggested resource listed below more than once to analyze the features that make it a coming-of-age story. It is for the most part wordless, so close observation of small details of the action is key. Students can take notes as they watch, and they might benefit from a brief comparison of ideas in small groups before they respond to this question in writing.

• This 7-minute short film from Pixar offers students opportunities in finding and analyzing coming-of-age characteristics.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

What is your favorite coming-of-age story that you have read, watched, or played? Why do you enjoy this one the most? In what ways are you hoping that 100 Cupboards, the book you are about to read, will be similar to this favorite story?

Teaching Suggestion: Before students try to answer the entire prompt, it may be helpful to have a whole-class discussion of favorite shows, stories, and games that contain common coming-of-age themes and motifs. You might encourage students to talk about why they might have more than one favorite and guide them toward understanding that it is possible to value many different kinds of texts, even within the same genre.