These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the memoir.

Pre-Reading “Icebreaker”

Have you ever read a book that greatly influenced your sense of who you are or who you want to be? If not, can you think of a movie, song, or other piece of art that had such an effect? Discuss how and why that work influenced you.

Teaching Suggestion: Bad Boy is as much about Myers’s artistic and intellectual development as anything else: He begins reading at a young age, and the literature he reads, in his words, shows him “the canvas of [his] own humanity” (Chapter 19). This prompt asks students to consider how the books (or movies, music, etc.) they engage with help them better understand their own identity and sense of community belonging.

• “Why It’s Important for Kids to See Themselves in Books”: 2018 Scholastic article by early childhood educator Jodie Rodriguez discussing how literature can solidify identity 

Personal Response Prompt

Throughout Bad Boy, Myers references and discusses famous works of literature. Did any of these descriptions especially stand out to you (or even make you want to read the work itself)? If so, what interested you? If not, why not?