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

Pre-Reading Personal Response Prompt

What is your family/cultural/personal relationship with work, money, and wealth? What thoughts, beliefs, and experiences shape how you view work and money? Write a personal biography or a family biography that explores relationships with money, labor, and survival.

Teaching Suggestion: Since this topic is personal and potentially sensitive, sharing might be made optional. Responses should be 3+ paragraphs so that students might return to the draft for Activity 1 (see “Activities” section). Prompt students to write about what adults around them said and did regarding work and money when they were small children, what they learned about work and money at school or among peers, and/or what they learned about work, wealth and money from television, music, or other media. By reflecting on these questions, students gain an entry into the central themes, especially Poverty, Race, and Identity.

Post-Reading Analysis

What aspects of Soto’s environment shaped who he was as a youth? As he grew up, how did his character and his beliefs change? Compare what he believed about himself as a child to what he believed about himself as an adult.