Crossing the Wire

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

What is the difference between documented and undocumented immigration? Why might families feel pressured to leave their home country?

Teaching Suggestion: Victor, who lives in Mexico, decides to move to the United States after manufacturing ruins the local farming community in Los Árboles. Victor makes the choice to cross the border illegally. It may be beneficial to introduce the novel through topic exploration such as immigration in Mexico and the United States and conflicts that may cause people to leave their home country. Sharing these and similar resources may help build background knowledge.

• This 5-minute video explores immigration and some of the statistics surrounding immigration to the United States.
• This article describes Mexican immigration to the United States and how it has evolved over the years.

Short Activity

Use an online map or classroom map to identify locations in the novel. Create points on the map to refer to as you read the novel and explore locations in the United States and Mexico.

• Los Árboles, Mexico
• Silao, Mexico
• Guadalajara, Mexico
• Mazatlán, Mexico
• Nogales, Mexico
• Agua Prieta, Mexico
• Altar Municipality, Mexico
• Sasabe, Mexico
• La Perra Flaca, Arizona
• Baboquivari Mountains, Arizona
• Tucson, Arizona
• Washington state

Teaching Suggestion: Victor and his comrades often refer to places in the novel where they once lived and places they travel to. Students may find it beneficial to explore the locations in the novel on maps online to discover Victor’s journey as he crosses the US-Mexico border. Students can create markers on a saved map to refer to as they read.

• A completed map of Victor’s journey can be found here.

Differentiation Suggestion: Visual and spatial learners and students who would benefit from an additional challenge might locate approximate locations on a printed map to display in the classroom. Students can identify each of the places in the novel and mark the locations in Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras in blue and those in the United States in red.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Consider a time when you felt responsible for someone in your family. What was your responsibility? What emotions are associated with family responsibilities? What support systems allowed you to assist family members?

Teaching Suggestion: Victor feels financially responsible for his family after his father’s death. He intends to move to the United States to help his family survive. Students might first brainstorm or discuss roles in families in general, feelings associated with those roles, and support systems before starting a personal written response..