When I Was the Greatest

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. One of the main characters in this story has Tourette syndrome, which causes him to speak and move without his control. Make a prediction about how other characters might treat him based on these actions. When others understand the reason for someone’s actions, how might their opinions of those actions change?

Teaching Suggestion: Many students may not be familiar with Tourette syndrome, so it might be helpful to provide them with more background information. The prompt may initiate a wider discussion on the way people treat one another when they do not know or understand details or given circumstances. Once the class begins the novel, students might return to their predictions to see if they play out in the text.

• This link connects to the CDC’s definition and description of Tourette syndrome.
• This article from Nemours Kids Health includes an audio version.

2. The majority of this story takes place in a small neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, called Bed-Stuy (short for Bedford-Stuyvesant). How would one typically define a neighborhood? What might make a neighborhood’s residents feel connected to one another as opposed to simply living next to or near each other?

Teaching Suggestion: The setting of a city neighborhood may be unfamiliar to students. It may be helpful to show students maps and pictures of the area so that they have a better visual as they read. Students might draft a brief list of points of comparison between the place where they live and a neighborhood like Bed-Stuy, speculating about similarities and differences; revisiting the list later provides the chance to evaluate their speculations and see how accurate the comparisons are.

• This map from the NYC Government zoning page provides a layout of the neighborhoods of Brooklyn.
• This website provides photos, historical background, and interactive maps of Bed-Stuy.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

How do you define “family”? What feelings or ideas do you associate with the word? Are “family” members only those who are related to you, or do you have friends or others whom you consider to be family?

Teaching Suggestion: This question may generate a wide variety of responses; independent reflection and a journal-style reaction may be a good approach. With sensitivity in mind for those who live with different types of families or have experienced family conflict, you might extend discussion to other examples of hard-to-define or abstract ideas (e.g., freedom, success, wisdom) before introducing the theme of The Complexities of Defining “Family.”

• This website provides the definitions of family as noted by the US government.
• This article from Purdue University details the challenges of defining family. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing)