Boys And Girls

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

Pre-Reading “Icebreaker”

Think about a time when you fulfilled a gender norm or were pushed into conforming to a gender norm. How did it feel? Would you have preferred to challenge that norm instead? Are there gender norms that you like? Contemplate your own experience with gender norms in a journal-style entry. You may later choose to share with the class, but this is optional.

Teaching Suggestion: For some students, depending on age and experience, the topic of gender norms as it relates to their personal life can be difficult. But for other students, gender norms are an active part of their discourse and understanding of self. Assuring students that they can share this journal Icebreaker or instead choose to keep it private is important so that students can feel comfortable expressing their journeys with gender norms. The following links can help students who aren’t sure about the gender norms they experience in their own lives.

• "How Parents Influence Kids' Gender Roles" – The Atlantic YouTube channel explores a father’s journey navigating gender stereotypes projected onto his sons in their daily lives.
• "Gender Roles in Society" – This TED Talk by a ninth grader explores the influences, impacts, and future of gender roles.

Post-Reading Analysis

In the final lines of the story, the narrator’s father calls her “only a girl” and she seems to accept this label. Is she internalizing other people’s perspectives? Or does the narrator consider this only an explanation for her odd behavior? Do you think that the story’s conclusion marks the end of the narrator’s co-worker relationship with her father, or will they be able to continue their relationship as it used to be? Explain your reasoning.

Teaching Suggestion: Because this Post-Reading Analysis asks for interpretation and prediction analysis, students should brainstorm and write about these questions with imagination, while staying true to the original text. Munro doesn’t give us a definitive answer about the narrator’s future, but she sets up an implication. Because this can lead to complex conversations, teachers may consider using these questions in a Socratic Seminar style discussion.