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. What is a “bildungsroman” or “coming-of-age story”? What examples have you read, watched, or played?

Teaching Suggestion: Frankly in Love is a bildungsroman in which Frank, the main character, gradually matures morally and emotionally. This prompt offers an opportunity to assess what students already know about this type of story; the resources below might help to fill in any gaps in their understanding. Students may both enjoy and benefit from discussing examples of bildungsroman and coming-of-age stories, either in small groups or as a whole class.

• This entry from a literary terms resource offers a succinct and clear definition along with several examples.
• This article from Celadon Publishing explains the bildungsroman in more detail and offers clarification on the relationship between the terms bildungsroman and coming-of-age.

2. What kinds of cultural gaps might exist between parents and children when the parents are immigrants and the children are born in the United States? How might this complicate a young person’s journey toward adulthood?

Teaching Suggestion: Frank’s coming-of-age is impacted in several ways by the gap that exists between his cultural worldview and his parents’.