The Last Cuentista

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. How much responsibility is appropriate for an adolescent? What are some examples in categories such as chores, errands, school-related tasks, activities/athletics-related tasks, and family responsibilities that represent the “upper limit” of what the typical 12- or 13-year-old person should be asked to accomplish?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might work in pairs or small groups to list examples in each category, then share or compile responses. It might be helpful to reveal after discussion the burden of responsibility felt by Petra, the protagonist, in her quest to keep her memories alive, give voice to generations’ worth of stories and folktales, and save her shipmates. As readers progress through the novel, it may be beneficial to return to their compiled lists and make comparisons between their responsibility “limits” and Petra’s duties before and after stasis.

• The Child Development Institute offers “The Ultimate List of Age-Appropriate Chores for Children and Teens.”
• This brief article from WebMD speculates about the appropriate number of hours of sports practice for adolescents.