Elsewhere

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 coming-of-age story? What examples of this story type have you read, watched, or heard about?

Teaching Suggestion: Although the story takes place after the protagonist’s death, Elsewhere is at heart a traditional coming-of-age story. Students may be able to define this story type reasonably well from background knowledge alone; the resources listed below can be used to deepen and refine their understanding. After students have a firm grasp of the term’s definition, they might enjoy discussing examples aloud.

• This page from the University of Waterloo offers a brief, clear, and engaging introduction to the coming-of-age story.
• This 7-minute video uses Toy Story to explore the characteristics of the coming-of-age story.

2. As a young person transitions from adolescence to adulthood, how does their understanding of morality change? How might this impact their beliefs about the meaning of life?

Teaching Suggestion: After a period of grief and confusion, Liz’s death eventually leads to growth in her understanding of her life’s purpose. A more sophisticated understanding of life’s inevitable end is a part of most adolescents’ coming of age, but students may not have previously considered how this sharpens a person’s interest in finding their own individual purpose in life. You might read the first resource below aloud with students and have a brief, guided discussion about the content to ensure objectivity and encourage critical thinking. This could be followed by giving them access to the second resource or a similar article before they attempt to respond to this prompt.

• This excerpt from a developmental psychology textbook explains the developmental stages of understanding death.
• This article from The Guardian explores the reasons that adolescents are often fascinated with material related to death.
• This article from the Journal of Adult Development describes research into the relationship between the search for meaning and adolescent well-being. (Due to its length and complexity, this resource is intended as a teacher-facing resource.)

Personal Connection Prompt

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

If you could design your own afterlife, what would it be like? What does this demonstrate about what you desire and value?

Teaching Suggestion: As they read Elsewhere, students will discover that stories about an afterlife speak volumes about the desires and values of the living. Often, these stories are not serious suggestions about what happens after we die; instead, they share ideas about how to live our best lives right now. This prompt is intended to lay groundwork for this discovery and to heighten students’ interest in the novel by tying its premise to their own feelings and experiences. If students struggle to develop ideas, consider briefly presenting concepts of the afterlife from different cultures and religions, which may spark their interest and help them make connections between their beliefs and personal backgrounds.

Differentiation Suggestion: This Personal Connection Prompt may not be appropriate for students who have recently been impacted by the loss of a loved one, who are facing an uncertain medical future themselves, or who struggle with depression or suicidal ideation. If you have students meeting this description, you may wish to offer a modified prompt that does not directly relate to their personal lives: “Many different ideas about the afterlife exist. What values and desires do you think people are expressing when they imagine what might be included in an afterlife?”