BDA: The Afterlife

Here are Before, During, and After activities for The Afterlife by Gary Soto:

Before You Begin Reading…
Complete one of the following activities.

1. How would you like to be remembered by people? What would you like to accomplish in your life? Write at least half a page.


2. What do you think about suicide? Write a letter to someone who is thinking about committing suicide.


3. Write at least half a page describing a person who means a lot to you. What is special about this person? What are his or her best qualities?


4. Has anyone close to you died? What happened? How do you feel now? Complete at least half a page.

While You Are Reading…
Complete one of the following activities.

1. Write at least a sentence that each character might say at Chuy’s funeral. You can use the following format.
   

   Character’s Name:
   Relationship to Chuy:
   What he or she might say at the funeral:



2. Create a map of Chuy’s travels.


3. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross believes that there are 5 stages that a person goes through when someone close to them dies:
   
   Denial – it didn’t happen
   Anger or resentment
   Bargaining
   Depression
   Acceptance
   
   Create a chart with character names written on the rows of the first column and with Kubler-Ross' 5 stages as column headings. Check off the stage box or boxes for each character showing what stages they go through after Chuy dies.


4. Make a list of all the lessons that Chuy learns in the story.

When You Have Finished Reading…
Complete one of the following activities.

1. “Death makes a person appreciate life more.” Would the author agree or disagree with this statement? Write a paper, using at least 3 examples from the book, to support your argument.


2. Why do you think Chuy faded away slowly instead of disappearing all at once? Write a paper, at least 2 pages in length, explaining your thoughts.


3. What do you think of the author’s representation of death? If you had written the story, how would you have represented death? Explain why. Write at least 2 pages.


4. What clues in the book point to Chuy being killed? Write an epilogue chapter solving Chuy’s murder.


5. Write at least 5 poems about both Gary Soto’s and your ideas about the afterlife. Write a minimum of 2 sentences explaining each poem.


6. Create a poster or picture that represents the afterlife. Write at least a page explaining your poster or picture.


7. What do you think about what Crystal did? Do you think she regrets her decision? Write a paper about how you feel about Crystal’s suicide and her afterlife.


8. Research the topic of suicide. Then do one of the following with the information you learn:
   
   • Make a pamphlet or handout
   
   
   • Make a poster
   
   
   • Give an oral report