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 do you know about concrete poetry? How does a poem’s visual form help a reader understand it?

Teaching Suggestion: The poems about basketball, in particular, use techniques of concrete poetry in The Crossover, so helping students understand the history of the form and its modes will give them a keener eye as they read these poems.

• What is Concrete Poetry? – This blog from the Getty Research Institute provides helpful context and background on the form and its significance.
• The Poetry Foundation’s List of Concrete Poetry – The Poetry Foundation has a number of freely-available concrete poems on its site that will serve as good examples as you explore the form with your students.

2. Sibling rivalry is a common part of growing up in multi-child homes, but how do you think that rivalry changes when the sibling is your twin?

Teaching Suggestion: Josh and JB’s relationship is strained over the course of the novel, and some students may not clearly see the reason for this or its significance in Josh’s life.