Teaching Guide

The First
Rule of
Punk
By Celia C. Pérez
 About the Story
*There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at
a new school. On Day One, Malú (María Louisa, if
you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada
Middle School's queen bee, violates the school's
dress code, and disappoints her mom in the
process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles
away, says things will get better as long as she
remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself. The
real Malú loves rock music, skateboarding, zines,
and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when
she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at
school and starts a band, Malú finally begins to feel
at home. She'll do anything to preserve this, which
includes standing up to an anti-punk school
administration to fight for her right to express
herself!
*back of book description*
 About the Author
Celia C. Pérez
(she/her) was born to
a Mexican mother
and a Cuban father.
She loves creating
her own zines,
Halloween, drawing
nutter butters with personality, her children, and
punk music. She has written four books other than
The First Rule of Punk, but this was her first book for
young people. She is originally from Miami, Florida,
and now lives in Chicago with her family. The First
Rule of Punk, was a 2018 Pura Belpré Award Honor
Book, a 2018 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards
honor book, and a winner of the 2018 Tomás Rivera
Mexican American Children's Book Award, a Junior
Library Guild selection, and was included
in several best of the year lists.
 Image Board
Use these images from the novel as a conversation starter with
students. What role do they play in the story? How are they
important to Malú? What do they represent? What do you think
they are?
 Vocabulary
1. "No flip-flops or slippers. No physical
that are deemed potentially disruptive..." (pg
60).
2. "'That's pretty clever,' Dad said. 'And It
works'" (pg 143).
3. "After today I wouldn't see Martí run through the
door or hear Dad correct people's (pg
15).
4. "She pointed to my head with a knitting needle.
'Is this a part of your phase?'" (pg 279).
5. "I made air quotes to that 'productive'
was one of Mom's words" (pg 214).
6. "Señora Oralia's laugh was loud and boisterous
from deep in her belly like it had been stored
there, waiting for this specific moment. It was
definitely a . (pg 186).

pronunciation alterations guffaw

subversive rebellious indicate

 Activities
The Cilantro Experiment
Malú talks a lot about how she dislikes
cilantro. Did you know that a gene
actually determines whether or not we
like cilantro? For some people it tastes
like soap, for others, a delicious spice!
Taste test some cilantro and
determine whether or not you and
your students have the "soap gene".
Make your own Worry Doll
Malú’s dad gives her worry dolls that
she keeps under her pillow. They take
her worries away. Have students
create their own worry dolls using
sticks, string, popsicle sticks, yarn,
paint, fabric, or really any materials you
have! Discuss the cultural and
emotional aspect of these dolls.

Create your own zine Design your outfit

In the book, Malú explains, “Zines are Fashion is a way Malú
self-published booklets, like homemade
expresses herself. Print out
magazines, and they can be about
blank body templates for
anything…” and that they’re a “good way
students with the head being a
to write about what you’re thinking or
feeling, kind of like a diary that you share
photo of them! Have them
with people. Mine are mostly about stuff I design an outfit on themselves
find interesting or want to know more that they feel expresses them.
about.” Pérez, who often makes zines, Use markers, crayons, colored
shows how to make them in a step by step pencils. paint-anything the
guide. Make them with your students! student feels represents their
Link: vision the best.
https://www.readbrightly.com/how-to-
make-zine/
Write your own petition-get signatures!
Social justice and sparking or creating change is an important value of Malú's.
Research the website change.org. Have students think of any cause that is
important to them and write a brief petition about it. Have them go around the
class or their home and talk about their petition, why they chose their topic, and
see if they can get anyone to sign!
 Activites
Learn about Mexican farm labor
On page 109 Malú talks to her mom about her family tree
project for Spanish class. They talk about how her abuelo
came to the US as part of the Bracero Program. Have
students research what this program was, why it happened,
and the people behind it. How did it impact Mexican
people?

Create a descriptive collage about YOU!

On page 92, Malú creates a zine called, "What are little girls
made of?" complete with adjectives cut out of magazines
that describe her. Have students go through old magazines
and make their own collage of adjectives they cut out that
define them!

Learn about your own culture

Malú spends a lot of time learning about her culture. Have
students talk to family members and write a
report/essay/reflection on what they learned about their own
culture and heritage from their family. If students do not have
family members to talk to, you could have them research
whatever culture they believe they fit into, or choose a culture
they are interested in.

El Día de los Muertos Reflection

Mrs. Hidalgo sets up an ofrenda altar to honor those who have
died. Research El Día de los Muertos with students. Have
them write a reflection or a paragraph about how they would
set up their own ofrenda, who they think they would honor,
and why this is an important cultural tradition.
 Activites
Character Analysis
Have students pick a character from the book that they feel
relates to them. Have them compare and contrast their own
personality traits with the character's traits. Have them write
paragraphs, make a song, draw a drawing, etc to show why
they relate to this character.
Create your own Playlist
Music is super important to Malú. She uses it to express how
they are feeling. Have students choose an emotion (rage,
love, sadness, etc) and build a playlist of 5 or more songs that
help them express that emotion, sound like that emotion, or
remind them of that emotion. If students are comfortable, play
some of these playlists in class while students work!

Create a word-search
Have students choose 10-15 words that they feel either
represent the novel or are important to the novel. Have them
write a sentence to explain why they chose each word. Then,
using a word-search generator website, have them create
word-searches using their words. Pass them out and have
their classmates try to solve them!
Study YOUR name's history!
Malú created a zine about why she was named her name. Have
students talk to parents/guardians about why they were named
their names. They can have creative freedom with how they
represent what they learned! They could write reflections,
create their own zines, make an art collage, create a video
response, etc. For students who cannot talk to
parents/guardians, adapt so that they can show what they like
about their names, or if they would change their name (and
what they would change it to!)
Discovering Malú's Music
Malú's music is extremely important to her identity.
She loves a blend of punk music and, eventually,
Latin music. Discover some famous punk, Latin, and
Latin punk musicians with your students. Find out
what songs they like and what songs they don't
like!
Latin Artists: Punk Artists:
Lola Beltrán The Ramones
Cielito Lindo The Smiths

Latin Punk Artists:

Alice Bag
The Plugz
The Brat
Discussion Questions

1. Why didn’t the Co-Cos get into the talent show? Do

you think the school acted fairly or unfairly, and
why?
2. Why doesn’t Malú tell her mom about the band?
3. On page 180, Ellie suggests they start a petition.
Why does she want them to do it? How do petitions
accomplish social change?
4. On page 33, Malú mentions Frida Kahlo is her
favorite artist. What comparisons do you see
between them?
5. On page 134, Malú learns that a “coconut” is brown
on the outside, white on the inside. What does
Selena mean when she calls Malú a coconut? And
how does Malú turn it around to mean something
else?
6. Compare the mother-daughter relationship on page
190 between Señora Oralia and Mrs. Hidalgo to the
relationship between Malú and her mother. What
similarities and differences do you see?
 Essay Topics
1. How does Malú's 4. How would the book
opinion on her be different without the
Mexican heritage pictures?
change throughout 5. What do you think the
the novel? main theme of this novel
2. What role does art is? Why? Use quotes to
and creative back up your thoughts.
expression play in 6. What would you say is
this novel? What the climax of this novel?
role does it play in Why?
your own life? 7. This book is in Malú's
3. How does Malú’s point of view. Pretend it
relationship with was written from a
Selena evolve over different character's
the course of the perspective of your
novel? choosing. How is the
novel different?