Guidelines for Writing Discussion Questions

Here are some ideas for writing discussion questions (#3 in your nightly assignments. DO NOT WRITE "comprehension" questions, which ismply asks for facts, like a quiz. Example: what movie did the students watch in class? A good way to test your question is to make sure it CANNOT be answered in just a couple words. It should be something people could write 3-4 sentences about.

• Choose a sentence that made you confused, or just made you really say HMMM! Ask the group to help you make sense of it by describing what made you wonder or be confused. This should NOT be the same as your "important passage;" it can be a way for you to see how other people saw that part so that you understand better.
• "Why" questions about the motives of the characters, especially the things about them the author doesn't tell you! Work together to figure out the character's motivation behind their actions.
• "Why did the author...." questions. These are questions about the author's craft, like how they create suspense, use dialogue, imagery, metaphors, or symbols.
• Identify words, actions, or images you feel are symbolic or very important throughout the novel.
• Themes: asking thoughtful questions about the lessons that can be learned in the book. What is the author trying to teach you in a particular part? These types will become more important as the author's message becomes clearer towards the END of the book.
• Any others you can think of that will require 3-4 sentence responses and stimulate discussion in your group!