Discussing literature as at the heart of what we do in class. This page has questions, sentence stems, fillable forms and guidelines to help you have a positive and engaging discussion.

The following discussion strategies come from the book The Pocket Instructor: Literature - 101 Exercises for the College Classroom edited by Diana Fuss & William A. Gleason.

60-Second Game

1. Each student in class has 30-60 seconds (depending on how many students are in the class) to comment on the reading. Whatever the time frame is, each student must use that exact amount of time, no more, no less. Use a timer to keep track. When time runs out, it is the next person's turn.

2. On the whiteboard, the teacher writes down keywords and phrases during each student's turn, but the teacher cannot speak. The teacher can even consider grouping certain types of words and phrases depending on the focus (eg. observations about form/craft, themes, connections to other works, experiences or  events, observations about storytelling elements (character, setting, plot, etc.), putting a box around important terms, and marking (underline, circle, star, etc.) observations and ideas that come up multiple times. 

3. For students who are reluctant to speak in front of the class, try starting out with a 60-second prewriting to help students prepare their thoughts.

4. One all contributions are captured on the board, open the conversation up for discussion and follow-up comments. Continue to jot down notes on the board.

5. "At the end of class, return to the board to show students how their insights took shape."

Fishbowl

1. Teacher prepares 5-6 questions related to the text. "Questions that are open to a range of possible interpretations will lead to more productive conversations." Consider posing questions about key passages, the function of literary techniques, or broader questions related to theme.

2. Place 4-5 desks in the center of the room (fishbowl), and arrange the remaining desks around this central group. Ask for 4-5 volunteers to sit in the "fishbowl."

3. Pose one of the questions to the group in the fishbowl, and inform them that they should discuss it in conversation with each other, using citing evidence from the text to help support their statements. 

4. "Students outside of the fishbowl may not join the conversation, but they should listen closely. After roughly five minutes, once the initial group has had the opportunity to express their ideas, students outside the fishbowl can "tag in," gently tapping a participant on the shoulder and taking that student's place in the fishbowl."

Debate

"Students tend to summarize rather than analyze texts. By modeling how to articulate and defend strong interpretive claims, this exercise shows students how to move from a descriptive mode ('What happens in the text?') to an analytical one ('What does it mean?'). Equally important, the exercise teaches students to formulate multiple arguments about the same work. It thus undermines the myth that there is a single 'right' way to interpret a text, while refuting the idea that literary analysis is entirely subjective."

1. "Choose a richly ambiguous or controversial passage from a novel, short story, poem, or play." Ask for a volunteer(s) to read the passage aloud.

2. "Present students with two opposing interpretations of the passage."

3. Pose a question that contains two strikingly different but plausible interpretations of the text.

4. "Ask students to jot down as many pieces of evidence as they can to support the first interpretation. Look for specific literary devices that could help support this interpretation--imagery, tone, or point of view, for example, or alliteration, rhyme, or enjambment."

5. On the whiteboard, draw two columns. 

6. Ask students to share their ideas with the larger group and write these ideas on the board in the first column.

7. Then ask students to consider the opposing position/interpretation and find text evidence to support it.

8. "After you assemble the evidence for this second claim in the other column on the board, ask students to take sides: 'Which interpretation is the most persuasive? Why?'" You may find that other possible interpretations emerge.  A student may suggest a reading that reconciles the two positions under consideration; another student may argue that the text is itself ambivalent about this point.

9. At the end of class, recap the different arguments and then ask for a show of hands to see which interpretation students find the most convincing.

Leader, Skeptic, Scribe

"The exercise builds on an interpretive question you supply, which provides an excellent opportunity for you to model the kinds of questions the discipline of literary studies asks of texts."

1. Divide the class into groups of three. Within the small groups, assign each student one of three roles: the Leader, the Scribe, or the Skeptic.

   • Leader: directs the group's conversation by supplying ideas, sketching out an initial argument, and locating evidence in the text.

   • Skeptic: asks critical questions and tries to poke holes in the Leader's claim, ideally by citing other passages and ideas from the text. (A good Skeptic will be productive rather than destructive, keeping the group honest by preventing anyone from getting away with sloppy thinking or neglecting important textual evidence.)

   • Scribe: the only member of the group who is allowed to write anything down. Prompts the Leader and the Skeptic to clarify the points they make during the discussion. Clear communication within the group is the Scribe's responsibility.

2. Give the class an interpretive question that asks them to make an argument about the assigned reading.

3. Each group works together to produce a strong analytical claim and argument that addresses the prompt.

   • Leader & Skeptic skim through the text and identify passages that may be relevant to the question.

   • Scribe: writes down the passages.

   • Leader proposes an initial claim and sketches out argument.

   • Skeptic responds by posing questions and/or offering an alternative claim.

   • Scribe writes down the claims and arguments and encourages the Leader and Skeptic to clarify their ideas and support them with evidence. 

   • Process continues until the group has settled on a claim.

4. Reassemble the class and ask each group to share its analytical claim and explain the reasoning behind it.

5. Ask students to reflect on the exercise: Which role was the most challenging? Which seemed easiest? Point out that literary interpretation involves playing all three roles and that being one's own skeptic is often the most difficult role of all.

Questions

6 Core Reflection Questions

1. What went well?

2. What did you struggle with?

3. What did you learn?

4. What do you want to do differently next time? 

5. What are you excited about? 

6. What is your next actionable step?

Pocket Guide to Probing Questions from Center for Leadership and Educational Equity 

More Writing Reflection Questions:

• What are you working on during our writing workshop this week?

• Revision: What are you adding, changing, or removing?

• What idea(s) do you have? Where did your idea(s) come from?

• What storytelling element(s) are you working on?

• What craft element(s) are you trying?

The following strategies for using student-generated discussion questions come from the book The Pocket Instructor: Literature - 101 Exercises for the College Classroom edited by Diana Fuss & William A. Gleason.

Put the Question -- "Helps students generate effective discussion questions and also gives them the opportunity to guide part of an in-class discussion."

1. Take time in class to discuss the characteristics of effective questions and share the "What makes a good discussion question?" handout with students, which includes guidelines and examples of good discussion questions.

2. For homework, ask each student to develop a discussion question on the reading for the next class session (or maybe ask 10 students at a time). Questions should be submitted online in advance (like by midnight the night before).

Collate the questions, organizing them by themes or topics according to the lesson plan you have in mind for the next day and use them to help guide the lesson and discussion in class.

It's Time We Talked

1. Provide example questions and have students evaluate and discuss the effectiveness of each question in promoting group discussion.

2. Ask each student to bring a discussion question to the next class. For this exercise, "the strongest questions will also be succinct and may even make use of secondary research."

3. Ideas for using the discussion questions:

   • Fold questions up and put them in a box for students to draw from and use for small-group or partner discussions.

   • "Speed dating" format: Arrange students in two circles, with one circle inside the other. Have each student face his or her 'date' in the other ring, and give every pair a question. Time the discussion for two minutes. When time is up, move the students to the left and the questions to the right so that every student has a new discussion partner and a new question.

   • Small group discussions

   • Whole class discussion (only with smaller classes)

Reverse Entropy - This exercise works best for a particularly challenging text, one that elicits fears of "not getting it." (from Benjamin Widiss; pg 18-19)

1. Place a small box or bucket in a corner of the room.

2. At the start of class, ask each student to write on a piece of scratch paper his or her single biggest, most nagging, or most embarrassing question about the text you are reading. Tell them NOT to put their names on their papers.

3. Have everyone crumple their paper into a ball and, on the count of three, to fling them about the room.

4. Ask each student to retrieve and uncrumple a ball of paper, to study the question on it briefly, and then--through a process of trial and error--to find another student holding a question that might enter into productive dialogue with the one he or she is already holding.

5. After discussing for a few minutes, ask students to repeat this process as a twosome. The resulting groups of four should also spend some time considering whether one of their questions could serve as an umbrella for the other three, and, if not, ask them to create an umbrella question together.

6. Repeat the last two steps again to create groups of eight.

7. Have the groups report on their results to the rest of the class while you take notes on the board and talk them through what has emerged.

Questions for Discussion and Writing

Engage

These questions are meant to get you started with annotation/note-taking and discussion. Also think about your purpose for reading: Is it to understand? Explore? Enjoy? Your purpose for reading may also influence your thoughts about what stands out to you.

• What did you notice first? What words and phrases stand out to you? What line(s) did you find most interesting?/What was your favorite line? 

• What did it make you think of?/What did you like about it?

• What new information/concepts/ideas did you learn?

• What does it make you curious about? What does it make you wonder? What questions does it make you think of?

Understand

These questions focus on understanding what the author/creator is trying to communicate.

• Summarize this text, idea, concept, event or issue.

• What terms or concepts are defined in connection with this source?

• What are your key takeaways?

Analysis & Connections

These questions are focused on analyzing the information and ideas and exploring connections to other sources and ideas. See also the Depth & Complexity questions.

• How does this source connect with any themes, patterns or trends in this unit of study?

• What themes emerge between two or more sources we are studying?

• How does this source contrast with another source or idea? What contrasts do you notice?

Evaluate

These questions are focused on critically evaluating the information and ideas presented in this source and articulating insights gained through note-taking, discussion and reflection. See also the Depth & Complexity questions.

• What perspectives can we take to help us better understand the situation?

• What assumptions exist?

• How/why is this source, idea, concept, event, issue or person significant in a broader context?

• What information, ideas and questions can you come up with that challenge the ideas, issues or events presented here?

• How has this issue, concept or problem been addressed by others in society?

• What insights have you developed from discussing and reflecting on this source, idea, concept, information, event, issue or person?

Create

These questions are focused on using information and insights to inspire creativity and positive action.

• How might we explore this idea, concept, event or issue further?

• How might our discussion/reflection influence our actions in a way that creates positive and sustainable personal or social change?

Online Discussion Board

Poetry Workshop Discussion Board

Objectives:

• Apply literary devices or writing style when writing a poem.

• Share your writing on the class discussion board.

• Describe your writing process and inspiration.

• Give and receive specific, positive constructive feedback on classmates' writing.

• Review the feedback you received on your writing.

Instructions:

1. Write a poem about any themes or ideas you choose, using literary devices and/or your mentor text to experiment with style

2. Share your poem – create a new message on discussion board and post your poem.

   • In your Author’s Commentary below, include some background information about your poem: What inspired you to write this poem or essay? What literary devices did you use? How did you structure your poem or essay? A sentence about the author (you).

   • In the drop down menu at the bottom of your post, select the name of the mentor text you used, or select “Other” if you did not use a mentor text.

3. Reply to your classmates with specific positive feedback – read your classmates’ poems and reply to their posts with feedback: 

   • What were your favorite lines from the poem?

   • What words did you find effective? What impact did these words have on the meaning or tone of the poem?

   • What words would you use to describe the tone of the poem?

   • Did you notice any patterns, shifts, juxtapositions or syntactical choices that impacted the meaning or tone of the poem?

   • What did the poem make you think of? What did it make you wonder?

Poetry & Prose Café: Diction & Tone Discussion Board

Objectives:

• Apply conscientious use of diction while drafting a poem and/or giving feedback on a classmate's poetry.

• Analyze diction to describe the tone in our writing.

• Reflecting on our writing process and inspiration.

• Give and receive specific, positive constructive feedback on classmates' writing.

Instructions:

1. Write your poem, essay or short story using your vocabulary words and/or a thesaurus.

2. Write your author's commentary

   • What inspired you to write this poem, essay or story? / ¿Qué te inspiró a escribir este poema, ensayo o historia?

   • What words have the most impact in your poem, essay or story? What resources did you use to help you with word choice? / ¿Qué palabras tienen mayor impacto en tu poema, ensayo o historia? ¿Qué recursos usaste para ayudarte con la elección de palabras?

   • A sentence about the author (you). / Una frase sobre el autor (usted).

3. From the Words to Describe Tone handout, select a word that describes the tone of your piece.

4. ​Read and give feedback on at least 2 poems, essays or stories.

   • Choose a classmate's work to read and enjoy.

   • Write a reply with your feedback:

     • What words, phrases and images did you like or find effective in the poem, essay or story?

     • What did you notice about the author's writing style?

     • What did you want to know more about?

   • From the Words to Describe Tone handout, select a word that describes the tone of your piece.

Writer's Cafe Discussion Board

1. Choose one of your journal writings from this year to share on the discussion board.

2. Work on revising: review word choice (use a thesaurus to help you), add details, and try out a few craft elements.

3. Share your revised writing in a discussion post below.

4. Add your author’s commentary:

   • What inspired you to write this piece?

   • What are you planning to do next with this piece? Do you plan to add more? If so, what are you thinking of adding? Are you interested in publishing this piece?

5. If you have time, add an audio recording of yourself reading your story (you may have to record while you read it from the Google Doc

6. Read and give feedback your classmates’ writing:

   • Which element of storytelling stands out most to you? What do you notice?

   • What is your favorite line in the piece? What do you like about this line?

   • What do you like most about the author’s writing style?

   • What questions do you have? What do you want to know more about? (Try to think of questions that will help the author think of more details and information to add)

Presentation & Speaking

Presentation and speaking assignments help students to improve their ability to express themselves verbally and nonverbally.

• Podcast Audio Presentation assignments

• FlipGrid Video Presentation assignments

• In-Class Presentations

Other Discussion Lessons & Strategies