Five Questions/Comments Examples

Examples of poor questions for discussion:

1. What is the name of the lady in the story?

2. What is the name of the boy in the story?

3. Why did the boy try and take the purse?

Examples of poor comments for discussion:

1. I like the story because the woman was nice.

2. Roger shouldn't have tried to take the purse.

3. The woman has a long name.


Examples of good questions for discussion:

1. Why didn't Mrs. Luela Bates Washington Jones call the police?

2. When Mrs. Luela Bates Washington Jones took Roger home, she left the door open and her purse out.  Why didn't Roger take the purse and run when he had the chance?

3. Why was Mrs. Luela Bates Washington Jones so nice to Roger even though he tried to steal her purse?

4. Why did she mean by "I have done things in the past..."?

5. Why did Roger have such a hard time saying anything except "Thank You, Ma'am" at the end of the story?


Examples of good comments for discussion:

1. Mrs. Luela Bates Washington Jones seems to be a rather intimidating women, yet she's also so very nice.

2. Roger actually seems to be a nice kid if you get past his attempted robbery.

3. It seems like Mrs. Luela Bates Washington Jones is poor like Roger.  Giving him money was probably a huge sacrifice for her.

4. There seems to be multiple examples of religious imagery in the story.

5. It seems like Mrs. Luela Bates Washington Jones acts like a mother to Roger.  I wonder if she had any children of her own.