Book Connections

In Middle School, I loved the fact that each student had an independent reading book for Language Arts class, or at least had a book they were reading in Language Arts class. That meant I could require they bring a book to class. While this was helpful for "I'm finished" time, it was also a way to help make connections between our current unit of study and other situations.

What kind of questions did I have the students answer to make connections? Here are a few examples. Some were easier than others to answers, and some really took some stretching. In one case, the student's parent even emailed me. It turns out the character never left her bedroom, so how could she experience her environment? We improvised and had the student write about the environment of her bedroom, or what she saw out the window.

Sample questions and unit in discussion:

United States Economics

1. Find an example of economics in your book and explain it.
2. Analyze this example for how it affects the character - explain.
3. Is this a positive or negative impact on the character? Explain
4. How will this affect the character’s future? Explain

Europe (which has had many different types of governments over the years):

1. Explain how government/rules affects your character(s)
2. Is this positive or negative? Explain
3. If your character could change something about this, what would they change and why?

India Caste System

1. Are the characters in your book rich or poor? How do you know? Give details
2. Explain and examine: How can you be rich without money? What do most people think?

Africa - Decision Making (Our Superintendent was planning to do mission work in Sudan and we were discussing if he should go or not given the political climate there.)

1. In your book, find a situation where a character has to make a decision. 
2. Explain the plot that is going on around this situation and what decision they need to make.
3. Tell me about the character involved, what is their role in your story?
4. How do they make their decision? What steps do they take?
5. Could you have predicted the decision they make based on past events or your character’s motivations? If so, explain, if not, explain.