Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Lonnie’s culture is a crucial aspect of his identity and figures heavily in the plot of the novel.

• What impact does Lonnie’s racial identity have on the plot? (topic sentence)
• Explain how Lonnie’s racial identity impacts his interactions with other people, his performance in basketball, and the plot of the novel.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain why racial identity is essential to the novel’s overall message.

2. When Lonnie first begins playing basketball with his team, they lack teamwork. As the novel progresses, the players become more adept at working as a team.

• What message does Myers send about teams and teamwork? (topic sentence)
• Provide three examples of teamwork and explain how each example supports Myer’s message on teamwork.