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. The environment plays a major role in the novel: the power of the dust storms, the lack of rain followed by nourishing rain, the death of crops, and the apple trees.

• What type of character is the environment? (topic sentence)
• Include details and analysis of at least three scenes to develop your characterization of the environment.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain a lesson readers can learn from the environment in the novel.

2. In just four words, the title Out of the Dust offers powerful insight into the novel and its characters.

• What is the significance of the title? (topic sentence)
• Fully support your argument with at least three details from the text and clear reasoning.