Enrichment · Arts and Creativity

Questions that get
everyone talking.

A book club meeting lives or dies on its questions. “Did you like it?” ends in a minute; “Why does Victor never tell anyone?” fills half an hour. Plan each meeting with the reading, a passage to read aloud together and four to six questions, each sorted by type. The builder shows the mix, catches yes-or-no questions and sets that only check the reading, and prints a card for the discussion leader.

Plan a meetingWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Arts & Creativity collection, $69 for 38 items.

Meetings

The worked example is made up: three meetings of a high school book club. Use initials for leaders. Saved on this device only.

Loading the meeting form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Arts & Creativity$5

What you finish with
A plan per meeting: book, author, pages or chapters, date, leader, discussion questions sorted into on the page, between the lines, your judgment or connection, a passage to read aloud and four checks. Shows meetings and questions planned, the mix of question types across the club and yes-or-no questions to rewrite; flags fewer than four questions, yes-or-no questions, a set mostly on the page, no between-the-lines question and no passage. Prints a leader card.
Who it is for
Middle school, high school and college students who lead book club discussions; librarians, English teachers and club sponsors.
Format
Browser builder with a saved plan per meeting. Prints the leader card, the planning record, every meeting in a table or a blank planning sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Arts & Creativity collection ($69) and the Enrichment Suite pass ($119), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Arts & Creativity space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add the book, the pages for this meeting and who is leading.
  2. Write four to six questions and sort each by type.
  3. Fix the flags: rewrite yes-or-no questions and add at least one why question.
  4. Pick a passage to read aloud together at the start.
  5. Print the leader card and bring it to the meeting.

Plan a meeting

How good discussion questions work

Four kinds of book club questionsKindIt asksExample starterOn the pageWhat happened; one right answerWhat does … do when …Between the linesWhy, from clues in the textWhy does … never …Your judgmentWas it right, fair, believableWho is more responsible …ConnectionLinks to life or other booksWhere do you see …Four kinds of book club questionsOn the pageIt asks: What happened; one right answerExample starter: What does … do when …Between the linesIt asks: Why, from clues in the textExample starter: Why does … never …Your judgmentIt asks: Was it right, fair, believableExample starter: Who is more responsible …ConnectionIt asks: Links to life or other booksExample starter: Where do you see …
Questions on the page check that everyone read. The other three kinds start the discussion, so most of a good set should be those.

Where the four kinds come from

Reading researchers sort questions by where the answer comes from: right there on the page, pieced together from the text, or from the reader’s own thinking and experience. Literature circles and shared inquiry both build discussion on the second and third kinds.

Why yes-or-no questions stall

A question that can be answered with one word usually is. Starting with why, how or what if invites a reason, and reasons are what other people can build on or disagree with.

Read it out loud

Reading a short passage aloud together at the start gives everyone the same text in mind, including members who fell behind on the reading. Return to it when the discussion drifts.

Sources

  1. Raphael, T. E., and Au, K. H. (2005). QAR: Enhancing comprehension and test taking across grades and content areas. The Reading Teacher, 59(3), 206 to 221.
  2. Daniels, H. (2002). Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups (2nd ed.). Stenhouse.
  3. Great Books Foundation: Shared Inquiry, interpretive questions and discussion guidelines (greatbooks.org).
  4. Anderson, L. W., and Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing. Longman.

The worked example is made up; the books named are real and the questions are our own. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.