Socratic Seminar Questions for Ender’s Game



Below are example Level 2 & 3 questions for

Ender’s Game

and

Same Kind of Different as Me

These were found online. You may use these examples to get an idea of what your questions should look like, but you will WRITE YOUR OWN.

Your 4 questions should be written and answered on the golden rod sheet. Don’t forget to provide text evidence (page #s in your book that prove your answer is correct).

Sample - Socratic Seminar Questions for Ender’s Game



1. Is childhood a right? Does a person robbed of a "normal" childhood have any possibility of stability as an adult?

2. One of the themes of Ender’s Game is the isolation of the gifted child. How is Ender isolated? Is the isolation Col. Graff puts him in justified? How have you felt isolated like Ender?

3. Card has stated that "children are a perpetual, self-renewing underclass, helpless to escape from the decisions of adults until they become adults themselves." Does Ender's Game prove or disprove this opinion?

4. Is genocide, or in the case of Ender's Game where an entire alien race is annihilated, xenocide, ever justified? Was the xenocide of the buggers inevitable?

6. Does Ender end up like Peter? Why or why not?

7. Should Col. Graff have been acquitted for his crimes against children? Why or why not?

8. Does Ender redeem himself from his violent actions towards the humans/buggers? Why or why not?

9. Ender's Game has often been cited as a good book to read by readers who are not fans of science fiction. Why does it appeal to both fans of science fiction and those who do not usually read science fiction?

10. Is Ender’s Game really about a war? What is Orson Scott Card’s purpose in writing it? What else could it be about, and why?

Sample - Socratic Seminar Questions for Same Kind of Different as Me

1. At the beginning of the book, what kind of person is Ron Hall? How would you describe him (how does he describe himself)? Why does he agree to volunteer at the homeless shelter, and what is his initial reaction in doing so?

2. Talk about the trajectory of Denver Moore's life. What events have landed him in the homeless shelter? Discuss the differences between his life and Ron Hall's. What is Denver's world view?

4. Eventually, Denver and Ron, two men who have lived vastly different lives, become close friends. What do the two see in one another? What draws them together?

5. What are the symbolic implications of the conversation about how white men fish, especially their catch-and-release method? What does that conversation say about each man, and what is the underlying message that Denver is trying to pass onto Ron?

6. What is the meaning of the book's title, "Same Kind of Difference as Me"? What does it refer to?

7. How do both men change by the end of the book? What do they learn from or teach each other?

8. This is a story about how hate and prejudice can be overcome by love and grace. How difficult is that achievement in most of our lives? What can this book teach us?

9. How might this story, based on true events, inspire others?

Sample - Socratic Seminar Questions for Speak

1. What is the significance of the novel’s title? What roles do silence and truth play in the story?

2. Is there a relationship between speaking and listening? Can one exist without the other?

3. Describe the important elements of Melinda’s relationships with Heather, Ivy, Nicole, and Rachel. Is she ever really friends with any of them?

4. Can friendship mean something different to different people?

5. Melinda says, “It’s easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.” Do you agree with her? Why or why not? Do the events in the novel support or negate her statement? How so?

6. What keeps Melinda silent? What is she really afraid of?

7. Why is belonging to one of the many clans so important to Heather and so unimportant to Melinda? What role does the concept of identity play in the novel?

8. Melinda nicknames many of the other characters throughout the novel. What is the significance of this habit and how does it contribute to the development of the story and your experience as a reader?

9. Why do you think Melinda refers to Andy Evans as IT in the beginning of the novel? At what point does she start to call him by name? Why?

10. How is the character of Melinda Sordino developed throughout this story?

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