Here’s another question from a worksheet I used to use:
Do you notice any 🌀 patterns in this book?
And then the next question moved on to another topic.
- Do you notice any 🌀 patterns in this book?
- Were there any ⚖️ ethical issues?
- What was the 🏛️ big idea?
I was leaving so much on the table by asking just a bunch of unrelated, low-level question.
What Would The Answer Even Be?
First, I didn’t test the soup. That is, I served this question without even trying it out. If I had tried answering my own question, I’d have noticed the fatal flaw. I can write “Nope” and be done.
And, sure, I might write “Yes” and list three patterns. But the bottom line is that this question, despite having a prompt of Depth and Complexity in it, is quite shallow and quite simple!
One-Offs Are Weird
Imagine this conversation with an adult at a book club:
Me: So did you notice any patterns in this book?
Her: Yes! It was filled with interesting patterns!
Me: Were there any ethical issues in the book?
Her: Uh… what?
Me: What was the book’s big idea?
Her: 😱
If I ask one question about patterns, I should probably ask three or four questions about patterns. It’s natural to build on a topic, not leap randomly from topic to topic.
Build A Sequence
Maybe we’re reading several stories about courage. I could compare characters across stories, looking for patterns.
- Note at least five points in the story where Brian shows courage or a lack of courage.
- For each moment, give him a courage rating: 1 to 5.
- Make a line graph showing Brian’s courage level throughout Hatchet.
- Make a similar line graph for Mr. Sugihara and Charolette Doyle’s courage levels in their stories?
- How are these graphs similar? What key differences pop out? (this is where we’re looking for 🌀 Patterns!)
- Could you think of a character who has a very different graph?
Notice how this sequence builds around the idea of a pattern, but I never ask students to just “list patterns.”