The School Story

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 below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Early in the novel, Hannah Nelson defines a school story as “a short novel about kids and stuff that happens mostly at school.”

• In what way does The School Story fit Hannah’s definition? (topic sentence)
• Find evidence from the book to show how The School Story’s settings, characters, and plot fit Hannah’s definition; then find evidence to show how The School Story doesn’t fit into the definition. (You may want to consider characters like Ms. Clayton, Hannah, and Letha, and settings like Mr. Reisman’s office and Shipley Junior Books.)
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, discuss whether the author intended the novel to be a school story based on the evidence you presented.

2. Natalie uses her book as a means of exploring her feelings about her late father.

• What does the relationship between Natalie’s main character, Angela, and Angela’s father communicate about how Natalie feels about her own dad? (topic sentence)
• Discuss three events or ideas that show how Natalie’s writing is connected to her father.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the connection between Natalie’s writing and the theme of The Effects of Loss.

3. Zoe and Natalie work together to get Natalie’s book published, but their tasks are very different.

• Did Natalie do more of the work by writing, editing, and revising the book, or did Zoe do more of the work by communicating with the publisher and setting up the fake agency? (topic sentence)
• Find three pieces of evidence to support your answer. You might consider the ways in which each girl helped the other in addition to completing her own tasks.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, restate your topic sentence and connect your evaluation to the book’s theme of The Power of Positive Thinking and Perseverance.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. How do Natalie and Zoe’s alter egos Cassandra Day and Zee Zee Reisman represent parts of their personalities? Consider the interactions between Natalie and Zoe while they are “in character” as their personas. Are these personas exaggerations of the girls’ personalities, or do they represent more deeply the girls’ true emotions?

2. How does deceit play an important role throughout the story? Consider not just how Natalie and Zoe use deceit to get Natalie’s story into Hannah’s hands but also how Zoe uses tactics like bluffing to manipulate characters into doing what she wants them to do. Are there any other characters who tell lies, bluff, or fake knowledge about things? How does deception move the story forward?

3. In what ways do Natalie and Zoe motivate each other throughout the process of getting Natalie’s book published? Consider in your discussion the ways in which each girl interprets the other’s motivations and intentions. Include connections to the theme of The Power of Positive Thinking and Perseverance when discussing how they keep one another motivated.