Summer of the Monkeys

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 overnight storm is a complication that creates a unique opportunity for Jay Berry.

• What changes take place in the narrative as a result of to the storm? (topic sentence)
• Explain how the storm creates a resolution for Jay Berry’s conflict, how it changes his motive for catching the monkeys, and what it might symbolize to Jay Berry.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, describe a possible resolution the author might have chosen for his plotline instead of the storm.

2. In many stories in which the protagonist goes on a quest or has a quest-like objective (e.g., the hero’s journey), they may leave their ordinary world to gain knowledge and experience.

• What knowledge is gained by Jay Berry’s two trips to Tahlequah in the story? (topic sentence)
• Describe the knowledge gained in each trip to Tahlequah and whether the characters were successful in achieving their goal as a result of the learned information.