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. Dylan guards his backpack with his life for most of the book, but he loses it when the Bandana Kids beat him. How is losing his backpack like losing himself?

• How does Dylan’s life change after the Bandana Kids beat him and steal his backpack? (topic sentence)
• Provide evidence that demonstrates how Dylan associates his backpack with his sense of identity and how Dylan loses his principles when he is without his backpack.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how Dylan’s backpack symbolizes his principles and his loyalty to himself.

2. Dylan often ignores the resources available to him and rejects the aid of adults in his life. How does Dylan’s rejection of these tools contribute to the theme of Choosing to Accept Help?