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. Home of the Brave is written entirely in free verse, from the first-person perspective of Kek.

• How does the poetic structure of the novel help readers see the world from Kek’s perspective? (topic sentence)
• Select three of the most effective poems from the text and reread them closely. How do these poems reveal the advantages of reading Kek’s story in verse? How does each poem describe the nature of Kek’s experience as a refugee in a way that prose could not?
• Finally, use your concluding sentence or sentences to summarize how free verse expresses the novel’s themes of either Holding on to Hope or Adjusting to a New Home and Culture.

2. Consider how Gol’s role in Kek’s life changes throughout the novel.