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.

(When using Essay Topics from the Study Guide, please reword to support rigorous essay-writing.)

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. Consider the harmful effect of the traditionalist Zhuri government on the inhabitants of Choom.

• In what ways do the traditionalist government’s views harm both the species already living on Choom and the humans seeking refuge? (topic sentence)
• Explain the traditionalist government’s views and, using evidence from the text, describe 2-3 ways in which the traditionalist policies actively cause harm.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what the novel aims to convey by depicting the effect of these policies on Choom’s people.

2. Consider the role of biased news reports in We’re Not From Here.

• How does media that shows only one side of an issue impact public opinion? (topic sentence)
• Offer 3 examples from the text of news broadcasts that show only one opinion of humans.