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 novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Nicodemus and Jenner had opposing views on the future of the rat colony.

• Which rat do you feel had the stronger argument, and why? (topic sentence)
• Outline the philosophies of both Nicodemus and Jenner using support from the text.
• Conclude your essay by explaining what the future will look like for the colony based on which rat you believe has the stronger position in the argument.

2. The rat colony has already grown to include at least one new generation that retains the same improved traits of their parents.

• How do you think this new generation of rats will be different from the original group of rats who gained their intelligence and long lives from the NIMH experiment?  (topic sentence)
• Using evidence from the book and from brief research about real-world rat activities and lifespans, predict how the relationships of these enhanced rat families will evolve over time.