Robinson Crusoe: book club questions by chapter

🦉 Robinson Crusoe · meeting 1 of 2

Read: Part One, “The Shipwreck” (pages 1–6, about 6 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 6, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Why did Robinson cut a notch in a wooden post every day?
   The story's answer: To keep track of time
2. Who have we met so far, and what does each of them want?
   Listen for: Make a list together on the board; keep it for next time and add to it.
3. The part we just read is called "The Shipwreck". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
4. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 Robinson Crusoe · meeting 2 of 2

Read: Part Two, “The Footprint”; Part Three, “Friday” (pages 7–13, about 6 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 13, the end of the story.

1. What did Robinson find on the beach after fifteen years?
   The story's answer: A single footprint
2. Why was Robinson frightened instead of glad when he found the footprint?
   The story's answer: He did not know who had made it or what they might do
3. What did Friday teach Robinson?
   The story's answer: Which plants were safe and how to steer a canoe
4. What two lessons did Robinson take home from the island?
   The story's answer: What he could build himself, and what a friend means
5. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
6. The part we just read is called "Friday". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
7. Now that you know the ending, was it the ending you expected?
   Listen for: Ask what in the earlier parts pointed to it, or pointed the other way.

About the whole story

1. Which character changed the most from the beginning to the end?
   Listen for: Ask what changed them.
2. Which scene would you put on the poster if this were a film?
   Listen for: A way to find the scene that mattered most to each reader.
3. Is there a line or a moment you will remember? Why that one?
   Listen for: Let readers find it in the book and read it aloud.
4. Who would you give this story to, and why them?
   Listen for: A reader who can name the right person has understood what the story is like.
5. If you could ask the person who first told this story one question, what would it be?
   Listen for: Collect the questions; some have answers on the story's page in the library.