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The Round Table: book club questions by chapter
Meeting 1 of 2
🦉 The Round Table · meeting 1 of 2
Read: Part One, “The Wedding”; Part Two, “The Table” (pages 1–7, about 7 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 7, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.
- Why was the wedding of Arthur and Guinevere celebrated by the whole kingdom?
The story's answer: Arthur had saved her kingdom and won her heart - What did the letters on the Seat Royal say?
The story's answer: ARTHUR, KING - Why did Merlin tell Arthur not to hurry to fill the table?
The story's answer: When it was full, Arthur's glory would be complete and begin to fade - Which knight did Merlin choose first, after Arthur?
The story's answer: Pellinore - 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. - The part we just read is called "The Table". 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. - 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.
Meeting 2 of 2
🦉 The Round Table · meeting 2 of 2
Read: Part Three, “The Covenant” (pages 8–10, about 3 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 10, the end of the story.
- What does the oath the knights swear show about what a knight should be?
The story's answer: Brave, merciful and loyal, not just strong - 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. - The part we just read is called "The Covenant". 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. - 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
- What makes the main character a hero? Would you want them as a friend?
Listen for: Heroes of legends are brave but not always kind; ask for both sides. - Which part of this could have really happened, and which part grew in the telling?
Listen for: Legends often start from a real person or place. - How would the story change if someone else told it?
Listen for: Try the villain's side. - 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. - 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.
How these questions are made
The questions with an answer are the story's own, from its page in the library, each at the first stop whose pages answer it and where everyone it names has already come in. The rest are Peabody's, and name nothing but the parts already read. Nothing here is written by a computer model.
Read it free: peabody.kids/library/the-round-table. Every child in the club can read it on any device, with no account.