Discussion Questions

Core English & Language Arts
Document-Based Discussion Questions

Language Arts Core Standards

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as a basis for the answers.

1. Based on details from the text, what was the woman feeling when she found the dog in the alley? Site your answer from the text.
2. Why does the woman call Animal Rescue?
3. What kind of help does Indy get along his path to recovery?
4. What role does the scene play with the people holding signs outside the courthouse?
5. How does Jenny show passion and love for Indy and Indy show passion and love for Jenny?

Recount stories: determine the central message, lesson or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

1. How does Jenny feel at the beginning, middle and end of the story? Select a sentence from beginning, middle and end of text to support your answer.
2. What does “Beat the odds “as a subtitle to the story mean to you?
3. How did Indy “Inspire a city? Site text
4. How did Indy find his best friend? Site text
5. How do the illustrations support the central message of love, passion, empathy and resilience in Indy and Jenny story? Site illustrations.

Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

1. How does the video, made by the woman, contribute to the sequence of events?
2. How does Jenny’s new job contribute to the sequence of events?
3. What illustrations and text support what happens that causes Jenny’s feelings to change from the beginning of the story to the end? Support your answer with details from the text.
4. What is the role of the people at the courthouse and in the courtroom to support Indy and Jenny?
5. How do Jenny’s brother and sister-in-law support Jenny along her journey to find her happiness?

Refer to parts of the story when writing and speaking about a text using such terms as chapter and scene to describe how each part builds on earlier sections.

1. As a result of the woman’s action when she saw the bundle how did the author build on her actions to further the story?
2. What inspired Jenny to look for a job at an animal hospital?
3. What authors words helped you capture the theme of the book Indy and Jenny?
4. What illustrations support your words to capture the theme of the book Indy and Jenny?
5. Write to the question: Describe how the story makes you feel when Jenny says that “He was her happiness. And she was his.”