The House in the Cerulean Sea

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 bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Linus believes that some of the policies of DICOMY may actually make the situation of magical children worse.

• How do the policies of DICOMY impact magical children? (topic sentence)
• Offer evidence of three different ways that DICOMY impacts magical children.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how this element of the text supports the novel’s thematic concern with The Perpetuation of Prejudice.

2. Although Lucy is probably the most dangerous of the magical children, his appearance is the most “normal.”

• What idea about appearances is conveyed through Lucy’s character? (topic sentence)
• Offer evidence that describes Lucy’s appearance.
• Offer evidence from the characterization of Lucy that shows why he can be very dangerous.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what message is conveyed through the combination of Lucy’s appearance with the reality of his nature, and connect this message with one of the novel’s larger thematic concerns.