60-Second Strategy: Question the Character

Having students engage with the characters they’re reading about reveals whether they read the chapter—but better yet, it improves their literary analysis skills and elevates classroom discussion. In order to get her students to dig deeper into texts, St. Marys Area Middle School ELA teacher Dana Smith came up with a bellringer she calls Question the Character. The activity does double duty as a review and a formative assessment for reading assignments. Find the full collection of 60-second strategies for every grade level at Edutopia: https://edut.to/3Rm2M2j Join the Edutopia community today to get articles, videos, and more delivered via email every Wednesday—all tailored to you and your unique role: https://edut.to/3wEVHUh *Follow us here:* Official Website: https://edutopia.org  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/edutopia Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edutopia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edutopia BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/edutopia.org #teachingstrategies #englishlanguagearts #literaryanalysis #middleschoolela © 2026 George Lucas Educational Foundation