I have one more general thing to say about discussion. The materials and the questions have to fit the stage of formation.
Don’t use complex materials, at least for discussion, before the student is ready. Reading the Greek myths from the Oxford World Classics to young children would be a mistake. They aren't ready for the complex language, let alone the complex ideas. But reading D'Auliare's Greek myths would be fine. The material has to suit the child.

For similar reasons, even with that kind of appropriate material, the questions asked about it have to be suitable for the child. There has to be a proportion between the material, the thought about the material and the ability of the child. This works in both directions. Using materials that are too easy for older children is less of a problem, but it is still a problem, as the older student loses interest in a story that is not complex enough, or questions that don't go beyond the surface.

So having a pretty clear idea of the stages of formation of students is very significant. I know we have talked about this in principle before and applied it in practice in various places.  What I am about to say, then, will already be somewhat familiar to you.

In K-5 students should concentrate on telling a story with a beginning, middle and end (Aristotle confirms the importance of this concept in the Poetics. It's a fundamental concept: For a plot to be a complete whole, it must have a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning is a point that does not necessarily follow from anything else, which naturally has consequences following from it. The end is a point that naturally follows from preceding events but does not have any necessary consequences following it. The middle is a point that is naturally connected both to events before and after it.)

Remember the skills belonging to this age - observation, sequencing and memorization. These activities are found in every assignment. They are ordered to improving the power of making images and to the quality of the images made.  This is a skill that, again, is absolutely fundamental to thought. The importance of improving the strength and docility of the imagination cannot be over emphasized.  About 4th grade there is a new emphasis: developing patterns of language.

Discussion in these grades should primarily be a kind of working together, as preparation for full blown 'communal' deliberation ordered to judgment. Little children like to converse, and they like to tell you what they think. But they aren't very good at prolonged discussion comparing ideas.

So here are my suggestions for discussion starters for the early grades:

Retellings, done together, can demonstrate how to work together.

• Use pictures - ask what is happening in this picture? Let them work together to determine a story. Do that a number of times, so that they are used to the technique. Then ask: Could there be another explanation? Do that a number of times, so that they are used to the technique. Then add: Which seems more likely? and when they tell you, be sure to look for the answer to why? in the response and point it out.
• Work on inferences.  Ask, "What do you think it going to happen next?" and be supportive of pretty much any answer. You don’t have to worry about someone going away with the wrong idea, as you will all see together what does come next.
• Ask questions that have more than one answer: "Who was good in this story?"  You can ask, "Who do you think was best? Why?" but the response, in my experience, will vary with the age. Most 4th and 5th graders will be willing to tackle that question, most 1st and 2nd graders won't.
• Ask questions that are personal, as I suggested above. "Who did you like best in this story and why?"
• A system that uses a number of these techniques is the following (sometimes called KWL Know, What will be learned, Learned) with an addition:

1. Before reading something new, think together about what we already know about the topic. Jot down some notes.
2. Then make predictions about what we will learn (scan the chapter or article utilizing bold words, topic sentences, picture captions, etc. to provide a picture to us about what we think we will more specifically learn regarding the topic)
3. Now read the chapter, or, in the case of a story, the story, and discuss as led by the child. If he asks “What does this mean?” tell him. Add to what we know about the topic.
4. Have a separate place to note down questions that have been raised by the new material. These are items to explore. We want our children to wonder, and we want to encourage them in that quality. It is the basis of all learning.  Don’t stop the story for those explorations, though.

Compare and contrast questions tend to be harder for little children because they have to concentrate on seeing a whole, first, before comparing wholes. That requires analytic skills. Little children are not ready, by and large, for analysis.

In 6th to 9th grades, on the other hand,  one should concentrate on analysis. The method at this level is to summarize, analyze, collate information, recognize an argument, learn how to order material in an order of importance, and construct an argument. These activities are all intended to help the student improve his ability to construct and hold an argument in his mind.

There is a strong emphasis on clear thinking in these grades, with a particular emphasis on seeing relationships between various parts of a whole.  Questions that encourage close analysis of a text, or of a position, are very appropriate.

6th grade concentrates on analysis of texts, and questions arising from that.

1) As summarizing is an important skill at this level and as it requires an order of importance as opposed to a chronological order, questions about what is most important in a story or about an event are good questions.

For example, we have the students read a number of texts about ancient civilizations, especially Egypt, in 6th grade. I am drawing examples from our discussion questions:

• What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it found? (two RC question) Then: Why was it important? Why is that important?
• In the story of the Hittite Warrior, what is the most important event? (This can lead to a consideration of the various aspects of 'important'. Important for salvation, important for understanding who is right and wrong, important for safety, important for other people in the story?)
• What were the differences between the worship of Aton and the worship of the other Egyptian gods? What was the most important difference?
• Why was Ramses given the appellation “the great”?

2) Thought provoking textual analysis is also appropriate for 6th graders (From Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum):

• In St. Mark, Ch. 1:1-15, does it seem that the teaching of John and Jesus is the same? In what way is it the same, and in what way (if anything) is it different?
• In St. Mark, Ch. 3:27, what does the strong man represent?  What does his house represent? How did Simeon know that Jesus was the promised Messiah? (Luke 2: 25-27)
• Why were the people in the synagogue angry when Jesus told them the story about the prophets? (Luke 4: 24-30)

3) Extrapolation is another important skill to practice and questions about what you learn from a passage can generate discussion:

• After reading a passage from Esther, which I have students do in 6th grade, ask, "In the book of Esther, what do you learn about Persian culture?"

4) Questions about the goodness of particular actions are also helpful. The students have to think about what makes an action good to answer those questions. This is a question they will be considering over a long period of time. The understanding of what makes an action good is arrived at over time by considering various good actions. (You are moving in the direction of action 'in accordance with nature', following right reason, the right use of the powers of the soul - virtue, in other words. But it takes time to really see that.)

• From Ch. 6 of Pharaohs and Pyramids: Thutmose III rules his vast kingdom with a light hand. Was this good? Why? Or Why Not?

I want to mention that it is generally better not to have an answer key. Once we have an answer key, we are looking for the 'right' answer. As teachers we need to truly listen to and think about the answers we receive. We need to think about how that answer is right, and/or why the student sees that as an answer. I have learned so much from my students over the years. They see truths in a text that I didn't see. But to profit from it I have to be willing to listen and willing to truly entertain an answer I didn't have in my own mind.

7th grade concentrates on looking for causes, and questions arising from that. You want to help students see reasons for actions or positions that are taken. The question, "Why does (or did) this happen?" should be a regular part of the student’s school day. In history in 1st semester of 7th grade we read three types of material: the Greek myths, the Persian Wars (Herodotus), and specific famous people The students are exploring the reasons for men’s actions (the gods, the large issues like freedom, and specific men’s characters) so the kinds of question we ask have to do with good and bad decisions, good and bad influences,  good and bad actions.

• Why did the Greeks, as a nation, refuse to accept Persian rule? Give specific texts or actions to support your view.
• Were the Spartans or the Athenians more instrumental in defeating the Persians?
• By the end of the year the student has read Roman history as well as Greek history. So it is natural to ask the student to compare the cultures, their leaders, and the materials we used in the study of each. i. "Compare a noted Roman figure with a significant Greek figure. Which was better, in what respect and why do you say so?"; ii.  "Which was the best book you read this year, and why?"
• In 7th grade religion my students analyze the Acts of the Apostles. A good question arising from this material is "Why was Herod and not the people struck dead when they acclaimed him as a god?" (12:22)
• [Herod is struck dead after receiving homage from the people, who say about him, ”The voice of a god and not of a man.” Scripture says Herod did not give God the glory. That's the reason, but it was the people who were shouting. The inference is that Herod received this acclamation as though it were true, when it was not, and thus deserved death.  The further inference is that giving the honor that belongs to God to a man is really bad. There is a quasi  argument there in both cases. ]
• Literature lends itself to the right kids of discussion questions: In The Hobbit, why does Bilbo take the Arkenstone? Why does he give it away? Was that a good decision?
• How does Bilbo change in the story The Hobbit? What causes those changes?
• What is Gandalf's role in the story of The Hobbit? Who is more important, Gandalf or Bilbo? (This should occasion a discussion of how each functions in the story.)

8th grade students can use critical thinking skills to answer a question having different levels of meaning, extrapolate relevant information from a complex whole, comparison characters, actions and works, recognize different points of view.

Different levels of meaning are within the scope the student of this age.  Lord of the Rings is a text many of you are familiar with, so I am using it for this section.

• “What was Frodo's quest? What was he seeking? Did he find it? Where and how?”
• "Why is Rohan in decline at the time when Merry meets King Theodin?"
• Compare the roles of Merry and Pippin in The Two Towers. How are they the same and how different?

[Comparison is very important to analysis. One needs to be able to line up two accounts, or two examples, and notice how they are the same and different. This requires a trained imagination, and an overlaying, as it were, of the two accounts. In the comparisons, one’s attention is directed to the points of contrast. This helps reveal the truth.]

In grades 9-12, in my experience, one should concentrate discussions around the   ends of rhetoric. The student should be working on presenting a position eloquently and cogently, polishing arguments, and putting together coherent thoughts on a subject quickly and accurately.

As I have often said, rhetoric is of three kinds: the political, the forensic and the ceremonial. These three kinds differ in their ends. The political aims at establishing whether a proposed course of action is expedient or inexpedient ("Were the Romans right, politically, to keep rebuilding their fleet during the Punic Wars?"); the forensic, whether an action done was just or unjust ("Should Achilles have stopped fighting?"); and the ceremonial, whether someone deserves praise or blame ("Is Caser a good man?"). In my experience, the student in the rhetorical stage is interested in the high and noble, he cares about what is good and bad, and about what is blameworthy and praiseworthy. So the ends of rhetoric are by nature of interest to the high school student.

So good discussion questions are best framed around those ends:

• Was Creon's decision not to allow burial for Polynices politically expedient (smart or stupid)?
• Was the expulsion of the Jews from Spain under Isabella just or unjust?
• Was Achilles a pious man?

There are also some good discussion questions in DYOCC, General Questions for the Study of Literature:

• What are the values in this work? Does good triumph over evil?
• Are the characters well drawn? That is, do they seem real? Is their personality consistent with their behavior?
• Is there are true view of reality present in the work? That is, is the evil presented as evil and the good as good?

I hope this gives you some ideas for discussions with your students.