Discussion Plan

Designers: Tracy Howse and Sophie Manik

I. Central Focus:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens (based on the novel
by Mark Haddon). This play is a drama which premiered August 2, 2012. It focuses on
Autism Spectrum Disorder and family dynamics.

II. Learning Objectives

1. Students will understand how playwrights use dramatic conventions (narrated inner
thoughts, dialogue, stage directions) to convey the inner life of characters.

In this text we will specifically identify aspects of Christopher’s character

development (and that of Autism Spectrum Disorder) in order to analyze the
author’s use of dramatic conventions such as dialogue within the play.

2. Students will be able to utilize empathetic listening by restating what the speaker is
saying OR asking clarifying questions in order to accurately and effectively build upon each
other’s ideas.
III. Norms
A. Empathetic listening
a. Look at the individual while they are speaking
b. Restate what the speaker is saying OR ask clarifying questions

B. Establishing Norms
a. We will establish the norms through explanation
b. We will model this through a trial response session in front of the students
c. Warm-up activity
i. Student 1 will be asked to make claims about the Christopher’s
characteristics
ii. Student 2 will empathetically listen (tracking the speaker)
iii. Student 2 will respond with either restating or asking a clarifying
question
iv. Students will switch

C. Monitor and Enforce Norms

a. Praise students who are tracking individuals
b. Encourage restating or clarifying questions
c. “Post” to the class: ask “what is [student] saying?” “are we clear about
[student]’s statement/claim?”
IV. Preparing the Texts
A. What might be confusing for students in these texts? Identify places in the text
where students may encounter questions, difficulty, etc.
It might be confusing when the script switches between Christopher’s narration of a
event/story (in his thoughts or to someone else) and the action of the play. For example, in
part 1, pages 8-9, Christopher goes on a tangent about the Milky Way to his dad. This is
the scene where Christopher has been taken to the police station because he hit the officer
who questioned him on why he was laying on the dead dog. The Milky Way has nothing to
do with the action of the story or the plot. Tangents like these can be distracting; However,
the purpose of these tangents is to develop Christopher as a character and show how his
autism can help him to focus on topics of interest (such as astronomy) in great detail,
learning a lot about them in the process. Other tangents focus on the way Christopher
perceives the world and processes information, such as on page 11 where Christopher
talks about metaphors. He says, “I think it should be called a lie because a pig is not like a
day and people do not have skeletons in their cupboards. And when I try and make a
picture of the phrase in my head it just confuses me because imagining an apple in
someone’s eye doesn’t have anything to do with liking someone a lot and it makes you
forget what the person was talking about.” People with autism often have trouble
understanding abstractions such as metaphors.

B. Identify the passages/excerpts that students will focus on, if applicable.

● Sensory input/overload (how do they show this in a play v.s. a book): pg. 56-58 -
scene where Christopher has just found his way to the train station and is looking at
all the different signs and visual information to process at once.
- Pg. 5 - Christopher groans as a coping mechanism for when there is too much
auditory information to process. He also does this throughout the novel when he is
frustrated.
● Aggressive behaviors: pg. 5 - Christopher hits the policeman.
- Pg. 35 - Christopher hits his dad repeatedly in the face because his dad grabs his
arm during an argument about Chris’s detective work.
● Intense focus on one topic or idea: Tangents on things that interest or puzzle
Christopher; e.g. Milky Way tangent on pages 8-9. Chris wants to become an
astronomer/astronaut so he has done extensive research and studying on it.
 V. Preparing the Questions: (1) Draft questions, anticipated student responses, and
possible follow-up questions in each of the rows below. (2) In the first column, sequence
your questions by numbering them. Decide whether it makes sense to launch with Level-1
questions, or, instead, aim for a higher-level question, keeping lower-level questions in your
back pocket in case they’re needed as scaffolding.

Questions What kinds of answers What follow-up questions

do you anticipate that Ss could you use to probe S
will give? thinking?

Level-1 (literal or 1. What was this
“right-there”) Qs
ask about the literal
2. What did you
meaning of a text,
serving to build
common ground. Ss
can generally find
the answers on the
surface of the text,
and these Qs are
usually closed (only
a single answer).
Ex: “Who is the
narrator of The
Great Gatsby?”
This play was about a Why do you think the
play about? young teen with author would write a
autism and his play about a young
think of parents. teen with autism?
Stephen’s It was about how
portrayal of Chris’s father killed a Why write a play v.s.
Christopher? dog over an argument a novel ?
with his mother about
Christopher and his How do these
problematic qualities of
tendencies related to Christopher affect the
his autism. other characters and
It’s about how young Christopher’s actions?
teens with autism can
be smart and clever,
solving mysteries and
learning quickly. It’s
about how being a
teen with autism
affects the way people
treat you and the
dynamics of your
family. Christopher, as
the title suggests, is a
curious boy. He is also
sensitive and caring.
He shows this through
his love for his mother,
his loyalty to his
father, and his
concern for the dead
dog. He also gets
frustrated easily. Too,
he is very smart and
 particularly
knowledgeable about
certain topics like
space and math.
Christopher reminds
me of my brother and
people I’ve met in
school who have mild
to moderate autism.

Level-2 1. How does Stephens uses tools How do these tools

interpretive Qs go Stephens use such as asides and differ from the ones
below the surface of the format of a voice overs to build a you would use in a
a text, often focusing
on ambiguities,
play to develop representation of book? How does that
patterns, and gaps. Christopher as Christopher, a young affect the way
They require Ss to a character teen with autism. He Christopher can be
make inferences and with autism? uses voice overs in represented in each?
develop interpretive
What tools the scene at the train
claims. These Qs do
not have a single (e.g. voice station to show how Why do you
answer. overs, asides) Christopher gets agree/disagree? How
Ex: “What might the does Stephens overloaded by visual should Christopher be
green light at the use to build a sensory input. For represented and
end of the novel representation example, he sees all characters like him?
represent?” of the different signs and
Christopher? pictures on the walls
2. Do you agree at the train station and
with Stephen’s it makes it hard for
representation him to think. He uses
of a young boy asides when
with autism? Christopher talks
Do you know about the Milky Way,
anyone from metaphors, prime
your life like numbers, and how he
Christopher? feels about being
Does it appear touched. This build on
accurate to how Christopher has a
you based on strong focus on and
your personal interest in astronomy,
experiences he struggles with
and abstract concepts, he
background loves math, and he is
knowledge? sensitive to touch
which relates to his
autism. The strong
focuses and interests
also relate to his
autism. There’s also
his feelings about the
colors red, yellow, and
brown.

Students may agree

with the
representation
because Christopher
shows many common
symptoms of autism.
They may also have
met someone like
Christopher. They
may disagree because
they think Christopher
fits a stereotype or
they know or have
seen people with
autism who are not
very similar to
Christopher.
Level-3 (applied, 1. How do texts The text is an Is the contribution
beyond-the-text) like the play example of one way positive or negative?
Qs move beyond a version of The characters with autism Why and how? What
particular text to a
Curious are represented. kind of representation
broader set of
issues. They ask Ss Incident of the Students may be should writers be
to make connections Dog in the familiar with other striving for?
across texts, and Nighttime representations from
apply their
contribute to the media such as
understanding to
bigger issues/ideas.
the ongoing Sheldon from the Big
conversation Bang Theory, Forest
Ex: “How does a text
like The Great
about Gump, Rain Man, TV
Gatsby contribute to representation shows. They could
an ongoing of individuals begin to compare the
conversation about with disabilities representation of
the American
in literature Christopher to
Dream?”
and the characters in these
media? shows or movies. One
could also look at
news stories we see
related to people with
autism. One might say
this book makes a
positive or negative
contribution to the
conversation. A
student could make a
statement about how
and why the
contribution is positive
or negative. I
personally think it
makes a positive
contribution because
the representation is
relatable to young
teens with autism who
may be ostracized or
bullied at school or in
society. It gave my
brother comfort and
hope to read it. It
shows us that young
people with autism
 can be smart, kind,
caring, and sensitive.
It shows that the
people experiencing
things like Christopher
did are not alone.

Lesson Plan
THE ‘INTO’

1. (2 min) Teacher Talk: Welcome, introduction, and explanation of initial task

a. Welcome students
b. “Today, we’re going to discuss ‘dramatic conventions’ and Autism Spectrum Disorder”
i. Teachers explain dramatic conventions (see PowerPoint)
ii. Brief overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder (see PowerPoint)
c. Explanation of initial task
d. Check for understanding of task
2. (5 min) Independent Preparation: Initial task…
a. Warm-up activity: How does Stephens use the format of a play to develop Christopher as
a character with autism?
3. (5 min) Teacher Talk: Explain next task (e.g., partner or trio talk) and establish discussion
norms that you want students to practice
a. “Now we’re going to share our responses with a partner.”
b. “As you discuss your ideas with your partner, we’re going to practice our norm
empathetic listening”
i. Slide presenting the norms
c. Norm scaffolding
i. Example sentence frames or strategies for norms.
d. Model the norm
i. Provide a model or example of the norm
e. Check for understanding.
4. (5 min) Partner, Trio, or Small-Group Warm-Up
a. Partner/Trio Practice: Empathetic Listening
i. Student 1 will present their answer to the intro question
 ii. Student 2 will empathetically listen (tracking the speaker)
iii. Student 2 will respond with either restating or asking a clarifying question
iv. Students will switch

THE ‘THROUGH’
5. (20+ min) Teacher-Led, Whole-Class Discussion
a. Transition students back to full group.
b. Remind students of norms, if necessary.
c. Launching question: …
i. “What did you think of Stephens’ portrayal of Christopher?

Discussion Leader Cheat Sheet

My Non-Negotiables Questions & Talk Moves (to keep handy based on

my non-negotiables)

Key “Pastures” or Essential Understandings (based LT1

on LT1)
● Discussing Christopher’s characteristics
● Discussing Autism Spectrum Disorder and
its typical characteristics
● Determine why the author formated this as
a play
● Analyze how the dialogue speaks to
Christopher’s characteristics
LT2
Key Speaking & Listening Skills (based on LT2)
● Restating other’s ideas
● Asking clarifying questions
● Utilizing information from the last speaker
in your response
● “So what do we know about Christopher?”
● “How does Christopher react to things?”
● “Do you guys know anyone who reacts
similarly?”
● “Why is this in play format?”
● “Why would the authors want to create a
play. Why not just keep it as a book?”
● “What does the dialogue/narration/stage
directions show us about Christopher?”
● “What do we hear [student] saying?”
● “Are we all understanding [student]’s
claim?”
● “How can we relate to [student]’s claim?”
● “Does anyone have a follow-up question
for [student]?”

Potential Boards (i.e., ways to use whiteboards to graphically organize participants’ responses in
strategic ways)

● Listing what is known about ASD and dramatic conventions used to convey characters’
experiences

THE ‘BEYOND’

6. (8-10 min) Teacher Talk: Closing

Students will watch the broadway trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVrOsXhG61Q)
They will respond to the following questions:
● How do the visuals within the trailer add to your understanding of this play?
● What are some characteristics of ASD displayed through this trailer?
● How does this influence your thoughts on novel vs. play?