The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What are some of the situations that can occur in life that people associate with feelings of anxiety?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might benefit from a group discussion to identify some of the uncertainties in life that can cause anxiety, for example, career choices, relationships (romantic, friends, family), tests and grades, money, social pressures, health, world problems (environment, politics, social justice, violence).

• “Overcoming Anxiety” – This 10-minute TEDx video of a teenager’s talk about dealing with his anxiety attacks relates to Coping Mechanisms and Safety in an Uncertain World.
• “The Uncertainties of Life” – This short post by a graduate student on facing the uncertainties in her life, published on Stories in Science (a website managed by the STEM Advocacy Institute), relates to Coping Mechanisms and Safety in an Uncertain World.

2. How can individuals develop skills that meet their own individual needs for coping with life’s uncertainties?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might benefit from discussing in pairs why certain coping mechanisms are more effective for some people than for others and the importance of respecting different approaches for different people.

• “Seven Ways to Cope with Uncertainty” – This article in Greater Good Magazine, an online publication of The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests coping strategies that might help when things feel out of control and relates to Coping Mechanisms and Safety in an Uncertain World.
• “Uncertainty & Autism: A Self-Advocate’s Perspective” – This brief blog post by a man with autism on the website Different Brains, a nonprofit organization that advocates for acceptance of neurodiversity, relates to The Quest for Understanding Between Different Minds.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

1. Create a character who is unlike yourself in some important ways. For example, if you are shy, your character might be an extrovert. If you prefer to be outdoors playing sports, your character might prefer to be indoors playing a musical instrument. Write about 250 words about your invented character, describing both external and internal traits that are different from you personally. 

2. Recall an incident that made you feel uncertain, uncomfortable, or anxious. Describe the incident in a short paragraph (about 100 words), simply stating what happened.

3. Now write a first-person narrative, describing the incident as a fictional story told from the perspective of your newly created character—someone who will react to, think about, and respond to the incident in a way very different from you (300-500 words). 

Teaching Suggestion: Invite students to discuss the many ways people can react to the same set of circumstances. Why do some people have stage fright while others enjoy the spotlight? Why are some people sensitive while others seem impervious to criticism?

• “Neurodiversity: Why It’s Important to Embrace Our Differences” – This article by a mental health writer and inclusivity advocate about understanding neurotypical versus neurodivergent brain processing relates to The Quest for Understanding Between Different Minds.

Differentiation Suggestion: Visual/spatial and artistic students might benefit from an exercise that allows them to draw or paint. They might create one image of a person who is anxious and another of a person who is calm; images need not be realistic but instead might be conveyed through color, shape, pattern, or other visual images. This variation in communication relates to The Quest for Understanding Between Different Minds.