Discussion questions generator for books, articles and lessons
Yes-or-no questions kill a discussion in seconds. Whether you lead a seminar, a book club or a Sunday class, give your todo.is agent the text or topic and it writes open-ended discussion questions that move from easy warm-ups to deeper thinking, with follow-up prompts, page references and a short guide for running the conversation.
The prompt
- Write discussion questions for [TEXT OR TOPIC] for [GROUP]. Base them on [SOURCE]. The discussion lasts [LENGTH]. Give me [NUMBER] open-ended questions in 3 stages: warm-up questions anyone can answer, questions about meaning and evidence that point to specific pages or passages, and big-picture questions that connect to real life or other texts. Add 1 or 2 follow-up prompts under each question for when the room goes quiet. Avoid questions with one right answer. Include a short opening activity, a closing question, and tips for drawing in quiet people. Focus areas: [FOCUS]. Give me a one-page PDF handout for the group and a Word facilitator guide with notes.
What to change
- [TEXT OR TOPIC]: E.g. "To Kill a Mockingbird, chapters 1–11", "this news article", "the ethics of AI art".
- [GROUP]: E.g. "Year 10 English", "a book club of 8 adults", "university seminar", "church youth group".
- [SOURCE]: Attach the text, a PDF or a link. For a well-known book, the title is enough.
- [LENGTH]: E.g. "45 minutes" or "one hour".
- [NUMBER]: E.g. "12". You won't use them all; extras help.
- [FOCUS]: E.g. "themes of justice and growing up", "the author's argument", "exam essay skills".
Example result
- To Kill a Mockingbird, chapters 1–11: discussion guide
- Year 10 English · 45 minutes · focus: justice and growing up
- Opening (5 min)
- • Write one word that describes Maycomb so far. Share and explain.
- Stage 1: warm-up
- • Which character would you most like to meet, and why?
- - Follow-up: What would you ask them?
- • What surprised you most in these chapters?
- Stage 2: meaning and evidence
- • Atticus says you never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view (ch. 3). Where do we see Scout trying to do this?
- - Follow-up: Does she succeed? Find a line that shows it.
- • Why do the children become so interested in Boo Radley?
- - Follow-up: What do the gifts in the tree tell us about him?
- • How does Mrs. Dubose's story (ch. 11) change what courage means?
- - Follow-up: Do you agree with Atticus's definition?
- Stage 3: big picture
- • Is it possible to be fair in an unfair society?
- - Follow-up: Think of an example from today.
- • How does seeing events through a child's eyes change the story?
- • What does growing up mean in this novel so far?
- Closing (5 min)
- • One thing you now think differently about, in one sentence.
- Facilitator tips
- • Wait 5 to 8 seconds after asking; silence means thinking
- • Use "say more" and "who sees it differently?" instead of correcting
- • Give quiet students a chance to write first, then share
- • Bring the group back to the text: "Where do you see that?"
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt, name the text or topic, the group and how long you have. Attach the text if it isn't well known.
- Paste it on the Today screen in todo.is, or send it to your agent on WhatsApp or Telegram.
- Print the handout PDF for the group and keep the facilitator guide for yourself.
- Ask for "questions for the next 5 chapters" each week, or set it as a recurring to-do for your book club.
Tips for a better result
- Open-ended questions start with how, why, what if or to what extent, not is or did.
- Link questions to specific pages; it keeps the talk grounded in the text.
- Have more questions than you need and drop the ones that don't land.
- For a book club, ask for a spoiler-free set based only on the chapters everyone has read.
discussion questions generator: FAQ
- What makes a good discussion question? It is open-ended, has no single right answer, can be supported with evidence from the text and invites people to disagree respectfully.
- Can it write questions for a news article or a video? Yes. Attach the article, paste a link, or upload the video or audio; the agent transcribes media and writes questions from it.
- How many questions do I need for a one-hour discussion? Usually 6 to 10 good questions with follow-ups. A strong question can carry 10 minutes on its own.
- Can I get questions for Bible study or a religious text? Yes. Give the passage and your group's tradition, and the agent writes respectful questions that fit your setting.
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