Dear Basketball Poem Questions (Poem Included) by Kobe Bryant

The sudden loss of Kobe Bryant has sent shock-waves throughout our children. I wanted to cover him in class for those that loved him. After looking and looking for a good set of questions and not finding any to suit my needs, I took his "Dear Basketball" poem and created 15 common core style questions to encourage analytical skills, knowledge of the structural elements of poetry, and comprehension. Even though you can find copies of the poem online, I included it as a convenience. You are paying for the questions (answer key included).

This would be appropriate for most grade levels. The questions are designed to challenge upper elementary and middle school, but could definitely be used in high school, as a good discussion tool about perseverance and not giving up on your dream. Also, about acceptance, like how Kobe realizes its time to give up something he has loved all his life. Even though the questions are geared towards upper elementary and middle school, if you teach 4th/5th grade, I would highly recommend doing a/some close reading(s) with the poem and having some sort of dialogue with it before having them answer the questions.

I used this with my class, along with the short film "Dear Basketball" and the kids loved it. I hope you and your kids love it too.