The three questions by Jon J Muth

Williams Model - CREATE menu – choose one

Strategies Task
Create – after reading
Write a picture book, The three riddles, in which a child is on a quest and they can
only find the answer if they solve three riddles.

[Creative reading skills – Williams]

Create + listening
Write your own fable, featuring animal characters, and record it. When your friend
listens to your recording, they need to explain the moral of your fable.

[Creative listening skills – Williams]

Write – after reading
Create a picture book/story extract in which you and two friends of yours are
represented as animals – have a short conversation in which you discuss a
controversial topic and each of you answer according to your different
personalities/values. [Ask your friends their opinions first, before writing]
[Creative writing skills – Williams]
Drama / Empathy task
Which are the three big questions about life, science, existence, relationships,
human behaviour or your own future which YOU would like to ask because you feel
strongly about them?
[Intuitive expression – Williams]
Make art
Create a picture which represents the moral of the fable you have written [Create +
listening task] . Ask a friend to give THEIR interpretation of the symbolism of your
picture.
[Visualise – Williams]

Lizzie Chase - The three questions by Jon J Muth - Williams for Wondering – http://williamsforwondering.weebly.com
 The three questions by Jon J Muth
Williams Model – RESEARCH menu – choose one
Strategies Task
Find the missing link
What does living in the moment mean? How would our lives change if we
could truly do that? OR Research the contributions made by Nikolai Gogol
or Alexander Pushkin – why were they famous? [Sonya was the nickname
of Tolstoy’s wife, Sophia].
[Discrepancy – Williams]
Case study report
TOLSTOY CASE STUDY: Research the works written by Leo Tolstoy. Outline
his achievements. Which one is most famous today and why?

[Organised random search – Williams]

Compare - Analyse results
HOW should we treat other people well? What is the Golden Rule?
Research to find out which beliefs about this topic Zen Buddhism, Islam,
Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity have IN COMMON?

[Skills of search – Williams]

Study a person’s development
Jon J Muth has practised painting water colours to the point of excellence.
Represent one of your big questions in a water colour painting – but do 3
[Adjustment to development – Williams] attempts to learn about the process and achieve the effect that you want.
Study creative process
Explain what sort of art Jon J Muth creates, what has inspired him and
what he says about his creative processes. Eg
http://jonjmuth.com/muth.html
[Study creative process – Williams] http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/muth

Lizzie Chase - The three questions by Jon J Muth - Williams for Wondering – http://williamsforwondering.weebly.com
 The three questions by Jon J Muth
Williams Model - Think it through menu – choose one
Strategies Task
List the qualities
Explain what kinds of personalities Sonya, Gogol and Pushkin have and
what they each value. When would you want each one on your side?
Different strengths?

[Attribute listing – Williams]

Find 2 opposing perspectives
“Time stood still for me”, “The present is ours to enjoy” AND/OR “The
present continually becomes the past – moving constantly beyond our
grasp.” Discuss these viewpoints – which one do you agree with? Or can
they all be true at different times & in different contexts?
[Tolerance of ambiguity – Williams]
Examples of habit
List 5 behaviours that will NEVER bring happiness and explain why.

[Examples of habit – Williams]

Evaluate situations
What do you believe makes a person truly wise? How do they think and
behave? Name 3 qualities or behaviours or describe a wise person & say
why.

[Evaluate situations – Williams]

Lizzie Chase - The three questions by Jon J Muth - Williams for Wondering – http://williamsforwondering.weebly.com
 The three questions by Jon J Muth
Williams Model - Question it menu – choose one
Strategies Task
Paradox
Why is a journey sometimes also a destination? Explain, using ideas from
the book or from your own experience, books, movies, games, friends’
lives.

[Paradox - Williams]
Analogy

How is a question like a key?

[Analogy – Williams]
Examples of change
What if Leo had told Nikolai the answers to the three questions when he
first asked them? What would have been different for Nikolai?

[Examples of change – Williams]

Provocative question
What is the RIGHT thing for you to do in your life? Explain your deepest
values and why you hold them.

[Provocative question – Williams]

Lizzie Chase - The three questions by Jon J Muth - Williams for Wondering – http://williamsforwondering.weebly.com