Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. What is the story’s setting?

2. What does Kim do in the empty lot?

3. How long has Ana lived in the neighborhood?

4. What was Ana’s job before she retired?

5. How did Wendell’s wife and son die?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why are the bean plants so important to Kim?

2. Why is Ana so suspicious of Kim?

3. What is the significance of the biblical quote “And a little child shall lead them” to Wendell?

Paired Resource

“The Parable of the Sower” and “The Parable of the Mustard Seed”

• Two King James Version biblical parables
• Both connect to the theme of Nurturing as an Act of Faith and Healing.
• In what ways does each of Fleischman’s characters engage in an act of faith and healing? How impressive are the initial results? If Fleischman is borrowing from both the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Mustard seed, what predictions can be made regarding what may happen with the garden and the neighbors on Gibb Street?