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

Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. Where are Genie and Ernie’s parents going to be while the boys are in Virginia?

2. What is the name of the girl whom Genie and Ernie meet on their first morning in Virginia?

Short Answer

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

1. When Genie wakes up in the morning, what does he find in the guest room, and to whom did it once belong?

2. Why hasn’t Genie and Ernie’s father told them that their grandfather, Brooke, is blind?

3. What does Genie like about talking to Brooke on his first morning in Virginia?

Paired Resource

“Rural Virginia” and “NYC Brooklyn Drone”

• These brief videos, 1 minute and 4 minutes respectively, offer commentary-free footage of rural Virginia and Brooklyn, New York.
• These resources relate to the theme of The Effect of Marital Problems Upon Children.
• What reason do Genie and Ernie’s parents give for leaving them in Virginia? Is this fair? If you spent your entire life in one of these two places and your parents decided to leave you for a month in the other place, what kinds of emotions might you feel? What evidence is there in the story that shows how the boys feel as they try to adjust to their new environment?