A Chance in the World

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

Part 1, Chapters 1-16

Reading Check

1. What is Steve’s recurring memory?

2. What is Steve’s condition when the social workers arrive to take him from the Andrades’ home?

3. Where does Steve believe he has found a home?

4. What is revealed about the Robinson family after the social worker leaves?

5. How is Eddie treated by the Robinsons?

6. Who is Steve’s neighbor and what does he do at this neighbor’s house?

7. Why are the doctors suspicious when Steve arrives with a head injury?

8. What does George tell Steve?

Short Answer

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

1. What is revealed to be Steve’s desire in the first part of his memoir?

2. Why is reading important to Steve?

3. What is Willie like?

4. How does Willie react when Steve arrives home from school late?

5. What does Steve do to cope with his home life?

6. How does Steve manage to leave the Robinson’s home?

Paired Resource

Child Welfare Concerns

• This article describes some of the issues Child Welfare workers face when intervening on behalf of children in their system.
• What are some of the issues Child Welfare workers encounter when working their caseload? How can these issues be addressed to meet the needs of families and children?

Watership Down Summary

• This video provides a summary of the novel Watership Down.
• Consider watching the video until 1:40 (for the sake of time).
• What is Watership Down about? Why might Steve have found Watership Down encouraging? How is Watership Down related to the memoir’s theme of The Search for Belonging and a Sense of Home?

Part 2, Chapters 17-35

Reading Check

1. Where does Steve go after leaving the Robinsons’ house?

2. Where does Steve plan to go to college?

3. What gesture is Steve touched by when he visits Mr. Sykes’s parents?

4. Who encourages Steve to stay in school despite his desire to quit?

5. What does Russell Almeida believe about Kenny?

6. Who does the phone operator help Steve to find?

7. Why is Kenny’s family upset?

8. Who is Gerri?

9. Why is Warren skeptical about Steve’s parentage and Kenny’s knowledge of it?

Short Answer

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

1. What is revealed about Steve’s mother by his grandparents?

2. Why does Steve have mixed feelings about his parentage?

3. Why is Steve still lonely after his college admission?

4. What does Steve discover from Mike?

Paired Resource

Adoptees and the Need to Find Biological Parents

• This article describes why one woman felt the need to search for her biological parents.
• What motivates people to find their biological parents? Why are some disillusioned by the experience? How is this related to the novel’s themes of Identity, Race, and Racism and The Evolution of the Meaning of Family?

Understanding the Common Challenges of Adopted Children

• This article describes some of the challenges faced by children who are adopted.
• What are some of the difficulties of children who have been adopted or fostered? Which problems might Steve be facing? How is this article related to the novel’s theme of The Evolution of the Meaning of Family?

Part 3, Chapters 36-43

Reading Check

1. What is Steve’s concrete proof that his mother did not want him?

2. What is significant about the family photo Steve poses for at his wedding?

3. How does Steve feel after having his own children in relation to what his mother did?

4. What is Kenny accused of doing according to his letters?

5. Why does Kenny believe he lost the Las Vegas Golden Gloves competition?

6. After losing hope of regaining his life, what does Kenny gain a reputation for?

7. How is Kenny killed?  

Short Answer

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

1. What helps Steve come to terms with his mother and father’s abandonment?

2. How does Steve attempt to fix the mistakes of his past?

3. What does Loretta reveal to Steve as they visit Marian’s tombstone?

4. Why does Steve begin to feel empathy for his mother?

Recommended Next Reads

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White

• This memoir describes Neil White and his time in a prison that also housed the last surviving leper colony in the United States.
• Shared topics include history, the telling of stories, and overcoming adversity.
• Shared themes include The Search for Belonging and a Sense of Home and The Evolution of the Meaning of Family.
• In the Sanctuary of Outcasts on SuperSummary

A Child Called It: One Child’s Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer

• This memoir describes the author’s abuse at the hands of his mother.
• Shared topics include foster care, overcoming adversity, and survival.
• Shared themes include The Search for Belonging and a Sense of Home and The Evolution of the Meaning of Family.
• A Child Called It: One Child’s Courage to Survive on SuperSummary