Flush

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 1-5

Reading Check

1. Why is Noah’s dad, Paine, arrested?

2. What does Paine ask Noah to do?

3. In Chapter 3, what payment does Paine tell Noah to offer Lice?

4. When Noah sees Bull and Jasper in Chapter 5, what do they have in their wheelbarrow?

Short Answer

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

1. In Chapter 2, what joke does Noah make about Jasper’s name and its effect on Jasper’s personality?

2. Where is Noah’s paternal grandfather?

3. According to Noah, what kind of people does Paine say fighting is for?

4. Why do Noah and his sister sneak out of the house at the end of Chapter 5?

Paired Resources

“6 Ways Government Is Going After Environmental Activists” by Jenna Bitar

• An article from the ACLU detailing questionable tactics the US government uses to suppress environmental protest
• This resource relates to themes of the Fragile Environment and Bigshots and Bullies.
• Which of the six tactics explained in the article seems the most problematic to you? Do you think that the government is trying to bully citizens who are engaged in environmental activism? Who is bullying the environmental activists in Hiaasen’s book? Which tactics would be more intimidating—the ones in the article or the ones in Hiaasen’s book?

“All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury

• A classic short story in which a group of children bully another child, preventing her from enjoying a brief appearance by the life-giving sun.
• This resource relates to themes of the Fragile Environment and Bigshots and Bullies.
• In Bradbury’s story, what is so important about seeing the sun? What is Bradbury suggesting about the importance of the natural environment? Do the motives of the bullies in this story seem similar to or different from the motives of the bullies in Flush? Which bullies’ actions have more serious consequences?

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. What does Noah take with him as evidence when he leaves the Coral Queen in Chapter 7?

2. What suspicious thing does Shelly find on the seat of her Jeep?

3. In Chapter 10, who suggests that it is better to let the legal system handle Dusty’s illegal dumping?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Noah know what Abbey will do to get away from the man trying to hold her at the beginning of Chapter 6?

2. How do Abbey and Noah work together to prevent their mother from seeing their father’s television interview?

3. When Paine tries to explain his escape to Donna, what news does Donna reveal to Paine?

4. Why does Paine take off his ankle monitor in Chapter 10?

Paired Resource

“Making the Ultimate Sacrifice for the Planet”

• A 6-minute video episode of Down to Earth from France 24, a public broadcast network
• This resource relates to themes of the Fragile Environment and Fighting the Good Fight.
• Did any of the information in this video surprise you? Do you think that either Noah or Paine would be willing to risk death to accomplish an important environmental goal? What evidence supports your interpretation of their thinking?

“The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty

• A classic short story in which a man commits a terrible act in the service of a cause he believes deeply in
• This resource relates to the theme of Fighting the Good Fight.
• What does the ending reveal about what the sniper has sacrificed for the cause he believes in? Are there any circumstances under which you might call his actions ethical? Would Paine and Noah be willing to go this far to support their cause? What evidence supports your interpretation of their thinking?

Chapters 11-15

Reading Check

1. Who is Luno?

2. Where does Paine get a job in Chapter 13?

3. Where will Donna and Paine be on the night that Noah and Abbey intend to put their dye plan into effect?

Short Answer

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

1. In Chapter 11, why is Donna anxious for Paine to behave civilly toward Dusty?

2. Where did Abbey go when she snuck out, and why?

3. What do Noah and Abbey plan to do with the fuchsia dye?

4. When Noah is cornered by a Coral Queen security guard, how does he escape?

Paired Resource

“Threats to the Keys”

• An overview of environmental issues faced by the Florida Keys, hosted by the Florida Museum of Natural History
• This resource relates to the theme of the Fragile Environment.
• What threats to the Florida Keys does this article detail? Which of these do you see reflected in Hiaasen’s book?

Chapters 16-21

Reading Check

1. Who does the old pirate turn out to be?

2. What do the red stains in Shelly’s Jeep turn out to be?

3. Who turns out to be responsible for the fire on the Coral Queen?

Short Answer

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

1. How did Paine’s father learn that the family might need his help?

2. What relationship does Noah see between Paine losing his mother at a young age and Paine’s adult behavior?

3. How does Paine injure himself after he learns that Dusty has been released from jail?

4. How does Donna convince the detective that Paine is not hiding burns from setting the fire on the Coral Queen?

Recommended Next Reads

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

• Another middle-grades novel by the author of Flush, Hoot tells the adventure-packed and amusing story of Roy Eberhardt’s quest to save some cute endangered owls.
• Shared topics include children fighting for the environment, humor, and the power of clever thinking.
• Shared themes include the Fragile Environment, Fighting the Good Fight, and Bigshots and Bullies.
• Hoot on SuperSummary

One Small Hop by Madelyn Rosenberg

• This middle-grades novel tells the humorous and hopeful story of a group of friends fighting to save bullfrogs in a future world ravaged by environmental disaster.
• Shared topics include children fighting for the environment, humor, and personal sacrifice.
• Shared themes include the Fragile Environment and Fighting the Good Fight.