Game Changer

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is the most likely reason the family worries over bringing Teddy’s pillow to the hospital?

A) They are concerned over the possibility of bacterial infection from the hospital pillowcases.

B) Janey is sure the pillowcase is lucky and wants her brother to have all the luck he can.

C) They believe that the pillow will help Teddy feel more at home in the hospital.

D) Worrying about the pillow is a way for the family to avoid thinking about Teddy’s injury.

2. When the team captain texts Ethan that he wants to make sure Ethan is “cool” before Ethan sees the school therapist, what do you take that to mean?

A) He is checking to make sure Ethan has no serious injuries from the scrimmage.

B) He wants to make Ethan understands he is not to tell the therapist anything about the Hit Parade.

C) He is confirming that Ethan is still committed to playing on the football team and will not quit the team.

D) He wants to encourage Ethan to tell the therapist the truth about the late hit because it will help Ethan begin to heal.

3. Based on the first postings by the mysterious Clea, what concerns this person?

A) Whether Teddy’s injury was an accident

B) Whether the coach might be fired

C) Whether the entire program will be suspended

D) Whether the upperclassmen will punish the freshmen

4. What best describes Ethan’s behavior in the days following the injury?

A) Although he witnessed his friend collapse, he seems unaffected and calm.

B) He isolates himself and refuses to answer his phone or return texts.

C) He is unhappy, causing his mother to decide to homeschool him for the rest of the year.

D) He is angry and uses Camille’s website to vent his anger at the older football players.

5. What best describes the reaction of Teddy’s father in the first days after the injury?

A) He reminds Teddy how much he loves the game and says that neither he nor Teddy’s mother blame anyone for the accident.

B) He assures his son that he and his mother are looking into long-term care at home and that he will be out of the hospital as soon as possible.

C) He is terrified that his son might not come out of the coma and nearly punches the coach when the coach comes to visit.

D) He is depressed and says little in the hospital room, causing his wife to suspect he may be drinking again.

6. Which statement best describes the coach’s attitude when he visits Teddy?

A) He seems nervous and says little, most likely because he fears a lawsuit.

B) He ignores Teddy and, in a display of gross insensitivity, talks football with Teddy’s father.

C) He tries to talk to the comatose Teddy but starts to cry.

D) He tells Teddy that athletes come out of adversity stronger and more dedicated.

7. Which thought does Teddy voice in his coma?

A) He loves his mother and wishes they could talk now that she is back.

B) He remembers there is nothing better than being on a team.

C) He imagines how he will get Ethan back for the cheap hit.

D) He thinks about how this injury has ended his football career.

8. What best summarizes why Teddy’s mother left the family?

A) She was struggling with alcoholism and knew she needed time to get sober.

B) Her job gave her the opportunity to work overseas for six months, and she could not turn down the money.

C) She was unhappy with her life and needed time to figure out what she needed to be for her kids.

D) She never gives a reason to Teddy or his sister, saying only that she needed cigarettes and drove off.

9. What does Camille bring to the hospital room for Teddy?

A) A sleeve of french fries, as a reminder of happier times

B) Her family’s Bible, as a token of their shared faith

C) A card signed by the entire football team, except the captain

D) A new skateboard, which Teddy always wanted

10. Which of the following best describes the school therapist’s advice to Ethan?

A) Healing can only begin with honesty.

B) Praying can be an important first step in healing.

C) Ethan should write an honest letter to Teddy and then destroy it.

D) Ethan should consider homeschooling for the rest of the school year.

11. What does Alec’s mother share with Teddy’s mother?

A) Photos from the last day of football camp, which cause Teddy’s mother to cry when she sees Teddy’s big smile

B) Upbeat letters she received from her brother when he was recovering in an army hospital from an amputated leg

C) Photos from when Teddy and Alec were kids and Alec broke his leg during a soccer game

D) Text messages on Alec’s phone that strongly suggest the tackle was deliberate and part of some hazing ritual

12. What circumstance leads Teddy to experience a potentially harmful spike in his heart rate?

A) His parents have a vocal argument over the father’s love of football.

B) His parents discuss moving him to a new hospital.

C) Camille whispers in his ear that she has a crush on him.

D) The coach tells Teddy the team has voted not to play the season.

13. Which of the following was not among Ethan’s motives for the hit on Teddy?

A) He wanted to show the upperclassmen that he could hit like a man.

B) He wanted to get back at Teddy for mocking him.

C) He wanted to show himself that he was no baby.

D) He wanted to ensure himself a place on the varsity team.

14. What comment triggers Teddy’s coming out of the coma?

A) Teddy hears Ethan say he is quitting football.

B) Teddy’s mother says that the football program needs to change.

C) Camille kisses Teddy’s forehead and gently says she misses him.

D) Teddy’s father says he is sorry he ever pushed Teddy to play football.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. The plot centers on how Ethan handles his guilt over what he did. What strategies does Ethan try before he accepts the difficult truth that coming clean is his only option? Does his action in the hospital make him the novel’s hero?

2. Why does the novel not make clear in the closing chapters the fate of the Walthorne football program and its coach? Why leave the novel open-ended? Does this ending shift the focus of the novel? If so, how?

3. Both Teddy’s father and the therapist offer a compelling argument for football as an important element in a boy’s growth into Manhood. What are the benefits of football that Teddy himself acknowledges?