The Fighting Ground

62 pages • 2 hours read

The Fighting Ground

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1984

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

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

PART 1, PAGES 3-53

Reading Check

1. What is Jonathan “daydreaming” about at the beginning of the story?

2. What does the ringing of the bell mean at the local tavern?

3. What does the Corporal tell Jonathan to borrow from the tavern?

4. Why does Jonathan’s father’s friend not respond to the question?

5. What task does Jonathan struggle to do as the enemy approaches?

Short Answer

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

1. What is Jonathan eager to do? How does his father feel about it?

2. What does the Corporal say to the men at the tavern? What does he end up doing?

3. How do the men view the Corporal’s leadership? How does the Corporal respond to their commentary?

4. What happens in Rocktown? How do the men react?

5. What happens during Jonathan’s encounter with the Hessians? What is the mood of the encounter, and how does Jonathan leave the situation?

Paired Resources

“Hessians”

The George Washington Presidential Library shares information on the German mercenary group.
This connects with the themes Glory Versus Tragedy in War and Kindness or Brutality in a Crisis.
What role did the Hessians play in the Revolutionary War? How does this speak to the Tories’ opinion about the colonists’ fight for independence?

“Child Soldiers of the Revolutionary War”

The Jefferson County Post explores the role that children played in fighting during the American Revolution.
This connects with the themes Glory Versus Tragedy in War, Adapting to a Crisis, and Kindness or Brutality in a Crisis.
How do the children’s stories in this article compare with Jonathan’s narrative?

PART 1, PAGES 53-125

Reading Check

1. What language do the Hessians speak?

2. Which foreign word does Jonathan repeat several times?

3. What animal does Jonathan hear in the distance?

4. What does Jonathan command that the soldiers help him with?

5. What is Jonathan’s “only plan?”

6. Who won the battle earlier that day, according to the Americans?

Short Answer

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

1. Which soldiers does Jonathan see in the forest? What does he decide to do?

2. Where do the soldiers lead Jonathan? What does he realize about them?

3. What happens during Jonathan’s time at the house? Whom does he meet, and what difficult discovery does he make?

4. Why is Jonathan confused and angry? What does he order the soldiers to do?

5. What does Jonathan believe that a “true soldier” should do in his situation? What does he do instead?

6. What unsettling news does Jonathan learn from the Corporal? How does this affect him?

Paired Resources

“The Fighting Man of the Continental Army”

American Battlefield Trust explores the background of the men who fought during the American Revolution.
This connects with the themes Glory Versus Tragedy in War, Adapting to a Crisis, and Kindness or Brutality in a Crisis.
How does Jonathan’s story compare with the lives of most of the men enlisted in the Continental Army?

“An Interview with Newbery Award–Winning Author Avi”

In this article, Michigan Reading Journal interviews the novel’s author, Avi.
This connects with the themes Glory Versus Tragedy in War, Adapting to a Crisis, and Kindness or Brutality in a Crisis.
What inspired Avi’s writing? How do his inspirations link to the content of his novel?

PART 2, PAGES 125-151

Reading Check

1. Which American was killed in the battle?

2. Where does the boy go?

3. What object does Jonathan destroy in the abandoned house?

Short Answer

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

1. What does the Corporal insist that Jonathan do to help the other Americans? What is the outcome of the situation?

2. What happens at the abandoned house? What does Jonathan realize after he makes it home?

Recommended Next Reads

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

Avi’s 2002 novel follows a young boy who escapes his village in medieval England.
Shared themes include Adapting to a Crisis and Kindness or Brutality in a Crisis.
Shared topics include male protagonists on a journey, historical fiction and bildungsroman.
Crispin: The Cross of Lead on SuperSummary

George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff

Woodruff’s 1991 novel follows a group of friends who mistakenly travel back in time to the American Revolution.
Shared themes include Glory Versus Tragedy in War, Adapting to a Crisis, and Kindness or Brutality in a Crisis.
Shared topics include children’s literature, the Hessians, and the setting of the American Revolution.
George Washington’s Socks on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

PART 1, PAGES 3-53

Reading Check

1. Being a soldier (Part 1, Pages 3-19)

2. A call to fight (Part 1, Pages 3-19)

3. A musket (i.e., gun) (Part 1, Pages 3-19)

4. Because he does not have the answers (Part 1, Pages 19-35)

5. Load his gun (Part 1, Pages 19-35)

Short Answer

1. Hearing the local tavern bell call for volunteer soldiers, Jonathan is eager to be a part of the war effort; however, his father, who previously fought and was injured, does not support his involvement. (Part 1, Pages 3-19)

2. The Corporal is an out-of-town man who has come to lead the volunteers to fight. He is dissatisfied with the group before him and recruits Jonathan after asking him if he is able to handle a rifle. (Part 1, Pages 3-19)

3. Although the Corporal is the leader of the small group, the men are skeptical of his position and leadership. The Corporal asserts his dominance by leading the mission onwards, despite the grumblings from the men. (Part 1, Pages 19-35)

4. As the group approaches Rocktown, they see a woman drawing water and inform her that enemies are coming. When she runs away frightened by the news, the men laugh. Only the Corporal remains serious, while the reality of the current situation begins to set in for Jonathan. (Part 1, Pages 19-35)

5. The Americans see that the enemy approaching is a German mercenary army. The mood is tense as the Corporal quickly puts them into formation; he forces them to load their guns and wait for his command. Jonathan wishes that he had more practice shooting, and he is nervous and thirsty when the Hessians approach. As the battle begins and his companions fall down, he retreats into the woods, eventually collapsing from exhaustion. (Part 1, Pages 19-35)

PART 1, PAGES 53-125

Reading Check

1. German (Part 1, Pages 53-75)

2. Soldat (i.e., soldier) (Part 1, Pages 53-75)

3. A cow (Part 1, Pages 53-75)

4. Digging a grave (Part 1, Pages 75-100)

5. To find the road (Part 1, Pages 100-125)

6. The Americans (Part 1, Pages 100-125)

Short Answer

1. Exhausted and scared, Jonathan realizes that he is not alone in the forest. He sees three Hessian soldiers, and—believing that they are talking about him in German—he decides to show himself. (Part 1, Pages 53-75)

2. The Hessians lead Jonathan, who is tied up with a rope, out of the forest and to the main road. After some time, the Hessians say in German that they are lost. Jonathan wonders why he has not tried escaping, and maybe that these are his only friends. (Part 1, Pages 53-75)

3. Jonathan and the Hessians come across an abandoned barn with a cow. After Jonathan milks the cow, he discovers a small boy. He decides to tell the soldiers about the boy, but the soldiers remain indifferent. The boy leads Jonathan to his parents’ bodies near the house. (Part 1, Pages 75-100)

4. Jonathan begins to question the Hessians, wondering if they were responsible for the murder of the little boy’s parents. He is angry and confused, both of which enable him to take charge of the situation and order the Hessians to help him dig a grave for the boy’s parents. (Part 1, Pages 75-100)

5. Angry with the surrounding circumstances, Jonathan convinces himself that a “true soldier” would kill his Hessian captors while they sleep. He encourages himself to kill them, loading up the gun and preparing for the shot; however, in the final moment, he realizes cannot kill them. He decides instead to take the boy and escape. (Part 1, Pages 100-125)

6. Jonathan carries the boy for many miles. Eventually, he finds the road and then a campfire with the Corporal and the other soldiers. Jonathan tells his story, and then he learns that the Corporal was the person responsible for killing the boys’ parents, as they were spies who had warned the Hessians about the Americans. The Corporal and the men want to do a surprise raid where the Hessians are sleeping, but Jonathan just wants to return home. (Part 1, Pages 100-125)

PART 2, PAGES 125-151

Reading Check

1. Jonathan’s father’s friend (Part 2, Pages 125-151)

2. With the Frenchman (Part 2, Pages 125-151)

3. The gun he borrowed from the tavern (Part 2, Pages 125-151)

Short Answer

1. Despite Jonathan’s refusal to go, the Corporal insists that Jonathan lead him and the men to the house with the Hessians. Once at the house, the Corporal commands Jonathan to go inside and check if the men are there. Jonathan finds the men sleeping, but rather than leave quietly, he decides to wake the Hessians up and warn them about the Americans. (Part 2, Pages 125-151)

2. After a brief shoot out where the Hessians try to use Jonathan as a shield, all the mercenary soldiers are killed. The Americans trek back to the tavern, and finally Jonathan makes it home. After seeing his dad’s face, he realizes that he is lucky to be alive. (Part 2, Pages 125-151)