We Are All Made of Molecules

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

Chapters 1-12

Reading Check

1. What has Stewart always wanted?

2. Who lives with Stewart, his father, and Caroline?

3. What is Stewart’s new sister’s name for him?

4. What is the name of Stewart’s cat?

5. Where did Stewart go to school before moving in with Caroline?

6. Who bullies Stewart in the locker room?

7. Where does Stewart go when Ashley locks him out of the house?

8. How does Ashley’s mother punish her for bad behavior?

Short Answer

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

1. Why is Ashley frustrated by her new home situation?

2. Why does Ashley reveal Lauren’s bra size to the other students?

Paired Resource

Adolescence

• This 10-minute video describes the struggle to develop identity in adolescence.
• Consider watching to 4:37 before the video shifts to adulthood.
• Common themes include Exclusionary Social Hierarchy and The Shape of a Family.
• What is the common struggle of adolescents identified in the video? Why, according to the video, do adolescents form groups? Why do many adolescents experience confusion? What is the role of family in adolescent years?

“Adjusting to Divorce and Blended Families”

• This 5-minute video describes the challenges of blended families and how to cope with a new family structure.
• Common themes include The Shape of a Family.
• What emotions might be associated with changes in the family? What advice does the video offer to help individuals cope with changes? What experiences do Ashley and Stewart have that compare to the video?

Chapters 13-25

Reading Check

1. Whom does Stewart call to complain about Ashley?

2. What controversial object is hanging in the living room?

3. What does Ashley crush with her math book?

4. Whom does Ashley add as a friend on Facebook?

5. What group does Stewart join after being invited by Phoebe?

6. Who pretends to attack Ashley while wearing a costume?

7. What job does Jared get for Stewart?

8. What does Stewart explain he is doing under his mother’s afghan?

Short Answer

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

1. Which object does Caroline prompt Stewart’s father to remove from the home, and how do the characters react to it?

2. How does a nasty interaction with a bully lead to Stewart finding a new friendship with Ashley?

Paired Resource

“Adolescence and the Power of Social Cliques”

• This article explores the powerful pressure and demands that social cliques exert on individuals and explains why those pressures are most acute during adolescence.
• This article is connected to the novel’s themes of Exclusionary Social Hierarchy and Inclusive Molecules.
• What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of cliques? Why are cliques more prevalent in middle school? What kinds of cliques are identified in the article?

Chapters 26-34

Reading Check

1. What does Ashley think “says a lot about a person’s character”?

2. What is Jared allergic to?

3. What does Jared give Ashley at his basketball game?

4. What does Stewart notice is missing from the home?

5. Which of the adults does Ashley want to prevent Jared from meeting?

6. On what day did Stewart’s mother die?

7. Who rescues Ashley from Jared’s sexual assault?

8. What does Jared leave in Ashley’s locker as an apology?

Short Answer

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

1. What is Stewart’s ulterior motive in forcing Ashley to agree with everything Stewart says at dinner?

2. Why is Ashley impressed by her father’s boyfriend, Michael?

Paired Resource

“What’s the Best Way to Deal with Bullies?”

• This article provides strategies for dealing with bullies and how to help others who may experience bullying.
• Themes connected to this article include Exclusionary Social Hierarchy and Inclusive Molecules.
• What are some mistakes people make when dealing with a bully? What are some effective ways to respond to bullying behavior? How do character reactions to bullying in the novel compare to the advice offered here?

Chapters 35-49

Reading Check

1. Whom does Ashley begin to like despite herself?

2. What do Stewart and his friends watch during the New Year’s party?

3. What does Stewart try to find when he realizes there is a party going on downstairs?

4. What is Stewart able to take from Jared during the party?

5. Who is missing after the party?

6. Which of Ashley’s friends does Stewart suspect may have spray painted the anti-gay graffiti?

7. Whom does Stewart humiliate at a basketball game?

8. What does Phil create to help Stewart?

9. What is the name of the protection squad?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Ashley offer support to Stewart after the party?

2. In what ways does the school atmosphere change after Ashley and Stewart develop the protection squad?

Recommended Next Reads

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten

• This novel is about a 15-year-old boy who wrestles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety as he struggles to take on the burdens of others in his surroundings.
• Themes connected to this novel include Inclusive Molecules and The Shape of Family.
• Shared topics include family trauma, friendship, and helping others.
• The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B on SuperSummary

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

• This novel is about a 10-year-old girl with Asperger’s syndrome who struggles to understand the loss of an older sibling who died in a school shooting.
• Themes connected to this novel include Exclusionary Social Hierarchy and The Shape of Family.
• Shared topics include bullying, friendships, and coping with loss.
• Mockingbird on SuperSummary