Trash

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 1-6

Reading Check

1. What does Raphael search for at the dumpsite?

2. What is a “special”?

3. Why is there a reward for the bag Raphael finds?

4. Where does Rat say the key found in the bag belongs?

5. Why do the police suspect Gardo and Raphael of having the bag?

6.  What do the boys find in the locker?

Short Answer

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

1. Why do you think Raphael and Gardo decide not to turn in the bag for the 10,000 pesos?

2. Why does Gardo feel responsible for helping Raphael tell the story?

Paired Resource

“Dumpster Diver Finds Filet Mignon in Trash”

• This article from the New York Post details the life of a woman who scavenges for food.
• What is surprising to the woman in the article? How is her perspective on trash different from those in wealthier communities? How is this article connected to the novel’s theme of Poverty?

Part 2, Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. Who is Father Julliard?

2. What do the boys search for when they visit Father Julliard?

3. What happens to Raphael after he is arrested?

4. What does Raphael decide he needs to do with the letter?

5. Who is José?

6. Who is Grace, and what are her feelings about José?

Short Answer

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

1. What is the connection between Raphael’s experience in police custody and José’s experience? Why does Raphael believe José was helping him?

2. Why is it important that there are various accounts of the incidents surrounding this story?

Paired Resource

“Missionary Schools”

• This article provides insight into the creation of missionary schools and their intended purposes.
• What were missionary schools intended to do? What obstacles are faced by people such as Father Julliard in his school? How are missionary schools connected to the novel’s themes of Poverty and Education?

Part 3, Chapters 1-10

Reading Check

1. How does Gardo get to the prison to deliver his letter?

2. What does Olivia find disturbing in the prison?

3. Why is Gabriel Olondriz in prison?

4. How did Gabriel lose his evidence?

5. What does Rat reveal to Raphael and Gardo?

6.  Why do the boys need Gabriel’s Bible?

Short Answer

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

1. What does Gardo’s story about his grandfather indicate about the government in Behala?

2. Olivia is interrogated and leaves Behala because of the intervention of the British Embassy. Compare the rights Olivia has to those the boys have.

Paired Resource

“The Storied History of Giving in America”

• This article by Smithsonian magazine explores the history of charitable work and its evolution over time.
• How has charity work evolved over the years? How is charitable work connected with the novel’s theme of Poverty?

Part 4, Chapters 1-7

Reading Check

1. Where does Rat reveal he gets his money from?

2. What does Marco do when Gardo gives him the money for the Bible?

3. What does José mean by “where we lay”?

4. How do the boys escape the policeman who finds them?

5. Who is Frederico Gonz?

6. What do the four newspaper articles say about Zapanta?

Short Answer

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

1. Why is Rat so valuable to the group of boys?

2. Given the current political climate, what is interesting about the newspaper articles?

Paired Resource

“Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)”

• This article provides a brief history of the Day of the Dead.
• Where did el Día de los Muertos originate? Why is it not surprising to be in a cemetery on the Day of the Dead?

Part 5, Chapters 1-6

Reading Check

1. What should have made the boys stand out on the Day of the Dead?

2. What is the brightest light?

3. Who is the girl who speaks to the boys as they search for José’s family grave site?

4. Why do the boys believe the girl may be a ghost?

5. Why does Rat, now referred to as Jun-Jun, leave on Father Julliard’s desk?

6. What do the boys find in the grave?

7. What do the boys do with the money they do not take with them?

Short Answer

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

1. Why do the boys say they no longer need to lie?

2. What does the narration of Father Julliard indicate about his relationship with the boys at the end of their story?

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• Divergent on SuperSummary

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