All American Boys

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

Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. In which extracurricular activity does Rashad participate?

2. What does Rashad do that makes it look like he is stealing?

3. What does the police officer (Paul) do to Rashad?

4. Who sees Rashad and Paul outside the store?

5. What is Quinn worried about regarding college?

Short Answer

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

1. Why does Rashad’s father want Rashad to join the drill team?

2. What is implied about Paul’s beliefs when he calls Rashad a “thug”?

3. Why don’t Spoony and his father get along?

4. Why does Quinn’s mother expect a lot from him?

5. Why is Quinn feeling torn about Paul?

Paired Resource

“What Does It Mean to Be American?”

• In this 3-minute video, individuals comment on what “being American” means to them.
• This video relates to the theme What It Means to Be All-American.
• If Rashad and Quinn were asked this question, what would their answers be, and how would they differ?

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. What is consistently playing on the news?

2. What causes Rashad’s father to yell at Spoony in the hospital?

3. What is in Rashad’s hospital survival kit?

4. At practice, what does the coach instruct the basketball team to do?

Short Answer

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

1. What is frustrating Rashad regarding peoples’ reactions?

2. Why do the Galluzzos host a barbecue?

3. What does Quinn realize about Paul in relation to Marc (a boy who bullied him many years prior)?

4. How is Rashad’s art influenced by outside art styles?

Paired Resource

“Aaron Douglas’s Artwork”

• The National Gallery of Art provides this short biography of Aaron Douglas and includes images of his art.
• This resource provides a more contextualized approach toward understanding Rashad’s artwork. Students might connect the theme What It Means to Be All-American by comparing Rashad’s desire to blur certain people—including himself—in his drawings.
• Why might Rashad connect with Douglas’s art style in regard to Rashad’s own identity?

“Bill Keane’s Dotted Line: An Appreciation”

• This NPR article gives an example of The Family Circus and provides some analysis behind the nostalgia and feel-good tones of the comic.
• This resource relates to What It Means to Be All-American.
• How do Douglas’s art style and the Family Circus cartoon style both contradict and work together in Rashad’s artwork?

Chapters 9-12

Reading Check

1. What does the graffiti state on the school’s sidewalk?

2. What do Spoony and Berry discuss doing regarding the controversy?

3. What does Mr. Godwin not want Mrs. Tracey to assign?

4. What does Tooms do to Guzzo?

5. What does Katie Lansing promise to Rashad?

Short Answer

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

1. Why does Rashad agree to protest?

2. Why are both English and Guzzo upset with Quinn?

3. What is the significance of Rashad’s father’s experience on the police force?

4. What is the symbolism of Rashad drawing his self-portrait, starting at his mouth?

Paired Resource

“Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou

• This poem utilizes the metaphor of a free and a caged bird in implied comparison to the oppressive policies and systemic actions against Black people.
• This poem relates to the themes The Challenges of Combating Systemic Racism and The Power of Protesting.
• How do the metaphors of the two birds parallel the struggles and lives of Rashad and Quinn?

Chapters 13-17

Reading Check

1. What does Quinn’s controversial shirt state?

2. What does Rashad leave for Clarissa?

3. What phrase does Quinn use to describe the protest?

Short Answer

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

1. What does Quinn’s reaction to his upset mother demonstrate about his character?

2. How was the protest conducted and why was that format chosen?

3. How does Rashad realize that his father is deeply concerned about him?

4. Why does Rashad remove his bandages?

Recommended Next Reads 

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

• High-achieving 17-year-old Black student Justyce McAllister is wrongfully arrested due to his race. While dealing with the fallout including scapegoating by his community, he deals with his trauma by reading and responding to letters written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Shared themes include The Challenges of Combating Systemic Racism.  
• Shared topics include racism, police brutality, and identity.     
• Dear Martin on SuperSummary

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

• Sixteen-year-old Black student Starr Carter and her friend Khalil are pulled over by a police officer due to a broken taillight. When Khalil is shot and killed by the police, Starr struggles to make a decision: stay quiet or speak up against injustice.
• Shared themes include The Power of Protest and The Challenge of Combating Systemic Racism.
• Shared topics include racism, police brutality, identity, and injustice.
• The Hate U Give on SuperSummary