Ungifted

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

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Donovan accidentally destroys a statue by hitting it with a stick; who does the statue depict?

2. What job does Dr. Schultz have at the school district?

Short Answer

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

1. After he gets sent to the principal’s office because of the spitball war, what does Donovan do that causes him to get detention?

2. What is in the letter from the school district that comes to Donovan’s house?

Paired Resource

“Why Did the Titanic Sink?”

• This History.com article clearly lays out the foreseeable and unforeseeable problems that led to the tragedy of the Titanic.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Value of Unpredictability.
• Which of the factors that led to the Titanic disaster were predictable? Which were unpredictable? The Titanic is a very famous example of what can happen when people do not think ahead about possible problems and their consequences. In this part of the novel, what are some examples of Donovan not thinking ahead about problems and consequences? How is the Titanic being used as a symbol in this novel?

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. What is Mr. Osborne’s nickname?

2. What class does Mr. Del Rio tell Mr. Osborne his students will need to take over the summer?

Short Answer

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

1. What similarities does Chloe see between the ASD students and robots?

2. What rule-breaking activity do the Daniels try to get Donovan to engage in at the Hardcastle Mall?

Paired Resource

“Teachers' Expectations Can Influence How Students Perform”

• This NPR story can be either read or listened to. It briefly explores Rosenthal’s research on teacher expectations, and then asks how teacher expectations can be changed.
• This resource relates to the theme of Human Growth and Development.
• Were you surprised to learn that teacher expectations can have a powerful influence on student growth? What problems does this story identify with changing teachers’ expectations? What is the point of the example the story gives of a boy who gets scolded for getting excited and jumping up in class? What does this suggest about the differences between Hardcastle Middle School and ASD?

Chapters 7-11

Reading Check

1. What does Donovan decide to make the focus of his science project?

2. What advice does Noah search YouTube for?

Short Answer

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

1. What causes Chloe to decide that Donovan is smarter than everyone else at ASD?

2. What is ironic about Dr. Shultz’s thoughts about Katie Patterson and her family?

Paired Resource

“Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan

• This well-known Tan short story tells the story of the relationship between a young Chinese American chess prodigy and her mother.
• This resource relates to the theme of Human Growth and Development.
• How does MeiMei’s mother react as MeiMei improves at chess? What do you think her motivations might be? How does the pressure she places on MeiMei impact MeiMei? Which characters in Ungifted face pressure to succeed from their families and teachers? How does this pressure impact them? Do you think that there is a “right” amount of pressure that parents and teachers should place on young people to guide their growth, or is pressuring young people always a bad thing?

Chapters 12-15

Reading Check

1. Who comes to the dance wearing a sequined vest, tights, and red boots?

2. Where does Donovan find a new motor for Tin Man?

Short Answer

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

1. What do the Daniels think is hypocritical about Donovan criticizing them for making fun of the ASD students?

2. When Donovan realizes that someone in ASD is helping him take his retest, what does it make him think about his friendship with the Daniels?

Paired Resource

“Why We’re so Terrified of the Unknown”

• This BBC article explains the neurological basis of our responses to unpredictability and uncertainty.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Value of Unpredictability.
• What are the main points that this article makes about research into humans’ response to uncertainty and unpredictability? How does it explain the ways that people might differ in their response to the unknown? Do you see differing responses in the characters in Ungifted? Why do you think that Noah is so attracted to unpredictable things? Do you think there is an argument to be made for at least some unpredictability in life?

Chapters16-19

Reading Check

1. What movie does Ms. Bevelaqua bring up when she is talking about Donovan’s test score?

2. Where does Dr. Shultz finally see Donovan and realize who he is?

Short Answer

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

1. What are Donovan’s two main points in his argument with Ms. Bevelaqua about whether he cheated on his test?

2. How does Katie’s attitude toward the Human Growth and Development class change?

Chapters 20-27

Reading Check

1. What place does the robotics team recreate in the school gym?

2. Who destroys Pot-zilla with a chair?

Short Answer

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

1. What reasons does Abigail give Ms. Bevelaqua for why she would not have helped Donovan cheat?

2. When Ms. Bevelaqua interviews Noah about the cheating, what does the reader understand about his attitude that Ms. Bevelaqua does not?

Paired Resource

False Documents

• This entry from the Arts & Popular Culture Encyclopedia explains the use of false documents in narratives.
• Where does Ungifted use false documents? What is “verisimilitude”? What is “comic effect”? Which do you think Ungifted uses false documents to achieve?

Chapters 28-31

Reading Check

1. Which ASD student helped Donovan cheat on the test?

2. What does Katie name her baby?

Short Answer

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

1. Why does Noah say that the birth of Katie’s child is the greatest moment of his life?

2. What does Donovan suggest as a replacement for the Atlas statue?

Recommended Next Reads 

The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

• In this middle-grade novel, Korman tells the story of Zachary Kermit, a burned-out teacher assigned to a low-performing class, and Kiana Roubini, the student who inspires his class and unexpectedly reinvigorates his love for teaching.
• Shared themes include Human Growth and Development.    
• Shared topics include middle school, difference, and diversity, the power of one person to make a change, and multiple narrative perspectives.
• The Unteachables on SuperSummary

Schooled by Gordon Korman

• In Schooled—a work of middle-grade fiction—circumstances force 13-year-old Capricorn Anderson out of the isolation of his grandmother’s farm. As he goes to public school for the first time and learns how to navigate in society, Capricorn provides a positive role model for others who initially try to bully and harass him.
• Shared themes include Human Growth and Development.
• Shared topics include middle school, difference, and diversity, learning to fit in, the power of one person to make a change, family relationships, and multiple narrative perspectives.
• Schooled on SuperSummary