We Were Here

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

Pages 5-32

Reading Check

1. Why does Miguel keep a journal?

2. What is Diego’s talent?

Short Answer

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

1.     Describe Miguel’s relationship with his mother.

2.     What is Miguel’s attitude toward the group home?

Pages 33-53

Reading Check

1. What does Miguel tell the residents his crime was, and what name does this earn him?

2. According to Miguel, how are Mong and Miguel similar?

3. Who is Miguel’s new roommate?

Short Answer

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

1. What does Miguel decide to do after his initial phone call home to his mother, and why?

2. What is Miguel’s response to Jaden’s questions? Why does he respond this way?

Pages 54-64

Reading Check

1. How does Miguel respond when Mong asks Miguel why he reads?

2. What offer does Mong make Miguel after waking him from sleep?

Short Answer

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

1. How is Rondell characterized by Miguel?

2. Why is Mong’s offer tempting to Miguel?

Paired Resources

(Content warning: Paired Resources for this Teaching Unit address works of literature that contain mature content.)

“The Color Purple”

• This encyclopedia article provides a brief plot summary of Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple. (Content warning: The article mentions sexual assault and abuse.)
• What is The Color Purple about? What are some possible scenarios The Color Purple shares with We Were Here? How is The Color Purple related to the novel’s theme of Coming of Age?

“Their Eyes Were Watching God—So You Haven’t Read Zora Neale Hurston”

• This 9-minute video provides a plot summary of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. (Content warning: The summary mentions sexual assault and physical and other forms of violence.)
• What is Their Eyes Were Watching God about? How does Miguel relate to the main character? How does the book Their Eyes Were Watching God relate to the novel’s themes of the Acceptance of Mortality and Coming of Age?

Pages 65-97

Reading Check

1. How does Miguel acquire the counselor’s keys?

2. What problem arises in Mong’s escape plan?

3. Why does Rondell choke Miguel?

Short Answer

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

1. Compare Mei-li’s perspective on life with Miguel’s.

2. What realization does Miguel have after hearing Mei-li’s story of the Vietnamese singer?

Paired Resource

“Modern Classics Summarized: Of Mice and Men”

• This 6-minute video describes the plot of John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. (Content warning: Adult themes and topics are addressed.)
• How would you describe the plot of Of Mice and Men? What parallels can be drawn between Miguel’s situation and the plot of the novel? How is Of Mice and Men connected to the novel’s theme of Ambivalence Toward Relationships and The Acceptance of Mortality?

Pages 98-154

Reading Check

1. What are the indications of Mong’s health problems as the boys journey together?

2. What event does Miguel inadvertently participate in at a gas station?

3. What does Miguel reveal about Diego’s personality?

Short Answer

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

1. What about Rondell’s personality is endearing to Mong and Miguel?

2. What does Miguel discover in Mong’s and Rondell’s files?

Pages 155-194

Reading Check

1. What is Rondell surprisingly good at?

2. What reason does Mong give for spitting on Miguel when he first arrived at the group home?

Short Answer

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

1. What is revealed about Mong’s family, his health, and the story his cousin told? How does it relate to the novel’s theme of The Acceptance of Mortality?

2. What does Mong’s tooth mean, and what is the significance of Miguel’s finding it hanging around his own neck?

Pages 195-247

Reading Check

1. Whom does Miguel call before getting on the bus to go to Mexico?

2. Why do Miguel and Rondell part ways?

Short Answer

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

1. Describe the frequent changes in Miguel’s attitude following the death of Mong.

2. What realization does Miguel have about Mong’s and Rondell’s delusions, and what conclusion does he draw from it?

Pages 248-284

Reading Check

1. What happens to Miguel and Rondell’s cash?

2. What does Rondell do at the fraternity party?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Rondell feel about Miguel? What connection does Miguel make between Rondell and Diego?

2. What comparisons does Miguel make between himself and Jaden?

Paired Resource

“The Catcher in the Rye”

• This encyclopedia article summarizes the plot of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. (Content warning: Brief mentions of prostitution and sexual content are included in the article.)
• How does Miguel relate to the novel The Catcher in the Rye? How is The Catcher in the Rye connected to the novel’s theme of Ambivalence Toward Relationships?

Pages 285-320

Reading Check

1. What is Rondell’s reaction when Miguel tells him the girls stole their money?

2. How does Miguel get enough money for the boys to eat at McDonald’s?

Short Answer

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

1. What technique allows Rondell to acquire more funds than Miguel?

2. What symptoms do Miguel and Rondell experience when they become hungry?

Paired Resource

“The Stranger by Albert Camus—Animated Book Summary”

• This 8-minute video describes the plot of Albert Camus’s book The Stranger. (Content warning: Adult themes and topics are included in the summary)
• How does the plot of The Stranger connect to the novel’s themes of Ambivalence Toward Relationships and The Acceptance of Mortality? What connection does Miguel make to the book’s plot?

Pages 321-356

Reading Check

1. What do Miguel and Rondell do after staying near the beach house where Mong died?

2. What is revealed about what happened to Diego?

Short Answer

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

1. How do Miguel’s grandparents initially react to his arrival, and how does their interaction change?

2. Explain how Miguel’s reaction to the group home has changed since the beginning of the novel.

Recommended Next Reads

House Arrest by K.A. Holt

• This novel is about a boy who commits a crime to help his brother.
• Shared topics include juvenile delinquency, journaling for therapy, and sibling relationships.
• Shared themes include Coming of Age.
• House Arrest on SuperSummary

Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy

• This novel is about a girl who commits a violent crime at a very young age.
• Shared topics include rehabilitation facilities, forgiveness, and guilt.
• Shared themes include Coming of Age.
• Looking for JJ on SuperSummary