Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie - SMS Grade 8 English

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

Chapters 1-3 (Pages 1-36)

Vocabulary: asphyxiated unrelenting

ambitious

fiasco sophomore

Short Answer Questions:

1. When did Steven's life change forever?
2. Why did Miss Palma think Steven's journal should not be private?
3. What surprise did Mr. W. have for Steven at the end of the Opportunity Period?
4. Why does Steven feel his younger brother is a nightmare?
5. Where were Steven's Special Sticks?
6. What was so special about Steven's Special Sticks?
7. What class does Steven always choose during Opportunity Period?
8. Why was it such a big deal for Steven to be in the All City High School Band?
9. Why was Steven's first emotion relief when his mother told him Jeffrey had

leukemia?
10. Why was Steven nicknamed Peasant?

Long Answer Questions:

11. Steven's first thought when his mother told him Jeffrey had leukemia was
relief. Explain why Steven felt guilty after this.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

Chapters 4-5 (Pages 37-63)

Vocabulary: profusely derange

incubator

pediatrician varsity

Short Answer Questions:

1. Why did Jeffrey look so bad the morning after he fell off the bar stool?
2. Annette snickered all the way home from the rehearsal. Why?
3. How did Jeffrey get over how bad his bruises looked so quickly?
4. Why was Steven angry at his mother?
5. Why didn't any of Steven's friends notice anything was wrong?
6. What made Steven forget about Jeffrey for a while?
7. Everyone in the family felt guilty after Jeffrey was diagnosed with leukemia.

Why?
8. How did Jeffrey know there was something pretty seriously wrong with him?
9. How old was Steven when Jeffrey was born?

Long Answer Questions:

10.There is a saying No news is good news. Explain why this was not the case in
regards to Jeffrey's visit to the specialists in Philadelphia.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

Chapters 6-7 (Pages 64-97)

Vocabulary: sheepish chemotherapy

maniac

baffled aspiration

Short Answer Questions:

1. Why was Steven confused after seeing Annette in the practice room?

2. Why was Jeffrey's prognosis considered moderate?

3. Where was the awesome piano music coming from?

4. What was Steven's first clue something was really wrong when his mother's car

pulled into the driveway?

5. What are blasts?

6. Why was Steven's mother so angry when she got out of the car?

7. What bothered Steven and Jeffrey about the visitors that had starting coming

to the house?

Long Answer Questions:

8. Steven came up with a game to deal with all the visitors who were coming to
see Jeffrey. Describe the game and if it was effective.

9. Jeffrey's prognosis was considered moderate although after hearing what the
doctors had to say, Steven wasn't too sure what to think. Explain why the
prognosis seemed positive and not so positive at the same time.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

Chapters 8-9 (Pages 98-130)

Vocabulary:

coordinated pathetic edible

horrendous catheter

Short Answer Questions:

1. Why was Annette worried about Steven?

2. Who had told Miss Palma about Jeffrey's condition?

3. Why did Jeffrey have to stay in the hospital for a simple ear infection?

4. What was so strange about the breakfast Steven and his father ate together?

5. What did Steven get his teachers to agree to before leaving the meeting?

6. How had Steven underestimated Mrs. Galley?

7. Why did Steven's mother pick him up from the dance in her sweatpants?

8. How did the E.R. staff react when Steven's mother mentioned leukemia?

9. How did Steven's plan not to tell his teachers about Jeffrey's leukemia backfire

on him?

Long Answer Questions:

10.Steven got his teachers to agree not to tell his parents as long as he agreed to
make up the work. Explain why Steven didn't want his parents to discover he
had stopped working in school since Jeffrey's diagnosis.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

Chapters 10-13 (Pages 131-175)

Vocabulary:

binomials rhetorical essentially

attributes derange

Short Answer Questions:

1. How did Renee Albert volunteering to tutor Steven in math paint a target on his

forehead?

2. Who had been asking Annette about Steven's absence from school?

3. Describe the symptoms of Jeffrey's treatment.

4. What upset Steven the most about being shipped away to his grandparents'

house?

5. What did Steven do that made Renee so angry? Explain.

6. What happened when Steven yelled at his father?

7. Why didn't Steven respond to his mother's message to call her ASAP?

8. Why had Steven's father been crying at the kitchen table?

9. Why was it such a crisis for Steven to get the flu?

10.Why was Steven upset when he was finally allowed to return home?

Long Answer Questions:

11.Annette was proving over and over again she was truly Steven's best friend.
Explain why you think he still didn't treat her as one should treat a best friend.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

Chapters 14-17 (Pages 176-215)

Vocabulary: alleviate succession

banshee

rhombus mutilation

Short Answer Questions:

1. Why did Steven shave his hair off?

2. Why did Renee and Annette come up with the concert fundraising idea?

3. What bad news did Steven and the All-City Band get?

4. How did Mr. Stoll react to Steven telling him he couldn't take drum lessons any

longer?

5. How did Steven's parents react when he told them about the concert idea?

6. How did Steven make up with Renee?

7. Why did someone besides his mother need to take Jeffrey to the hospital?

8. What did Mrs. Galley tell Steven to do about his nightmares?

Long Answer Questions:

9. Explain why you think Steven’s parents would be upset about people wanting
to help them.

10.Jeffrey is usually pretty optimistic, but when the new boy in his class told him
he was bald, he burst into tears. Why would being told he was bald make him
cry when all the other horrible things that were happening to him didn't?

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

Chapters 18-19 (Pages 216-233)

Vocabulary: oncologist gouge

methotrexate drip

optimistic intermittently

Short Answer Questions:

1. Why was Steven and Samantha staying up all night and talking so strange?
2. What did Steven hear as they were leaving the hospital ward?
3. Why was Jeffrey so excited about going back to the hospital?
4. Who else was reading the book Mrs. Galley had bought Steven?
5. Where was Matt Medic?
6. What shocked Steven when they entered Jeffrey's hospital ward?
7. Why did Mrs. Galley buy a book for Steven?

Long Answer Questions:

8. Samantha was a really ill girl on Jeffrey's hospital ward who did not have the
supportive family Jeffrey had. Why do you believe she insisted Steven promise
to always stay with his brother?

9. Jeffrey was really upset when he realized Matt Medic had been left behind, but
they were running late, so they couldn't go back to the house to get him.
Describe Jeffrey's solution to not having Matt Medic with him at the hospital.

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie

Chapters 20-Epilogue (Pages 243-273)

Vocabulary:

calligraphy oblivious conga

evidently agonize

Short Answer Questions:

1. How did the All-City Band honor Jeffrey and his fight against cancer?

2. How much money did the benefit concert raise for Steven's family?

3. Why did Steven lose it when he went looking for Samantha?

4. What was the first clue that something was going to go wrong the night of the

concert?

5. Why had the doctors agreed to let Jeffrey go home even though he wasn't

doing well?

6. Why didn't Steven and his father have anything to speak about as his father

drove him to school the day of the concert?

Long Answer Questions:

7. Steven's father gave a speech to the kids who were holding the benefit concert
for his family. Summarize the speech he gave. Would you have said anything
differently?