Milkweed

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

Chapters 1-9

Reading Check

1. What is the first thing Stopthief remembers?

2. According to the “unlaugher,” what is a Jew?

3. What advice does Uri give Stopthief?

4. Why is Stopthief “fascinated” when the Jackboots give bread to the people?

5. Who does Uri give part of the stolen bread to?

Short Answer

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

1. Why does Uri say that Stopthief is lucky?

2. Describe how the passengers react to Uri and Stopthief on the streetcar. What does Uri do in the end?

3. Summarize the two events that Stopthief witnesses after the Jackboots arrive in his town. What is Stopthief’s reaction?

4. Why does Uri invent a story about Stopthief’s past? How does Stopthief respond?

5. Who does Misha meet in Chapter 8? How do they become friends?

Paired Resource

“Janusz Korczak”

• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shares information about Doctor Korczak’s work with orphaned and displaced children.
• This resource connects with the theme The Physical, Emotional, and Moral Costs of Survival.
• How did Doctor Korczak provide children with a support network during WWII?

“World War II Erupts: Color Photos From the Invasion of Poland, 1939”

• Life magazine provides a compilation of primary source photos covering life during the invasion of Poland.
• Compare and contrast Misha’s description of the invasion of Warsaw with the images in this resource.

Chapters 10-18

Reading Check

1. What part of Misha’s body is shot off by the Jackboots?

2. What name does Uri give coal?

3. What lesson about Jews does Misha learn “many times”?

4. How does Uri describe a ghetto?

5. What unusual sight does Misha start to see in the street?

Short Answer

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

1. Describe the relationship Misha begins with Janina: What items do the two of them leave for each other? What information does Misha learn about Janina throughout this section of chapters?

2. Compare and contrast how Misha’s access to food changes before and after the Jackboots arrive. As time progresses, where does Misha steal food from?

3. Why does Misha visit Doctor Korczak? What things do they exchange?

4. What amusement ride fascinates Misha? What event does Misha witness with the Jackboots and the ride?

5. Which group of people do Misha and Uri see marching? Who does Misha interact with?

Paired Resource

“Daily Life in the Warsaw Ghetto”

• The Imperial War Museums shares information as well as photographs of life in the Warsaw ghetto.
• This resource connects with the theme of The Physical, Emotional, and Moral Costs of Survival.
• Compare and contrast Misha’s description of life in the ghetto with this resource.

Chapters 19-27

Reading Check

1. What does Enos call the boys’ sleeping formation?

2. Who are “flops”?

3. What does Misha believe is the one true part of Uri’s story?

4. Which animal do people start believing they can hear in the ghetto?

5. Which moment does Misha always look forward to?

Short Answer

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

1. What is the importance of Gesia Street? Describe some of the items sold there.

2. What are Misha, Janina, her family, and the population of the ghetto forced to do for a whole night? Describe how Misha responds to this challenge, as well as what Janina’s father tells Misha the following morning.

3. Which prominent Jackboot visits the ghetto? How do the residents respond?

4. Describe Misha and Janina’s adventure together. What is the purpose of their excursion?

Paired Resource

“Jewish Police”

• Holocaust.com.au provides information about Jews who helped to enforce Nazi laws in the ghettos. (This relates to Full Essay #3.)
• This resource connects with the theme of The Evolving and Ever-Changing Nature of Identity.
• Based on the novel as well as the above resource, what were some of the motivations for Jews to join the Nazi law enforcement?

Chapters 28-36

Reading Check

1. According to Misha, what do the crows and flies eat?

2. Why does Misha stop making fun of Buffo?

3. What does the sign around Olek’s corpse say?

4. Why does Misha want to stop growing?

Short Answer

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

1. Describe Mrs. Milgrom’s funeral. What happens during the burial?

2. What does Misha notice about Janina during their Hanukkah celebration? What action does Misha take to improve the situation?

3. Where does Misha see Uri working? What message does Uri share with Misha?

Paired Resource

“‘The Invisibles’ Reveals How Some Jews Survived Nazi Germany By Hiding In Plain Sight”

• NPR’s 2019 article highlights Jews who chose to live in Nazi Germany.
• This resource connects with the theme of The Evolving and Ever-Changing Nature of Identity.
• Based on the novel as well as the above resource, how did Jews “pass” as non-Jews?

Chapters 37-45

Reading Check

1. Where does Janina think the train is going?

2. How does Uncle Shepsel try to help his Jewish peers?

3. Who prevents Misha from getting on the train?

Short Answer

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

1. What news does the old man bring the residents of the ghetto? How does his audience respond?

2. What does Mr. Milgrom urge Misha to do for Janina? Does Misha follow directions?

3. Summarize the type of work Misha does at the end of the war and after the war. What does he use this money for?

Recommended Next Reads

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli

• Spinelli’s 2008 novel centers on the unlikely friendship between two children living in unstable family environments.
• Shared themes include Hope as Both a Negative and Positive Force.
• Shared topics include childhood friendships and family instability.

Once by Morris Gleitzman

• Gleitzman’s 2005 novel follows a young Jewish boy through Poland as he searches for his missing parents.
• Shared themes include The Evolving and Ever-Changing Nature of Identity; The Physical, Emotional, and Moral Costs of Survival; and Hope as Both a Negative and Positive Force.
• Shared topics include childhood naivete and innocence of the surrounding world, first-person perspective, wartime scarcity in Poland, childhood, and references to Doctor Korczak.
• Content Warning: Antisemitism; wartime violence and death
• Once on SuperSummary