50 pages • 1-hour read
On My Honor
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Reading Questions & Paired Texts
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. What deal does Joel make with Tony?
2. What does Tony want to borrow from Joel for their adventure?
3. Which type of animal does Tony suggest lives in the Vermillion River?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What question does Joel ask his father? What outcome does he hope for, and what is the actual outcome?
2. Why does Tony suddenly stop riding his bike? Describe what Tony suggests to Joel and how Joel responds.
3. Summarize the argument that Joel and Tony have about their fathers. Where does this argument take place? What is the result of their disagreement?
Paired Resource
“All About Writing On My Honor”
- The author reflects on the reception of her novel in this brief post.
- This reflection connects with the themes The Complexity of Friendship, Honor and Deception, and Questions on Life and Death.
- According to this piece, how was Bauer’s novel received by the general public? In particular, how did it impact readers’ lives?
CHAPTERS 4-6
Reading Check
1. What does Joel realize about Tony as they swim toward the sandbar?
2. What object does Joel mistake for Tony?
3. What does Joel realize when he sees Tony’s clothes on the ground?
4. According to the teen boy who helps Joel look for Tony, how many minutes does it take for a person to drown?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Describe what happens when Joel reaches the sandbar. What does he see behind him, and what does he decide to do?
2. Describe Joel’s state of mind as he searches for Tony. What emotions does he feel, and what is his thought process?
3. How does Joel try to find help for Tony? Summarize the outcome of his efforts.
4. What does the older boy recommend that Joel do? How does Joel respond to this suggestion?
Paired Resources
- The Centers for Disease Control offers recommendations to prevent drowning.
- What are some of the circumstances that both Tony and Joel should have considered before swimming in the river?
“From ‘the Brick’ to the iPhone, the Cellphone Celebrates 50 Years”
- For a history connection, this Smithsonian article explores the rise of cellphone technology.
- On My Honor was written prior to the use of cellphones. Imagine that this story was set in the present day; how could access to modern technology have changed the outcome of the situation? How does the availability of technology including cellphones impact modern authors’ storytelling?
CHAPTERS 7-9
Reading Check
1. What had Joel’s mother “always told him”? (Chapter 7)
2. How did Starved Rock originally get its name?
3. What does Joel think his shirt smells like?
4. What does Joel decide that he will teach Bobby?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Where does Joel initially start riding his bike? Why does he change his mind, and where does he go?
2. What does Joel do when he arrives home? What questions is he asked, and how does he respond?
3. With what activity does Bobby help Joel? How does Joel respond to receiving Bobby’s help? What occupies Joel’s thoughts?
4. What type of projects did Joel and Tony do together? How does Joel recollect their time working on these projects together?
Paired Resource
- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources offers information regarding the state park.
- How is this state park described in the novel? How does the novel’s description compare to this real-world resource? What is the history of the park?
CHAPTERS 10-12
Reading Check
1. What does Mrs. Zabrinsky reveal that Tony was afraid of?
2. What word does Joel’s father use to describe his son?
3. What does Joel’s father say that he “can’t live his life by”? (Chapter 12)
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does Joel’s mother visit Joel before sleep? How does Joel respond to her presence?
2. What information does Joel share with the police officers?
3. When Joel finally reveals the truth, how does he initially expect his father to respond? In actuality, how does his father respond?
4. What question does Joel ask his father after he cries? How does his father respond?
Recommended Next Reads
Sunshine by Marion Dane Bauer
- Bauer’s 2021 novel features protagonist Ben, who has the chance to spend a week with his mother in her remote home in Northern Minnesota. Ben hopes to prove to his mother, who left the family when Ben was three, that she should come home—even if it means hiding his true feelings.
- A shared theme is Honor and Deception.
- Shared elements include coming-of-age themes, male protagonists, nature and the outdoors, and family connections.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
- Paterson’s 1977 Newbery Medal-winning novel set in rural Virginia focuses on the friendship between Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke and the imaginary world they create together.
- Shared themes include The Complexity of Friendship and Questions on Life and Death.
- Shared elements include Newbery Medal-winning novels, coping with death and guilt, and notable American female authors.
- Bridge to Terabithia on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
CHAPTERS 1-3
Reading Check
1. If Joel rides out to Starved Rock State Park with Tony today, Tony will go swimming with him tomorrow. (Chapter 1)
2. Joel’s bike (Chapter 2)
3. Alligators (Chapter 2)
Short Answer
1. Anticipating that his father will say no, Joel asks his dad in front of Tony if they can ride out to the state park. To Joel’s surprise, his father eventually agrees, making him agree “on [his] honor” that he will look out for cars and only go to the park. (Chapter 1)
2. While riding through the hills, Joel sees Tony has stopped riding and is staring down into the Vermillion River. When Joel asks him about what he is doing, Tony suggests they forget their plan to climb Starved Rock and instead swim in the dangerous river. Joel reminds Tony of the danger the river presents and mentions that someone drowned while swimming in it. (Chapter 2)
3. After Tony mocks Joel for sounding too much like his father, Joel becomes angry and shoves Tony, countering with the fact that Tony’s father uses a belt to discipline Tony. Tony becomes embarrassed, and they argue; Joel dares Tony to swim to a sandbar, and Tony accepts. (Chapter 3)
CHAPTERS 4-6
Reading Check
1. Joel realizes that Tony is a poor swimmer. (Chapter 4)
2. A log (Chapter 5)
3. Joel realizes that Tony must have been pulled under by the current, thinking that if Tony had left the water, he would have gotten dressed. (Chapter 5)
4. Approximately five minutes (Chapter 6)
Short Answer
1. When Joel reaches the sandbar, he turns around, expecting to see Tony; however, there is no one there. He thinks briefly that Tony is playing a practical joke but quickly realizes that Tony’s inability to swim allowed the current to pull him under. (Chapter 4)
2. Joel is in a panic as he searches for Tony. He is angry with the world and decides that if this is a trick that Tony is playing, he “[will] beat him into a bloody pulp.” (Chapter 5)
3. When he realizes that he is unable to find Tony himself, Joel leaves the riverbed to find help. He flags down a car, and the young couple in it go to the riverbed with him. The older boy enters the water to search for Tony but does not find him. (Chapter 6)
4. After an unsuccessful search, the older boy tells Joel that he needs to go to the police station to report a drowning. Joel is hesitant and tells the boy and girl he will report what happened on his own. (Chapter 6)
CHAPTERS 7-9
Reading Check
1. That Joel was not any good at keeping secrets when he felt guilty (Chapter 7)
2. At one time, a group of Indigenous people were trapped by enemies and left to starve. (Chapter 7)
3. Dead and rotting fish (Chapter 8)
4. How to swim (Chapter 9)
Short Answer
1. On the boy’s suggestion, Joel initially begins to ride to the police station; however, after thinking about what awaits him in town, he instead chooses to ride to his first destination: Starved Rock State Park. (Chapter 7)
2. Joel immediately lays on his bed when he arrives home, ignoring his chores as well as the rule to stay at Tony’s parents’ house while his parents are not home. When Joel’s father comes home, he asks his son where Tony is and why Joel returned home without him; Joel’s mother asks him the same questions when she comes home. In these moments, Joel decides not to tell the truth. (Chapter 8)
3. Joel allows Bobby to help him on his paper route. Outwardly, he is particularly gruff and annoyed; inside, he is filled with grief, anxiety, and guilt over Tony’s death. He also thinks about what Tony would say if he was with him on the paper route. (Chapter 9)
4. While on the paper route, Joel thinks about the types of projects he would have with Tony, including building a treehouse, “buying a worm farm,” and “selling decorative pennies.” He remembers these projects fondly. (Chapter 9)
CHAPTERS 10-12
Reading Check
1. Swimming (Chapter 10)
2. “Honorable” (Chapter 11)
3. “[M]aybes” (Chapter 12)
Short Answer
1. Joel’s mother inquires if there was any other piece of information that Joel did not tell them before. Although Joel is tempted to tell his mother the full story, he does not say anything, and she leaves. (Chapter 10)
2. When policemen arrive at the Zabrinsky house, Joel accompanies his father to meet them and tell the police officers what he last saw of Tony. Joel tries to hide the full truth, but when his father claims he is “an honorable boy,” Joel reveals the actual events to the officers, the Zabrinskys, and his parents before running back inside. (Chapter 11)
3. After revealing the truth of Tony’s disappearance to the police officers, Joel assumes that his father will punish him. When his father comes up to Joel’s room, however, he surprises his son by apologizing for “misjudging the situation.” His father sees that Joel is punishing himself for his role in the tragedy and that no additional punishment is warranted. (Chapter 12)
4. Following his first emotional release, Joel asks his father if there is a heaven, to which Joel’s father says, “If there is a heaven, I am sure Tony’s gone there.” (Chapter 12)
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