Harris and Me: A Summer Remembered

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

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Why is the farmhouse always dark?

2. Who eats all the pancakes?

3. How does the protagonist react to smoking a cigarette?

4. Who kicks the protagonist in the head?

Short Answer

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

1. Why is the protagonist going to stay with the Larsons?

2. Who is Harris’s sworn enemy on the farm, and what happens when they encounter one another?

3. How does the family show teamwork while working on the farm? Give at least one specific example.

Paired Resource

“Explaining Alcoholism to a Child”

• This resource provides tips and approaches for discussing alcoholism with children. Since some children may have direct experiences with this disease, this resource will help ensure the topic is discussed in a sensitive way.
• Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing

“Fostering and Foster Care in the 1950s”

• This article describes how the foster system evolved in the mid-20th century. Much like the protagonist in the novel, many children in the 1950s who experienced neglect or abuse spent time with other relatives rather than moving into a foster home.
• In Harris and Me, the protagonist has never experienced what it is like to know Home, Family, and Acceptance. How might this contribute to the way the protagonist acts when he first arrives?

Chapters 4-6 

Reading Check

1. What animal do the boys attempt to ride?

2. Where does Harris say he gets the idea to use racial slurs?

3. Who is Buzzer?

4. What comic-book character inspires Harris to try something risky?

Short Answer

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

1. When does it become clear that Harris and the protagonist are bonded friends?

2. What special farming task takes place, and why is Harris so excited about it?

3. What does Louie use the mice for? How does the protagonist feel about it?

Paired Resource

“Tarzan Comics”

• This website showcases a historical look at Tarzan comics as they were in the 1930s, ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s.
• What do you notice about comic-book art from this time period? How does it compare to comic-book art of today?

Chapters 7-9 

Reading Check

1. What do Harris and the protagonist drink when they go to town?

2. Who is the star of the film the boys watch?

3. What happens when Harris attempts to ride Bill?

4. Who takes over Harris’s workload?

Short Answer

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

1. What happens to Harris during the cow-dipping process?

2. What is ironic about the “city” that the Larsons visit?

3. What inspires Harris to ride Bill? What does this tell the reader about Harris?

Paired Resource

“Colorado Sunset 1939”

• Clip from a film starring Gene Autry
• How does the viewing of Western films shape Harris’s views of manhood and the idea of Growing Up?

“Dipping Livestock to Control [for Pests]”

• This website describes the process of cattle dipping, why it is done, what is used for the dip, and the pros and cons of the process.
• How does the protagonist demonstrate The Importance of Friendship after Harris is hurt during the cattle-dipping procedure?

Chapters 10-12

Reading Check

1. Which character does the protagonist discover he likes?

2. What does Harris use to create a motorbike?

3. Which game are the boys playing when the protagonist learns it is time to leave?

4. Why does Louie take the pictures from the boys?

Short Answer

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

1. What does Harris do to the protagonist at Lumberjack Lownje, and how does the protagonist take revenge?

2. How does the protagonist feel when he leaves the farm, and why does he feel this way?

3. How does Knute show that he is sad about the protagonist leaving, and what does this say about Knute’s character?

Recommended Next Reads 

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

• This middle-grade novel features a story of a boy whose troubled home life leads him to bad behavior and trouble with the justice system. He is sent to a remote island in Alaska to fend for himself and learn not only about survival but also about The Importance of Friendship.
• Touching Spirit Bear on SuperSummary; includes Teaching Unit

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

• This middle-grade novel by same author Gary Paulsen is a story of surviving the wilderness. Paulsen’s novels often feature a wild or rural setting and feature children Growing Up as they gain independence and confidence through their experiences in the outdoors.
• Hatchet on SuperSummary; includes Teaching Materials