Johnny Tremain

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. What is Mr. Lapham’s profession?

2. What object does Mr. Hancock ask Mr. Lapham to make?

3. What object establishes Johnny’s relation to the Lyte family?

Short Answer

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

1. How do Johnny’s actions at the start of the novel demonstrate his pride?

2. What prank does Dove play on Johnny, and what happens as a result?

3. Who is Rab, and how does he help Johnny?

Paired Resource

“Colonial Apprenticeship”

• This 4-minute video from the Webb Deane Stevens Museum explains what it was like to be an apprentice in colonial America.
• This resource relates to the theme of Surviving in a Changing World.
• What are some professions that an apprentice could learn? How did people become apprentices, and what did they receive in return for their labor? Why would life be difficult for Johnny after losing his apprenticeship?

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. Who warns Johnny that Mr. Lyte is corrupt?

2. What does Johnny do for his job at the printing office?

3. What is the name of the horse Johnny rides?

Short Answer

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

1. What crime does Mr. Lyte accuse Johnny of, and what sentence does he ask the judge to give Johnny?

2. How do Rab, Cilla, and Isannah help Johnny prove his innocence?

3. What role does Johnny play during the Boston Tea Party?

Paired Resource

“The Boston Tea Party”

• This article from the Massachusetts Historical Society presents an overview of the Boston Tea Party, summarizes the event’s causes and effects, and provides links to relevant primary sources.
• This resource relates to the theme of Surviving in a Changing World.
• Why did the Boston Tea Party occur? Why did some colonists support this act of protest, and why did others oppose it? Based on this information about the effects of the Boston Tea Party, how do you predict Johnny’s life will change after this event?

Chapters 6-9

Reading Check

1. What object is Rab desperate to obtain?

2. Johnny and Lieutenant Stranger bond over their mutual love of what?

3. What is the name of the British private Johnny helps desert from the army?

Short Answer

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

1. How does life in Boston change after the Boston Tea Party?

2. Why does Johnny befriend Dove?

3. Why do the Lytes leave Milton, and why does Cilla go back there with Johnny?

Paired Resource

“The Transformative Nature of Empathy”

• This 16-minute TEDx Talk from teacher and researcher Paul Parkin explains the importance of empathy.
• This resource relates to the theme of Learning Humility and Empathy.
• What does empathy mean? Why is it important, and how can people become more empathetic? In the novel, how does Johnny give and receive empathy?

Chapters 10-12

Reading Check

1. Who unwittingly gives Johnny vital information about the British army’s plans in Chapter 10?

2. What disguise does Johnny wear when he leaves Boston?

3. Rab is lethally injured in which battle?

4. What does Rab give Johnny before he dies?

Short Answer

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

1. What does Johnny dream about in Chapter 10, and what does his dream indicate about his emotions?

2. What information does Lavinia Lyte give Johnny before she leaves for London?

3. What does Dr. Warren offer to do for Johnny, and why does Johnny accept this offer?

Paired Resource

“The Concord Hymn”

• Ralph Waldo Emerson composed this poem in 1837 to honor those who gave their lives at the start of the Revolutionary War.
• This resource relates to the theme of Self-Sacrifice for the Greater Good.
• What does Emerson mean by “the shot heard round the world”? How does the poem’s depiction of the Battles of Lexington and Concord compare to Dr. Warren’s account of them? How does Emerson’s poem connect to the theme of Self-Sacrifice for the Greater Good?

Recommended Next Reads 

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

• In this National Book Award finalist and Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award-winning middle-grade novel, 13-year-old Isabel Finch struggles to escape from slavery at the start of the American Revolution.
• A shared theme is Surviving in a Changing World.
• Shared topics include warfare, freedom, courage, and history.
• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson on SuperSummary

Sophia’s War: A Tale of the Revolution by Avi

• In this suspenseful, middle-grade novel from Newbery Medalist Avi, 12-year-old Sophia Calderwood becomes a spy for the American cause and uncovers a treacherous plot.
• Shared themes include Surviving in a Changing World and Self-Sacrifice for the Greater Good.
• Shared topics include the Revolutionary War, espionage, adventure, and courage.