Summer Reading Assignment
A Separate Peace
By John Knowles
Your summer reading assignment includes two separate assignments and a test.
Assignment #1: Study Guide Questions
Assignment #2: Three Journal Entries
Test: Taken within the first three weeks of school
Summer Reading Tips
● Put
the assignment in a safe place.
● Don’t start too early & don’t begin too late.
● Carry the book with you everywhere you go. If there is free time at some point,
pick up your book & read.
● Write down additional notes as you read. Therefore, when you pick the book up to
read again, you know where you left off in the story. Use this note sheet as your
bookmark.
● If you’re having trouble with the reading or have specific questions about the
assignment, contact one of the teachers to help you.
● Be sure to do your own work.
● Read the directions carefully, and feel free to contact us if you have further
questions.
English 1 Team
Mr. Staats – [email protected]
Ms. Ramos – [email protected]
Mrs. Hughes – [email protected]
Ms. Murphy – [email protected]
Assignment #1: Study Guide Questions
Directions: Answer all of the 26 questions in complete sentences. Write your answers on a separate
sheet of paper.
Ch. 1
1. How long ago did the narrator attend the Devon School?
2. Who jumps from the tree?
Ch. 2
3. What does Finny use for a belt?
4. How does Finny save the narrator’s life at the end of the chapter?
Ch. 3
5. How often does the Super Suicide Society meet?
6. What is the narrator’s first name?
Ch. 4
7. What causes the narrator to fail his trigonometry test?
8. What causes Finny to fall from the tree?
Ch. 5
9. What was Finny’s injury after falling from the tree?
10. According to Dr. Stanpole, what is finished for Finny?
Ch. 6
11. What job does Gene apply for?
12. Who calls Gene on the telephone at the end of the chapter?
Ch. 7
13. What are the two things the students do to help the war effort?
14. Whom does the narrator find in his room when he returns?
Ch. 8
15. Why are there no maids at Devon when Finny returns?
16. Where do the narrator and Finny go when they cut class?
Ch. 9
17. What causes Leper to enlist?
18. What is the name of the celebration Finny organized?
Ch. 10
19. Where is the narrator going when he leaves Devon?
20. Why does Gene tip Leper’s chair over?
Ch. 11
21. When Gene returns from Vermont, what does he find Finny doing?
22. What happens to Finny when he runs out of the room?
Ch. 12
23. What does Finny accuse the narrator of when he comes to the window?
24. How does Finny die?
Ch. 13
25. What are the soldiers carrying in their Jeeps as they arrive on the Devon campus?
26. Who does Brinker say is the cause of the war?
Assignment #2: Three Journal Entries
Directions:
1. Write a one-paragraph response to ONE question from each set of chapters
(3 in total). This paragraph should be at LEAST 5-7 sentences in length.
2. Your paragraph should follow this format:
A. Begin with a topic sentence. This ONE sentence should give a brief answer
to the question.
B. Next, develop at LEAST three explanatory sentences. These sentences
should support your topic sentence with examples and further explanation.
C. Finally, have ONE concluding sentence that effectively closes your
paragraph.
3. As this is your first writing assignment, we expect that you will work to clearly
respond to the question. These paragraphs may require some further revising or
editing when you return to school in August.
Ch. 1-5: Answer ONE of the following questions using the paragraph format
above.
1. Evaluate Finny’s response to his injury and Gene’s revelation. Is the response
believable? Is it consistent with Finny’s previous attitudes and behavior? Support
your opinions with evidence from the novel.
OR
2. List some pros and cons of competition. Considering your list, do you think
competition is healthy or unhealthy?
Ch. 6-10: Answer ONE of the following questions using the paragraph format
above.
3. In this section, what details does the author use to show the ways in which war is
changing the atmosphere at Devon?
OR
4. In his notes to Gene, Leper pleads, “I have escaped and need help...” Why is
Gene, who is on the brink of adulthood, unable and unwilling to feel sorry for leper?
What might Gene not wish to hear? In a paragraph, evaluate Gene’s response to
Leper’s breakdown, and explain what the response suggests about Gene. Be sure
to support your opinions with examples from the text.
Ch. 11-13: Answer ONE of the following questions using the paragraph format
above.
5. How did you feel about what happened to Finny? Describe the emotions you
experienced as you read.
OR
6. What does Gene mean when he says, “Phineas, you wouldn’t be any good in the
war, even if nothing had happened to your leg?” What qualities make Finny a poor
candidate for military service?