Lead: Ms. Shanea Williams
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Administrator: Mr. Andrew Motaung
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English Summer Reading
Assignment
Standards: CCSS RL9-10.1 RL9-10.2 RL9-10.5 W9-10.2 RL11-12.1 RL11-12.2 RL11-12.5 W11-12.1A
Task: Each Carver student (grades 9-12) should purchase a copy of, The Other Wes Moore by Wes
Moore. Read, annotate, answer the guided questions, and then choose and respond to one of the
essay questions listed for your grade level. Have an awesome summer and be prepared to discuss the
text when you return to school.
Hint: When reading, if the narrator is using first person, I, to tell the story, he is talking about his
own life. If the narrator is using third person, “Wes” and “he,” that refers to the other Wes
Moore.
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences while reading the text.
Part I
1. Explain the circumstances under which the two Wes Moore’s meet.
2. What faith has the other Wes converted to?
3. Explain the significance of the quote, “Your father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be,
my father wasn’t there because he chose not to be” (3). Predict what impact this
difference will have on each of the characters.
4. Explain the quote, “I was taught to remember, but never question. Wes was taught to
forget, and never ask why” (4).
Chapter 1/Year 1982 (Author)
5. Where did Wes’s mother live before coming to the United States?
6. What was the deeper reason why Joy, Wes’s mother, was upset that Wes hit Nikki when
he was three years old? How will this shape his future?
7. Explain what happens to Wes’s father at the end of chapter 1.
(Other Wes)
8. Explain why Mary, the other Wes’s mother, has to quit college and how this affects her.
9. Who watches Wes most of the time when he is little?
10. Describe Tony.
11. Who does Wes meet at the end of chapter 1 and how does he react?
Chapter 2/Year 1984 (Other Wes)
12. Explain how Wes feels about Tony.
13. Describe where Tony lives.
14. Explain the term “ice grille” and its application in the story (28).
15. Explain what happens to Wes during the football game.
16. Describe what Wes does after running home from the football game and why it is
significant.
17. Explain the significance of the quote, “Rule number one: If someone disrespects you,
you send a message so fierce that they won’t have the chance to do it again” (32). Predict
how this will impact Wes as he gets older.
18. When did Wes’s mother find out about Wes being arrested?
(Author)
19. Explain where Wes’s mother moves the family and why.
20. What was one of the first things that Wes saw as they entered the Bronx?
21. Who helped James Thomas when he first arrived in the United States from Jamaica?
What did that man become?
22. Explain why Wes calls the basketball court in the Bronx the “neutral ground.”
Chapter 3/Year1987 (Author)
23. Explain where Wes goes to school and why.
24. What famous person attended the school?
25. Explain why Wes was suspended. What was the story Wes told his friends about his
suspension?
(Other Wes)
26. Describe what is happening in Tony’s life.
27. What two things prompted Mary to move to Baltimore County?
28. Why is Wes jealous of Tony?
29. Describe Wes’s new job and predict what impact it will have on his family.
30. What does Wes find in his mother’s closet?
31. Describe what Wes did to make himself feel sick.
32. Explain what Wes learned on pages 61/62.
Part II (Conversation between the two Wes Moores)
33. What does Wes say made him feel like a man?
34. On page 67, explain what Wes means when he says, “I guess it’s hard sometimes to
distinguish between second chances and last chances.”
Chapter 4/Year 1990 (Other Wes)
35. Explain why Tony is questioning Wes on page 70.
36. What hurt Wes more than the beating that his brother gave him?
37. Describe what Mary found when she searched Wes’s room and what she did with it.
38. Explain what happened when Wes got home.
(Author)
39. Explain why Wes is failing school.
40. What agreement does Wes have with Mrs. Downs.
41. What does Shani do for Wes in regards to school?
42. Explain what happened between Shani and Lateshia. Explain what happened after and
why.
43. Describe why Shea and Wes are picked up by the police and what effect it had on Wes.
Chapter 5/Year 1991 (Author)
44. Explain where Wes is and what conflict he is experiencing.
45. Why did Wes’s mom slap him?
46. Explain why Wes blames his roommate for his current situation.
47. Describe what Sergeant Austin gives to Wes and what happened because of this “gift.”
48. Who does Wes call and why?
49. Explain what sacrifice Wes’s mother and family made for him and why.
50. “With no intervention – or the wrong intervention – they can be lost forever” (95).
Explain how his quote refers to Wes.
51. Describe Ty Hill.
52. What does Wes learn about respect by watching Ty Hill.
(Other Wes)
53. Explain what “trouble” Wes has.
54. Explain what Tony finds so amusing at his brother’s first birthday party.
55. Who does Wes see at his aunt’s house and how does he react?
56. Explain what happened between Wes and Ray. Explain how the incident ends.
Chapter 6/Year 1994 (Other Wes)
57. What percentage of kids graduated from high school in Baltimore City in 1994?
58. Explain what happened to Wes and all of his friends.
59. Explain what happens to Wes after getting out of the Baltimore County Detention Center.
(Author)
60. Describe how Wes has changed since attending Valley Forge. Explain what is
responsible for the change.
61. Why does Wes’s uncle give him a lecture?
62. Explain why Wes thinks, “This uniform had become a force field that kept the craziness
of the world outside from getting too close to me, but I wondered if it was just an
illusion” (188).
63. Explain what happens when Wes and Dalio walk to town for stromboli.
64. Explain what Wes does after being told, “Go home, nigger!” (120-121). Explain how he
handled this incident and what it reveals about his character?
65. Explain the irony and significance of the last paragraph on page 122.
Part II (Conversation between the Wes Moores)
66. After 3 years of visiting the other Wes Moore in prison, what is the author annoyed about
him saying? What does the author want Wes to do?
67. Why is the other Wes in prison?
Chapter 7/Year 1997 (Author)
68. What dream does Wes realize isn’t going to happen for him and what causes him to
come to this realization?
69. Explain what changed Wes into a lover of reading.
70. Explain the quote, “. . .the written word isn’t necessarily a chore but can be a window
into new worlds” (131).
71. Whose autobiography made an impact on Wes and why?
72. Explain the quote, “The Army, therefore, made it easier for me to love my country, with
all its flaws, and to serve her with all my heart” (131).
73. “Aside from family and friends, what did all the men Wes trust have in common?
74. Explain who said the following and why: “When it is time for you to leave this school,
leave your job, or even leave this earth, you make sure you have worked hard to make
sure it mattered you were here” (133).
75. What role was Wes selected for at Valley Forge and why was it an important position?
(Other Wes)
76. Explain who Cheryl is and what happened to Wes and Cheryl.
77. Explain how Wes’s thoughts contradicted his actions.
78. Explain the advice that Levy gives Wes and what happened after that.
79. What was Wes proud to earn?
80. What career area does Wes select for his training?
81. Explain what bad decision Wes made one year after completing his training and why he
made the decision.
Chapter 8/Year 2000 (Other Wes)
82. Explain what happened at J. Browns Jewelers.
83. What did Mary Moore see on TV that shocked her?
(Author)
84. Who does Wes go to see and why?
85. What college does Wes attend after leaving Valley Forge?
86. Explain why Wes says that many kids don’t have the “luck” like his on page 160.
87. Where does Wes study abroad and what history does he learn?
Essay: Locate your grade level and then respond to one of the essay prompts. Be sure to include
evidence from the text.
Grades 9 and 10 Essay Choices – Persuasive and Descriptive Writing
1. A Persuasive essay encourages others to think or act in a certain way. On pages 112–113,
someone approaches Wes and asks, “Do you guys know where I can buy some rocks?” As an
instinct, Wes suspects he’s a cop and says “no.” But he decides to re-approach the man and sells
him drugs. Pretend you are with Wes on this day and write an essay trying to persuade him not
to sell drugs. Your writing should include references to his personal values and the potential
negative outcomes of selling drugs.
2. A descriptive writing piece uses details to describe a person, place, or scenario for readers. We
learn that Valley Forge students live by a motto, “No excuses, no exceptions” and the honor
code, “A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those that do.” Wes writes that those
“were not simply words we had to memorize but words to live by.” Are these personal values
you live by? If so, who instilled them in you and name specific instances in which you did, or
didn’t, live by these values. Write an essay responding to these questions. You may use a
graphic organizer, outline, or note-taking strategy of your choice for your pre-writing.
Remember, this should be a descriptive writing piece, so be sure to use details to give your
readers a clearer idea of your values, the people who instilled them in you, and your previous
experiences.
Grades 11-12 – Informative and Argumentative Writing
1. An informative writing piece increases the understanding of the reader by providing knowledge,
explaining a process or developing a concept. In an essay discuss the relationship between
education and poverty. In your writing, consider the education levels of both Wes’ mothers,
how far each man got in his education, the opportunities they gained or lost as a result of their
education, and their reasons for continuing or discontinuing their studies. How does this affect
your outlook on studies? Be sure to include evidence from the text in your response.
2. An argumentative writing piece is meant to persuade someone to think the way you do. You do
so by stating a claim and then giving text based evidence to support that claim. After reading
the text and evaluating the lives of both Wes Moores respond to the following prompt. Which
do you believe has a greater impact on a person’s development: environment/nurture or
biology/nature? Find evidence from the text, and research studies online, to back up your ideas
and opinions.