88 pages • 2 hours read
All the Broken Pieces
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During Reading
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.
PAGES 1-42
Reading Check
1. Who is Phang My?
2. How does Matt’s adoptive mother soothe him when he has nightmares?
3. What do Matt and his adoptive father do together at the park?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How did Matt come to America from Vietnam? Who in his family remained in Vietnam?
2. How does what Matt learns at the adoption agency about Vietnam differ from what he remembers about his home country?
3. Why does Matt enjoy playing the piano?
Paired Resource
“One Man's Mission To Bring Home 'Amerasians' Born During Vietnam War”
- NPR’s article examines some experiences of children born to American soldiers and Vietnamese women during the time period of the Vietnam War and efforts to help them come to the United States. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing without additional context; includes references to dated, insensitive language)
- The information in this resource connects to the theme The Damaging Legacy of the Vietnam War.
PAGES 43-83
Reading Check
1. What does Coach Robeson do when he discovers some teammates have been bullying Matt?
2. For a school assignment about a family member, upon whom does Matt focus?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What does Matt do when his teammates bully him and why?
2. Why does Matt like pitching more than playing shortstop?
3. When the team is celebrating Matt’s perfect game, how does Rob behave and why?
Paired Resource
- In this 3-minute animated video, Brené Brown discusses the reasons for and effects of blame.
- Though it initially uses a lighthearted example, the overall message conveyed by the video connects to the theme Guilt, Forgiveness, and the Healing Power of Love.
- Based on the video, why is Rob blaming Tommy for his brother’s death?
PAGES 84-123
Reading Check
1. When Matt’s parents talk to him after his dinner with Jeff, what does he believe they are planning?
2. Where do Matt’s parents suggest Matt go?
3. What deferment did Matt’s father get that kept him out of Vietnam?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How was Matt’s brother injured in Vietnam, and why does Matt blame himself?
2. What symbolism builds as Coach Robeson asks the team to take apart baseballs?
3. What does Matt’s decision to hold onto the baseball pieces reveal about him?
Paired Resource
“Why Words Can Change the World”
- Eric Akoto writes about the immense capacity for change within words.
- The ideas in this article connect to the theme The Power of Words and Communication.
- How do both of Matt’s mothers try to help him with their words?
PAGES 124-167
Reading Check
1. Why does Coach Robeson need to leave coaching for a while?
2. With shorter baseball practices, how does Matt spend the extra time?
3. Whom does Coach Robeson choose to coach in his absence?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. As he attends more meetings, how is Matt feeling about Veterans Voices?
2. How does Jeff help Matt see his mother’s choice to send him away in a new way?
Paired Resource
“The Transformative Power of Words”
- Josephine Lee’s 9-minute Ted Talk explores what words reveal and ways they can change the world.
- The ideas in this video connect to the theme The Power of Words and Communication.
- Where have words harmed Matt? When have they helped him heal?
PAGES 168-219
Reading Check
1. What does Coach Robeson compare the war to?
2. What does Matt share about Vietnam at the Veterans Voices meeting?
3. Who is Matt determined to find?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What was the “purpose” of the challenge Coach Williams gives his team (to work in pairs to find items with one of the partners blindfolded)?
2. How do Matt’s parents react when he tells them what happened to his brother in Vietnam?
Recommended Next Reads
Dogtag Summer by Elizabeth Partridge
- Tracy, once named Tuyet, is the child of a Vietnamese woman and an American soldier. She feels like an outsider with her adoptive family. Finding a soldier’s dog tag one summer shifts the trajectory of her life.
- Shared themes include The Power of Words and Communication; The Damaging Legacy of the Vietnam War; and Guilt, Forgiveness, and the Healing Power of Love.
- Shared topics include family, war, adoption, the past, growing up, friendship, and identity.
Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata
- At 11, Jaden lives with his adoptive parents and turns to dangerous habits to deal with his fury. He travels with his parents to adopt a younger brother, and at the orphanage, he meets 3-year-old Dimash, who helps him begin to heal.
- Shared themes include The Power of Words and Communication and Guilt, Forgiveness, and the Healing Power of Love.
- Shared topics include adoption, family, growing up, connection with others, anger, and hope.
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
- In the middle grade verse novel, Hà, almost 10, must relocate with her family to the United States at the end of the Vietnam War.
- Shared themes include The Power of Words and Communication and Guilt, Forgiveness, and the Healing Power of Love.
- Shared topics include feelings of displacement, prejudice and discrimination, and emotions about culture and tradition.
- Inside Out and Back Again on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
PAGES 1-42
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. Matt’s mother sent him out of Vietnam with the American soldiers as they evacuated at the end of the war in an attempt to keep him safe. His mother remained in Vietnam; she did not allow Matt’s younger brother, who was injured in an attack and has a physical disability, to go to America. (1-42)
2. Matt learns about Vietnam’s celebrations, holidays, and stories, but the topic of the Vietnam War (which Matt refers to as the “American War”) is not brought up. Matt remembers the reality of war, surviving, family, neighbors, suffering, and beauty: “smoke and fog” (22) and “broken pieces” (23). (21-23)
3. Matt appreciates the exactness of music and how the notes and keys on the piano stay reliably the same. (33)
PAGES 43-83
Reading Check
1. Coach Robeson addresses the entire team, saying it is unacceptable. He demonstrates anger over the team’s treatment of Matt. (55-56)
2. His mother (58-60)
Short Answer
1. Matt ignores the bullying. The boys call him a “rat,” and he thinks if he tells an adult, he will be a rat; he knows the boys will not forget for a long time. He does not want to quit baseball because his father will ask about what happened. (49)
2. When pitching, Matt faces someone from the other team, knowing they are on opposite sides. When playing shortstop, it is more complicated; he knows some of his teammates near him who bully him are his enemies. (57)
3. The team is at the pizza place celebrating, but Rob sits by himself, hardly eating, not talking, demonstrating his inability to see Matt as a teammate or to see past his grief and hatred. (78-79)
PAGES 84-123
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. Matt’s brother stepped on a landmine, and because of the force of the explosion, he, lost several fingers and his legs. Matt blames himself because his mother asked him to supervise his brother in the house; his brother, however, followed Matt out of the house. (88-89)
2. Even when the team members think they have gotten to the center of the baseball, there is another protective layer around the cork in the middle. Coach Robeson explains the importance of understanding how things work. Matt picks up “all the broken pieces” (123). Throughout the novel, Matt is gathering pieces of himself that are broken and slowly uncovering layers of his grief and pain so that he might heal. (120-23)
3. Matt keeps the pieces of the baseball, which reveals the way he treasures knowledge, understanding, and every item’s worth. (84-123)
PAGES 124-167
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. Matt appreciates meeting the veterans. He begins to feel the meetings are important for him to reconnect with Vietnam and his memories. (150-51)
2. Jeff talks about how many mothers trusted the soldiers with their children, and he calls it “faith” (156) and “love” (156). These words strike Matt in a new way of viewing what happened. He had thought his mother had sent him away because of his brother’s injuries; now, he wonders if it was out of love. (156-57)
PAGES 168-219
Reading Check
1. Cancer (171)
2. Matt recalls vivid images: “White cabbages grew / as big as pumpkins. / And before a storm, / the purple-blue of the / sky was the same / purple-blue as my / mom’s favorite shawl.” (213-14)
3. His brother Huu Hein (219)
Short Answer
1. Coach Williams challenges his team to work together. He pairs Rob and Matt together, making Rob reliant on Matt for guidance, hoping this opportunity will lead to Rob listening, Matt sharing, and Rob breaking out of his hatred. (180-200)
2. Matt’s parents support him, assuring him the accident was not his fault. When he says he will accept it if they send him away, they remind him they are his family forever. (205-08)
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