The Parker Inheritance

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

Chapters 1-6

Reading Check

1. What kind of books does Candice’s mother write?

Short Answer

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

1. Why does the mayor fire Abigail Caldwell?

2. When Brandon comes over to Candice’s house, what does Anne do that embarrasses Candice?

Chapters 7-11

Reading Check

1. Whose perspective does the narrative follow in Chapter 9 that tells about the events that took place in 1914?

Short Answer

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

1. What clue does Brandon notice in the anonymous letter that Candice missed?

2. After they consult with Ms. McMillan, what does Candice realize about the date on the anonymous letter?

Paired Resource

“Justice”

• This University of Texas resource from their “Ethics Unwrapped” series contains both a brief video on different forms of justice and a written version of the same information.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Balance Between Justice and Forgiveness.
• What different kinds of justice does this source discuss? Which of these forms of justice does the anonymous letter writer in The Parker Inheritance seem to be pursuing? Based on what you have learned so far about the situation that provoked the letter writer, are there other forms of justice that you think might be more appropriate to pursue?

Chapters 12-16

Reading Check

1. Which sport do Candice and Brandon decide Enoch liked the best?

Short Answer

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

1. What makes Candice uncomfortable during her conversation with her father in Chapter 13?

2. What new information about her father’s living arrangements does Candice hear during the Chapter 14 argument between her parents?

Chapters 17-20

Reading Check

1. Whose weekly schedule does Candice track on the calendar that she gives to Brandon?

Short Answer

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

1. What motivates Brandon to ask Candice to attend church with his family?

2. What is in the newspaper article that makes the white men angry enough to threaten Coach Dub?

Paired Resource

“9 Black Athletes Who Integrated Professional Sports”

• This History article, by sports journalist Farrell Evans, profiles nine pioneers in integrating professional sports.
• This resource relates to the theme Racism Is a Catalyst for Conflict.
• What kinds of dangers and obstacles did these athletes face as they fought for the right to participate equally in professional sports? How does reading this article impact your understanding of Coach Dub’s actions and the backlash he faced?

Chapters 21-24

Reading Check

1. Who wrote the poem “I, Too,” that Candice finds on the plaque in Chapter 21?

Short Answer

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

1. What unfair accusation does Mr. Rittenhauer make against Candice and Brandon after he finds them outside the school?

2. How does Anne react when Candice tells her about what happened with Mr. Rittenhauer?

Chapters 25-27

Reading Check

1. When Candice and Brandon go visit Ellie Farmer, Ellie tells Candice her bracelet was originally owned by whom?

Short Answer

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

1. What is Candice’s reason for saying that she and Brandon should not contact the other people who received the letter?

2. What reason does Coach Douglas give Chip for saying that Chip needs to leave Siobhan Washington alone?

Paired Resource

“I See the Promised Land”

• This speech, given by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, urges people to continue the fight for racial justice by reminding them that equality is finally within sight.
• This resource relates to the themes The Path Forward Is Not Always Visible and Racism Is a Catalyst for Conflict.
• What does Dr. King mean when he refers to the “Promised Land”? To what Biblical story does he compare the struggle for equal rights in America? When he says that he has been to the mountaintop, what is he saying about his ability to see the future? Why does he feel he has to tell the audience this? What is he hoping to encourage them to do? How does this relate to a repeated message in The Parker Inheritance?

Chapters 28-30

Reading Check

1. Who gave Siobhan the bracelet that Candice eventually inherits from her grandmother?

Short Answer

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

1. When Brandon and Candice go to the park on the day before the Juneteenth Festival, what do they find interesting about the plaque dedicated to Siobhan?

2. What connection does Brandon explain between The Westing Game and the real-life anonymous letter they are trying to understand?

Chapters 31-34

Reading Check

1. Who drives the Washington family to Maryland?

Short Answer

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

1. Just before they head to the Juneteenth Festival, what news does Candice’s mother share with her?

2. How does Candice eventually solve the mystery of James Parker’s identity?

Chapters 35-39

Reading Check

1. Who helps Candice communicate with Brandon after his mother punishes him by making him stay home and not talk to his friends?

Short Answer

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

1. What is Coach Douglas’s plan to get Reggie out of town safely?

2. What does Brandon confide to Candice when he is in the hospital in Chapter 39?

Chapters 40-45

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 43, Candice realizes the “Oiler” clue really refers to whom?

Short Answer

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

1. Why doesn’t Siobhan look for Reggie after her family settles in Maryland?

2. When Siobhan and Reggie are finally reunited, what causes Siobhan to put an end to their relationship?

Paired Resource

“White Lies” and “Passing”

• The first poem, by Natasha Trethewey, shares the memories of a speaker who, as a child, attempted to lie about her race.
• The second poem, by Toi Derricotte, meditates on the role of the perceiver in assigning race.
• This resource relates to the theme of Hiding to Fit In.
• How do these two poems present the phenomenon of “passing” in different ways? What do they have in common? Which speaker’s perspective is most similar to the perspective of characters like Coach Douglas and Reggie? Which speaker’s perspective is most similar to the novel’s perspective?

Chapters 46-52

Reading Check

1. Whom does Tiffany Halliday invite to the bank besides Candice, Brandon, their families, and Ms. McMillan?

Short Answer

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

1. In what way does Candice see her father as similar to Reggie Bailey?

2. In the novel’s final chapter, what does the reader learn about how Abigail gained possession of the bracelet?

Recommended Next Reads 

This is My America by Kim Johnson

• Johnson’s YA mystery tells the story of 17-year-old Tracy Beaumont and her quest to see her father and brother exonerated for the crimes they have been accused of.
• Shared themes include The Balance Between Justice and Forgiveness, The Path Forward Is Not Always Visible, and Racism Is a Catalyst for Conflict.
• Shared topics include prejudices based on appearance, inequality and systemic injustice, segregation, mystery, and the influence of the past on the present.
• This is My America on SuperSummary

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

• In this YA mystery novel, eight teams of potential heirs race to solve the puzzle set out in Sam Westing’s will in order to catch his killer and win an enormous inheritance.
• Shared themes include The Balance Between Justice and Forgiveness and The Path Forward Is Not Always Visible.
• Shared topics include prejudices based on appearances, inequality, mystery and puzzle-solving, inheritances, the motivating power of money, and the influence of the past on the present.
• The Westing Game on SuperSummary

When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris

• This award-winning YA mystery follows teenager Jay Murphy as he tries to solve the mystery of his sister’s disappearance after he realizes that the police in his neighborhood do not place a high priority on finding missing Black girls.
• Shared themes include The Balance Between Justice and Forgiveness, The Path Forward Is Not Always Visible, and Racism Is a Catalyst for Conflict.
• Shared topics include prejudices based on appearance, inequality and systemic injustice, and mystery.