Merci Suárez Changes Gears

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

Chapters 1-2

Reading Check

1. What is the name of Merci’s new school?

2. Whom does Merci call “the manager of the Catastrophic Concerns Department in our family”?

Short Answer

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

1. How do Edna’s comments about Merci’s photo target two of Merci’s deepest insecurities

2. When Merci comes home from school in Chapter 2, why is Lolo sitting in the back of a police car?

Chapters 3-5

Reading Check

1. What is the club called that Merci has to join as part of her school’s community service?

2. What is Tía Inés’s Cuban cafe called?

Short Answer

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

1. Why does Merci want to switch community service assignments even more after she finds out who her club partner will be?

2. What disagreement do Merci and Edna have about the materials for their topographical map?

Paired Resource

“Helping Children Understand Alzheimer’s Disease”

• This National Institutes of Health resource offers suggestions about how to help children understand Alzheimer’s. (Note: Although this article is aimed at adults, its reading level is appropriate for younger readers.)
• This resource relates to the theme of The Anguish and Complexity of Alzheimer’s Disease.
• What suggestions does this article make about how parents should help their children when a family member has dementia? What suggestions would you make to Merci’s family, based on this article?

“There’s a Hidden Burden on Students With Scholarships”

• In this Boston Globe article, Dasia Moore shares the downside of receiving a private school scholarship.
• This resource relates to the themes of Class Differences in America and Coming of Age as a Tween.
• From Moore’s perspective, what are the good and bad parts of getting a private school scholarship? How do you see some of these same ideas reflected in Merci’s life? How do the class differences between Merci and other students create challenges that Merci has to overcome?

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. What is the name of Merci’s father’s business rival?

2. Where does Merci go with Edna, Jamie, and Michael on Saturday night?

Short Answer

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

1. In Chapter 6, what happens that causes Lolo to ask Merci to break a family rule by keeping a secret?

2. What message does Jamie use Merci to transmit during the school assembly in Chapter 9?

Chapters 11-14

Reading Check

1. On Saturday morning, what game does Roli play with the twins?

2. In Chapter 14, what have the boys at school recently started stealing from the girls?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Merci’s response to being treated with suspicion at the job site in Chapter 12 show that she still has a childlike understanding of the world?

2. What bad news does Merci get when her mother drops her off at school in Chapter 13?

Paired Resource

“Alzheimer’s”

• This accessible William J. Harris poem shares the interior experience of dementia.
• This resource relates to the themes of The Anguish and Complexity of Alzheimer’s Disease and Coming of Age as a Tween.
• What does having Alzheimer’s feel like to the speaker of this poem? Do you think that Lolo is feeling something similar? How is Merci struggling with her thoughts and feelings about this situation? In what way would the situation be easier for Merci if she were older?

“Stop Punishing Poverty in Schools”

• This think piece for educators examines ways that schools set up structural barriers in the way of students experiencing poverty. (Note: This is intended as a teacher-facing resource; it contains excellent ideas to use in discussion with students.)
• This resource relates to the themes of Class Differences in America and Coming of Age as a Tween.
• How would being able to play on the school soccer team help Merci with some of the challenges she is facing? Why can’t she participate in soccer? Is it fair that she can’t play? What are some of the other challenges that students face in school because their families don’t have equal resources? Do you think that students in this situation have to grow up more quickly than their peers? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Chapters 15-17

Reading Check

1. According to Enrique, why does Merci have to try harder and be better than the other students at her school?

2. When Merci is cleaning up the kitchen at her Abuela’s, what strange thing does she find in the refrigerator?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Merci react when Miss McDaniels threatens to kick her out of the Sunshine Buddies Club?

2. What advice does Roli offer Merci about her letter to Lena?

Chapters 18-25

Reading Check

1. What favor does Michael ask Merci for when they are talking about the upcoming autumn festival?

2. Who destroys the Anubis mask?

Short Answer

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

1. What disappointing and frightening incident occurs on Grand’s Day?

2. How does Roli help Merci with Lolo on the day that Michael comes over?

Paired Resource

“Relational Aggression”

• This article from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia describes the definition, causes, and consequences of relational aggression.
• This resource relates to the themes of Class Differences in America and Coming of Age as a Tween.
• Which characters in the novel engage in relational aggression? How does their behavior affect Merci? How much of their behavior do you think is motivated by class differences, and how much do you think is motivated by jealousy?

“Coping With Dementia Behaviour Changes”

• This resource from Britain’s National Health Service breaks down behavior changes in dementia patients and how to cope with them.
• This resource relates to the themes of The Anguish and Complexity of Alzheimer’s Disease, Class Differences in America, and Coming of Age as a Tween.
• Which of the behaviors listed in this article do you see in Lolo? Which of the article’s suggestions could the family follow? Which might be unrealistic because of uneven access to resources in America? Why do you think that Ana’s attitude toward elder care facilities has changed? Do you think that Merci has matured enough to face the next phase of her grandfather’s illness?

Chapters 26-31

Reading Check

1. What do most of the children who went to Edna’s party get bitten by?

2. Who talks to Merci in Chapter 31 and helps her understand that the whole family is sad about Lolo?

Short Answer

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

1. How do Roli and Merci get into a car accident in Chapter 26?

2. Why did the family not tell Merci about Lolo’s illness for so long?

Chapters 32-38

Reading Check

1. Who makes Merci fill out an incident report about the Anubis mask?

2. Where do Lena and Hannah decide is the best place to finish their sarcophagus project?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Miss McDaniels prove that Edna destroyed the mask?

2. What new community service club is Merci planning near the end of the novel?

Recommended Next Reads 

Merci Suárez Can’t Dance by Meg Medina

• In this sequel to Merci Suárez Changes Gears, Merci continues her journey toward maturity and self-discovery as she encounters the new challenges of seventh grade.
• Shared themes include The Anguish and Complexity of Alzheimer’s Disease, Class Differences in America, and Coming of Age as a Tween.
• Shared topics include middle school, fitting in, relational aggression, family, friendship, and early romantic relationships.

Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord

• In this middle-grade novel, Lucy tries to take a photograph good enough to impress her famous photographer father. But in the process, her art may bring to light the painful truth about her neighbor Nate’s grandmother’s dementia.
• Shared themes include The Anguish and Complexity of Alzheimer’s Disease and Coming of Age as a Tween.
• Shared topics include fitting in in a new place, family, friendship, and photography.
• Half a Chance on SuperSummary