64 pages • 2 hours read
Michael NorthropTrapped
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2011A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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.
CHAPTERS 1-12
Reading Check
1. What grade is Scotty Weems in?
2. What do Jason, Weems, and Pete stay after school to work on?
3. How many students are stranded at the school?
4. Why does Weems hide the Oreos he finds in his locker?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Weems reveal he is a reluctant narrator?
2. What are different reasons the characters are stuck at the school?
3. Why is Weems worried about getting in trouble?
Paired Resource
- National Geographic explains the particular type of winter storm featured in the novel.
- This connects to the theme of The Power of Nature.
- What information in the article adds to the danger already indicated in the novel?
“Let’s Start a Label-Free School”
- In this eight-minute video, Martha Fishburne argues for eliminating labels in school.
- This connects to the themes of Labels Don’t Define People and Taking Action Yields Results.
- What labels does Weems use to categorize his peers, and how do they limit him?
CHAPTERS 13-22
Reading Check
1. Who breaks the cafeteria door?
2. Besides the cafeteria, where else does the group find more supplies?
3. What is Jason turning the Flammenwerfer into?
4. When the snow slows a little, what do the characters see out the window?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Weems feel about Krista?
2. What are some examples of Weems categorizing people, and what does it reveal about him?
3. Why do the kids decide to build a fire, and what does this reveal about their situation?
Paired Resource
“The Heaviest Snowfall Records in the U.S.”
- This resource from the Weather Channel includes a one-minute video, many images, and explanations of different snowfall records.
- This connects to the theme of The Power of Nature.
- How do these records compare to what the characters are experiencing?
CHAPTERS 23-32
Reading Check
1. Who is starting to get sick?
2. What causes the rumbling noise that the high schoolers hear?
3. What does Weems begin building in the shop?
4. Who finds the first hot food the characters have had in a long time?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What reason does Elijah give for thinking they are all going to die, and how does Weems react?
2. Why does Pete fight Les?
3. How is the snowstorm responsible for Pete’s injuries from the fight?
Paired Resource
“6 Tips to Overcome Analysis Paralysis”
- The Cleveland Clinic presents information about analysis paralysis, ways it affects other health concerns like anxiety, how to help yourself overcome it, and when to seek additional expert assistance.
- This connects to the themes of Taking Action Yields Results and Labels Don’t Define People.
- What advice from the article would you offer to Weems?
CHAPTERS 33-41
Reading Check
1. What does Pete drag to the classroom?
2. Whose voice does Weems hear in his mind that keeps him from giving up?
3. Who rescues Weems?
4. What happens to the rest of the teens in the school?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why do Jason and Pete argue?
2. What happens to Pete, and what is Weems’s reaction to this?
3. What is the effect of the book ending the way it does?
Paired Resource
“Life Kit: Activism Doesn’t Have to Be Intimidating”
- With a 3-minute audio version and written interview, NPR explores ways to take action to improve the world.
- This connects to the themes Taking Action Yields Results and Labels Don’t Define People.
- What lesson about taking action might Weems have learned from this experience?
Recommended Next Reads
Distress Signal by Mary E. Lambert
- On a class trip to Chiricahua National Park in Arizona, Lavender and three peers get separated from the others during a flash flood. Stranded in the desert, they realize they need to work together to survive.
- Shared themes include Labels Don’t Define People, Taking Action Yields Results, and The Power of Nature.
- Shared topics include school, friendships, stereotypes, danger, young people on their own, growing up, teamwork, survival, determination, isolation, and courage.
The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier
- At 13, Jack and his friends face a monster apocalypse and must work together to survive.
- Shared themes include Labels Don’t Define People, Taking Action Yields Results, and The Power of Nature.
- Shared topics include danger, young people on their own, teamwork, friendship, fear, survival, the unknown, growing up, school, relationships, worry, and bravery.
- The Last Kids on Earth on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
CHAPTERS 1-12
Reading Check
1. 10th (Chapter 1)
2. Jason’s go-kart that he calls the Flammenwerfer (Chapter 2)
3. Seven (Chapters 1, 6)
4. He is hungry, and he thinks he might need to trade them. (Chapter 10)
Short Answer
1. Weems says, “Some of the others might’ve seen things differently, and some of them might have told it better,” which reveals that he wishes another person could be telling the story. He continues by explaining that not everyone survived, adding foreshadowing. (Chapter 2)
2. The characters become stranded at school because of the snowstorm. Each character has a different reason for why they stayed after school was dismissed early. For example, Weems thinks Les went to detention. Jason, Weems, and Pete were working on the go-kart and expected Jason’s dad to pick them up, but the snow quickly became too deep for anyone to get through. Julie and Krista were also waiting for someone to pick them up, another person who could not get through the storm. (Chapters 1-7)
3. Weems is on the school basketball team, and if he gets detention, he misses practice. The team means a lot to him, so he worries about getting in trouble and ruining his season. (Chapters 1-12)
CHAPTERS 13-22
Reading Check
1. Les (Chapter 13)
2. Classrooms, the office, and the nurse’s office (Chapters 13-17)
3. A snowmobile (Chapter 20)
4. A helicopter (Chapter 22)
Short Answer
1. Weems likes Krista and is nervous to talk with her. He mostly focuses on her physical beauty. (Chapters 13-22)
2. Weems worries because Les is a bully and is glad when Les and Elijah—who also makes Weems uncomfortable—separate from the rest of the group. Weems focuses on Krista’s physical beauty rather than her as a whole person, and he sees Julie as her sidekick. (Chapters 13-22)
3. After the pipes freeze, the kids decide to build a fire in one of the classrooms to melt snow for water and to keep warm. They recognize the danger but build the fire anyway, illustrating the extent of the peril they are in. (Chapters 19-20)
CHAPTERS 23-32
Reading Check
1. Julie (Chapters 23-25)
2. The snow causes intense pressure on the roof. (Chapter 23-25)
3. Snowshoes (Chapter 25)
4. Julie and Pete (Chapters 27-28)
Short Answer
1. Elijah states that no one knows they are in the school because he thinks that those coming to pick them up probably perished in the storm. This reasoning scares Weems, and he starts to argue but then realizes he cannot dispute it. (Chapter 24)
2. Pete misunderstands something Julie said and thinks Les assaulted Julie. Thinking he is defending Julie, Pete fights Les. (Chapters 29-30)
3. The snowstorm traps the characters in the school together. The tensions rise because of the perilous circumstances. The storm also knocks out the power, causing Julie to get lost and scared. When she returns, Pete misunderstands the situation and thinks Les hurt her, so he fights Les and gets injured. Had they not been trapped or had the lights been on, the fight never would have happened. (Chapters 29-32)
CHAPTERS 33-41
Reading Check
1. The Flammenwerfer (Chapter 33)
2. His basketball coach’s voice (Chapter 37)
3. The Tennessee National Guard (Chapters 39-41)
4. The novel ends without revealing what happens to them. (Chapter 41)
Short Answer
1. Jason and Pete argue about who should take the snowmobile out to look for help. Jason argues that it’s his, but he also does not seem ready to go out in the storm on it. Pete has decided that he needs to be the one to go after the fight. (Chapter 34)
2. The snowmobile tips over, burying Pete. Weems runs to the shop to finish his snowshoes and then goes out to help his friend. (Chapters 35-36)
3. The helicopter heads toward the school, implying that the others will be rescued, but then the book ends. This leaves the characters’ fates uncertain, which amplifies the theme of The Power of Nature. (Chapter 41)
