Comprehension Questions- Little Women (Classic Starts – Abridged)

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Little Women

(Classic Starts - Abridged Version)

By Louisa May Alcott

Grades 2-4; Genre - Fiction; AR pts: 3.0

Four sisters learn they can be happy even when times are hard.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

  1. What are the names of the four March sisters?  Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy  p. 1
  2. Why is this Christmas going to be hard for the March girls?  They don’t have money for presents  p. 1
  3. How did the girl's attitudes change about Christmas when they decided to buy gifts for their mother?  made them excited   p. 3
  4. Where is Mr. March away to?  war  p. 5

Chapter 2

  1. What did the girls do when Marmee asked them to give up their Christmas breakfast? Carried it over to the family in need  p. 10
  2. Was it a hard thing for the girls to do?  Yes  p. 10
  3. How did the girls feel after they gave the Hummel family their breakfast?  Happy  p. 11
  4. Why did Mr. Laurence send over delicious treats for the March sisters on Christmas?   To give them a treat for helping out the Hummel family that morning.  p. 13

Chapter 3

  1. What special occasion did Jo and Meg get to go to?  New Year’s Eve dance  p. 15
  2. At the New Year's Eve party, why didn’t Jo talk with the girls and dance like her sister Meg? She was shy  p. 18
  3. How did Jo meet Laurie Laurence?  Bumped into him in the curtained closet at the dance  p. 18
  4. Why couldn’t Meg walk home from the dance?  She sprained her ankle  p. 21

Chapter 4

  1. Why is it hard for Meg to be poor?   loves fine things, remembers having money and nice things  p. 23
  2. What kind of person is Beth?  Kind, compassionate, takes joy in serving others  p. 24
  3. What is Amy talented in doing?  Artist, drawing  p. 25
  4. How does Marmee teach the girls to stop wishing for things they don’t have? Telling them a story about them and how they’ve been behaving badly   p. 25

Chapter 5

  1. What did Jo do when she found out Laurie had a bad cold and was stuck at home?  Visited him, brought him gifts and goodies  p. 28
  2. How does Mr. Laurence feel about Laurie playing the piano?    Doesn’t like it    p. 31
  3. Why does Mr. Laurence want Beth to come play his piano?  Knows of her love for music, makes him happy, reminds him of his little girl  p. 35
  4. Why was it such a big deal for Beth to go over to Mr. Laurence’s house and tell him thank you for the piano?  She’s so shy, its hard for her to be brave and talk to others  p. 39

Chapter 6

  1. How had Amy broken the rules at school?  brought in limes after the teacher said not to  p. 43
  2. What were the three punishments she got for bringing the limes to school?  throw them out the window, get her hand smacked, stand on the platform until recess  p. 45
  3. Why was Amy so upset about the punishment?  She’d never had her hand slapped before  p. 48
  4. How had Amy been acting conceited about the lime situation?  She was acting like she was better than other people  p. 48

Chapter 7

  1. Why did Mrs. March say Amy couldn’t go to the theater with Jo, Meg and Laurie?  She was sick  p. 51
  2. What did Amy do to get Jo back for not letting her go to the theater?  Threw her book of stories into the fire  p. 54
  3. What happened to Amy when she followed Jo and Laurie ice skating?  She fell through the ice  p. 58
  4. Why was Jo able to forgive Amy after she fell through the ice?  she realized how much she loved her   p. 58

Chapter 8

  1. How long did Meg leave home and go visit the Moffats?  Two weeks  p. 62
  2. Why was Meg embarrassed of her clothes in front of her friends?  They’re old and out of fashion  p. 64
  3. Why didn’t Laurie like how Meg was dressed and how she behaved at the party?  she looked too grown up, not like herself   p.  71
  4. How did Meg feel about being home after her adventures at the Moffats?  grateful to be home  p. 75

Chapter 9

  1. How long did Marmee say the girls could experiment with being lazy?  1 week  p. 80
  2. Why did Pip the canary die?  Beth forgot to feed it  p. 83
  3. What did Jo put on the berries when she invited Laurie over for lunch?  Salt  p. 84
  4. What was the important lesson the girls learned from all play and no work?  They needed both work and play to be happy  p. 85

Chapter 10

  1. When Beth brought back the mail from the post office, how many gloves did Meg find in a package?  One  p. 86
  2. What did Laurie call his picnic and day of games?  Camp Laurence  p. 90
  3. Who is Mr. Brooke?  Laurie’s tutor  p. 33
  4. Who did Meg spend most of the day at Camp Laurence visiting with?  Mr. Brooke  p. 94

Chapter 11

  1. What do the girls call their group when they’re working on projects trying to be productive?  Busy Bee Society  p. 97
  2. What’s a “castle in the air”?  a dream the girls and Laurie want to accomplish in their lives  p. 98
  3. What’s Laurie’s “castle in the air”?  to be a musician    p. 100
  4. What did Laurie decide to do with his life after Meg scolded him about running away to be a musician?  Stay and look after his grandfather  p. 101

Chapter 12

  1. Where did Jo take her two manuscripts?  The newspaper office   p. 105
  2. Who has Meg’s other glove?  Mr. Brooke  p. 105
  3. Why didn’t Jo like the idea of Mr. Brooke liking Meg?  She didn’t want him to take her away from her  p. 106
  4. Why was Laurie so excited to give Jo the newspaper?  Her story was published in it  p. 109

Chapter 13

  1. Why was Mr. March in the hospital?  He got very ill  p. 111
  2. Who did Marmee need to borrow money from so she could go be with Mr. March?  Aunt March  p. 112
  3. Who went with Marmee up to the hospital?  Mr. Brooke  p. 113
  4. What did Jo do to help pay for her mother’s trip to the hospital?  Cut her hair  p. 114

Chapter 14

  1. What was the girls’ motto while Marmee was in the hospital?  Hope and Keep Busy  p. 117
  2. Why didn’t Beth want to go to the Hummel’s?  she wasn’t feeling well  p. 118
  3. What caused the baby to die while Beth was holding it?  Scarlet fever  p. 119
  4. Where did Amy have to go while Beth was sick with Scarlet Fever?  Aunt March’s  p. 119

Chapter 15

  1. Why are Jo and Meg so upset that Beth is sick?  She could die  p. 121
  2. Why did the doctor tell Jo to send for her mother to come home?  Beth was taking a turn for the worse  p. 122
  3. How had Laurie been a good doctor to Jo?  He listened to her and helped her feel better  p. 124
  4. Why was Marmee coming home sooner than Jo expected?  Laurie had already sent for her  p. 124

Chapter 16

  1. Why did Amy want to keep the turquoise ring Aunt March gave her?  to remind her not to be selfish   p. 129
  2. Why do Mr. and Mrs. March think Mr. Brooke is an honorable young man?  He’d spoken to Mr. March about his feelings for Meg, was king to him p. 131
  3. Why don’t Mr. and Mrs. March want Meg to marry yet?  She’s only 17/ too young  p. 131
  4. How did Laurie’s prank make Meg feel?  Embarrassed    p. 135

Chapter 17

  1. What present did Laurie give the March family for Christmas?  Brought Mr. March home p. 138
  2. Why was Mr. March proud of his girls?    They were becoming “Little Women”     p. 139
  3. Why doesn’t Aunt March like Mr. Brooke?  He’s poor   p. 143
  4. How did Aunt March help Meg make the decision to marry Mr. Brooke?  She told her she couldn't marry him or she wouldn't give her an inheritance  p. 143