Comprehension Questions – Stargirl

Stargirl

By Jerry Spinelli

Grades 6-8; Genre - Fiction; GRL V; AR pts: 6.0

There's a new girl in tenth grade and says her name is Stargirl.  The entire school's not sure what to think of her and the kind things she does.  Leo realizes that he's in love with her, but has a difficult time accepting that she's not like everybody else. 

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

  1. Where does the story take place?  Mica, Arizona  p. 2
  2. What grade is Stargirl in?  10th   p. 4
  3. What instrument does she carry on her back?  Ukulele   p. 4
  4. What in-school television show did Kevin and Leo want to put her on?  Hot Seat   p. 5

Chapter 2

  1. What did Stargirl sing to Alan during lunch?  Happy Birthday   p. 9
  2. Why was Stargirl dismissed from the cross country team?  She turned the wrong way during the race and never made it to the finish line   p. 11
  3. Why couldn’t the kids at school understand Stargirl?  She was different, not predictable   p. 11

Chapter 3

  1. What did Stargirl leave in the mailbox when Leo was following her around?  A note that said congratulations  p. 16
  2. Why did Leo stop following Stargirl?  He was scared, it was getting late  p. 18

Chapter 4

  1. Why did Hillari try out for the cheerleading team?  To prove she could make it on the team  p. 19
  2. What did Wayne Parr want to be in life?  A model   p. 20

Chapter 5

  1. What did Stargirl do during half time of the football game that was different?  she danced on the field, kicked the ball   p. 23
  2. What did the captain of the cheerleaders ask Stargirl?  To be on the cheerleading squad   p. 25
  3. Even though students liked Stargirl, why were they afraid of her?    she was different   p. 26

Chapter 6

  1. Why did Hillari warn Stargirl about her birthday?  She didn’t want Stargirl singing to her  p. 27
  2. Who did Stargirl sing to instead?  Leo   p. 28

Chapter 7

  1. Why does Archie have bones everywhere?  He’s a paleontologist   p. 30
  2. Why do kids go over to his home on Saturday’s?  he teaches them   p. 31
  3. How did Archie know Stargirl?  He’d taught her once a week for 5 years   p. 33

Chapter 8

  1. What did Hillari threaten to do with Stargirl’s rat?  Drop it over the railing  p. 37
  2. Why did people start flocking to Stargirl?  They liked her, weren’t scared of her anymore   p. 38
  3. What contest did Stargirl win?  The school’s oratorical contest   p. 39

Chapter 9

  1. Why did kids start to color their hair purple or paint their nails green?  They felt they could be themselves  p. 41

Chapter 10

  1. What did Stargirl do with the Pledge of Allegiance every morning when they recited it?  Changed it  p. 44
  2. Why did Stargirl go to people's funerals, sing happy birthday to them and give them cards?  to be kind, show them she's thinking of them, help them be happy  p. 46

Chapter 11

  1. Who did Stargirl cheer for during the basketball games?  Both teams   p. 48
  2. Why didn’t bad things affect Stargirl?  She didn’t care what others thought   p. 52
  3. Why did the bus leave Stargirl at the Red Rocks high school?  the cheerleaders tricked her and the bus driver  p. 54

Chapter 12

  1. What’s the name of Stargirl’s rat?  Cinnamon   p. 58
  2. What did Stargirl pretend when she sat in the Hot Seat?  That it was burning her    p. 60

Chapter 13

  1. What’s Stargirl’s real name?  Susan   p.62
  2. Why does Stargirl change her name?  when it doesn’t fit her anymore, she changes it  p. 63
  3. Why did Stargirl stop homeschooling?  She wanted to make friends   p. 66
  4. How did the jurors treat Stargirl during the filming of Hot Seat?  Mean/ like a mob   p. 67

Chapter 14

  1. What did Stargirl get hit in the face with during the basketball game?  A tomato   p. 72
  2. Who was the note that Leo found in his notebook from?  Stargirl   p. 72

Chapter 15

  1. How did Leo feel about the Valentine card from Stargirl?  Embarrassed   p. 74

Chapter 16

  1. What had the cheerleaders done to Stargirl?  Kicked her off the squad   p. 77
  2. What’s the nickname the girls gave Leo?  Starboy / Mr. Stargirl  p. 78
  3. When Leo went to Stargirl’s house, where did he hide when she came outside?  Behind a car   p. 79

Chapter 17

  1. What did Stargirl’s enchanted place look like?  The desert   p. 90
  2. At her enchanted place, what did Stargirl do to help her feel like she was nothing?  Erase herself with an imaginary eraser  p. 91
  3. What did Leo feel when he felt like nothing?  Silence and peace  p. 94

Chapter 18

  1. Why are the students in the school giving Stargirl the silent treatment?  The students are mad at her  p. 98
  2. What does the phrase, “frost froze on the back of my neck” mean?  he could feel other students mean and cold comments about Stargirl   p. 99

Chapter 19

  1. Why did Leo want Stargirl to be more like everybody else?   People would understand her / they'd like her p. 101
  2. What question did the cactus ask Leo?  Whose affection does he value more, kids at school or Stargirl’s   p. 104

Chapter 20

  1. How did Stargirl help Leo be a better person?  Helped him feel more confident   p. 107
  2. Who gave Leo the porcupine tie for his birthday two years before?  Stargirl   p. 111

Chapter 21

  1. How did Stargirl know what was going on in people’s lives?  She reads the paper and bulletin boards  p. 112
  2. What’s the “card game”?  try to find out what kind of card a person needs to be sent to help them feel better  p. 115
  3. Why does Stargirl leave loose change around?  She doesn’t like it/ to make others happy in finding it   p. 118

Chapter 22

  1.  What does Stargirl do with the pebble wagon under her bed?  Takes a pebble out if she’s unhappy, put a pebble back if she’s happy  p. 120
  2. Why is she taking pictures of the neighbor boy? to make a scrapbook for him   p. 122
  3. Why did Leo ask Stargirl if she were running for “saint”?  she’s always doing nice things for other people  p. 124

Chapter 23

  1. Why was being shunned so hard for Leo?  He needed the other students attention   p. 126

Chapter 24

  1. What two feelings did Leo feel when he saw the sign made by Stargirl on the Roadrunner board?  Excited and uncomfortable  p. 130
  2. How did Leo treat Stargirl after school when she wanted to talk about her sign?  Rudely, mean  p. 131
  3. Why did Leo feel like he was invisible?  no one talked to him anymore   p. 132

Chapter 25

  1. Who did Leo want her to become more like?  The people in the town/at the school  p. 137

Chapter 26

  1. What was Leo’s first reaction when he saw Susan?  Ecstatic  p. 140
  2. Why had Stargirl changed her name back to Susan and began acting like everyone else?  So they would like her   p. 142
  3. How many happiness pebbles were in Stargirl’s wagon after she became Susan?  Two   p. 143

Chapter 27

  1. Why is Dori mad at Stargirl?  Because she became Susan and betrayed who she really is  p. 145
  2. Why did Susan believe she was going to win the contest?  She’d had a vision  p. 144

Chapter 28

  1. When had Susan prepared her speech for the contest?  She didn’t, she just opened her mouth and said what she felt   p. 154

Chapter 29

  1. What was Susan’s prize for winning first place at the contest?  A silver plate   p. 157
  2. How many people were waiting at the high school for Susan to congratulate her?  three  p.159

Chapter 30

  1. Why was Susan so stunned when no one came to congratulate her?  she’d thought they’d like her when she won the contest   p. 161
  2. Who did Susan become after the contest?  Stargirl   p. 161
  3. How did Leo feel about Stargirl returning?  Angry  p. 161
  4. Was being popular important to Stargirl after she tried to be Susan?  No   p. 162

Chapter 31

  1. How does Stargirl arrive to the Ocotillo Ball?  In a bicycle sidecar   p. 167
  2. What finally broke the ice and helped people like Stargirl at the dance?  They realized they liked her just the way she was  p. 171
  3. What dance did Stargirl and the other students do all over the golf course?  The Bunny Hop   p. 171

Chapter 32

  1. Where had Stargirl moved to?  Minnesota  p. 176
  2. Where was Stargirl’s “office”?  Archie’s toolshed  p. 178

Chapter 33

  1.  When Leo came to visit Archie after going away to college, what did he do with Barney the skull?  put him in a rock/ took him home  p. 182 

More Than Stars

  1. Name one way the school remembered Stargirl and her kindness?  Club called the Sunflowers (everyone has to do a kind deed for someone else every day), there’s a ukulele in their marching band, the first basket the other team scores at a basketball game a small group of students cheers for the other team  p. 185
  2. Why doesn’t Leo feel like he’s alone even though Stargirl is far away?  He got a porcupine tie for his birthday  p. 186