Small Steps, Study Guide Chapters 1-5Name: ______

Comprehension Questions: Please answer in complete sentences.

1. How did Theodore get the unusual nickname of Armpit?

2. What previous experience had prepared Armpit for his job with the Raincreek Irrigation and Landscaping Company?

3. What is the setting (time and location) of Small Steps?

4. Why did the mayor want to meet Armpit?

5. What is the significance of taking “small steps” as Armpit was advised by his counselor in San Antonio?

6. What evidence revealed that Kaira was immature and dependent despite her fame?

7. Why did Kaira have a bodyguard?

8. How did this affect Kaira’s life?

9. Why did X-Ray visit Armpit at his job site?

10. What is the basis of friendship between Ginny and Armpit?

11. How did the rumor about the high ticket prices for Kaira’s Philadelphia concert start?

12. Why did Felix approach X-Ray and Armpit in the ticket line?

Opinion Questions: You cannot get this wrong as long as you justify your opinion with explanation.

13. Why do you think Armpit was swayed by X-Ray’s argument to become his business partner?

14. Do you think Armpit’s parents were justified in keeping such a close watch on their son?

15. Mr. Warren auctions off a ten dollar bill in his economics class. Why do you think Armpit did not apply this lesson or anything else he learned in economics class to his real life?

16. Early you described the setting of Small Steps. How might the setting shape or impact this novel?

Literary Analysis

17. An allusion is a literary reference to a familiar person, place, or event. Allusions may give readers a common reference point and also confer authenticity on a work of literature. For example, we learn that Kaira’s stage name relates to the historical figure of Ponce de Leon. How does this reference suggest Kaira’s superiority to El Genius, her manager?

An analogy in literature refers to a comparison between two or more similar objects as to suggest that if they are alike in some ways, they will probably be alike in other ways as well. For example, Armpit’s counselor offers an analogy to prepare him for the future:

She said his life would be like walking upstream in a rushing river. The secret was to take small steps and just keep moving forward. If he tried to take too big a step, the current would knock him off his feet and carry him back downstream.

18. What is being compared in this analogy?

19. What does this analogy suggest about the challenges Armpit might face in the future?

20. Foreshadowing refers to the clues or hints an author provides to suggest what will happen later in the novel. What might be foreshadowed by the reappearance of X-Ray in Armpit’s life?