Save Me a Seat

83 pages • 2 hours read

Save Me a Seat

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2016

A 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.

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

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.

PART 1

Reading Check

1. What does Ravi’s fifth-grade teacher incorrectly do?

2. Who does Ravi want to become friends with?

3. What does Dillon like to do?

Short Answer

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

1. Why is Ravi confused when people struggle to understand his speech?

2. Why does Joe visit Miss Frost?

3. What is the significance of Joe’s nickname, “Puddy Tat?”

4. What does Mr. Barnes mean when he says, “The world is full of Dillon Samreens”? (Chapter 6)

5. Why does Joe feel that lunch is ruined?

Paired Resource

“How To Write Multiple Perspectives”

This Masterclass resource explains why authors use multiple perspectives in narratives and provides tips for writers to do the same.
How does showing both Joe and Ravi’s perspectives enhance the story?

PART 2

Reading Check

1. Why does Joe not want to be picked to write on the board?

2. Why is Ravi embarrassed when he does the math on the board?

3. What does Dillon do to Ravi as Ravi walks back to his seat?

4. What happens when Ravi defines the word “assimilation”?

Short Answer

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

1. What is the significance of the M&Ms?

2. What details suggest Ravi’s high IQ?

3. Why does Ravi feel worse about himself while working with Miss Frost?

4. Why does Joe not want to talk about his day with his mother?

Paired Resource

“The Danger of a Single Story”

This 18-minute TED talk by novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses the danger of only hearing one side of a story and emphasizes empathy toward people’s differences.
The ideas in this TED talk presentation connect to the themes Being Different and Assumptions Can Be Harmful.
What is Adichie’s message and how does it relate to Save Me a Seat?

PART 3

Reading Check

1. Why does Ravi think his luck is improving?

2. Why does the PE teacher yell at Ravi?

3. What does Dillon “accidentally” do to Ravi?

4. Why does Ravi spit out the school chili?

Short Answer

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

1. How does the American PE class differ from the class Ravi took in India?

2. Why is Dillon upset Joe is on his team?

3. What causes Joe to be upset with his mother?

4. What occurs to help Ravi realize that Dillon is not his friend?

Paired Resource

“My Unsung Hero”

This NPR article with paired podcast (3 minutes) discusses a personal true tale of bullying and how a student was able to stop it with the help of the bullies’ new ringleader.
This resource relates to the themes Prevalence of Bullying and Assumptions Can Be Harmful.
How does this short memoir relate to the story? What can we learn from this retelling?

PART 4

Reading Check

1. What does Joe’s father accuse Joe’s mother of doing?

2. What does Perimma find in Ravi’s backpack?

3. What helps Joe figure out what to do for his project?

4. What causes Ravi to tell his family everything that’s been happening at school?

Short Answer

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

1. What is revealed about Joe’s father during their argument, and what is the significance?

2. Why does Perimma threaten to leave, and what does this cause Ravi to say?

3. Why does Ravi believe that the project is no longer easy for him to complete? What is the result?

PART 5

Reading Check

1. What do Joe and Ravi bring for their class projects?

2. How does Ravi help Joe with his project?

3. What is the game Mrs. Beam creates?

4. What does Dillon do to Ravi’s project?

Short Answer

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

1. What is the significance of Ravi’s project?

2. How did Joe plan and execute his revenge on Dillon?

3. What does Joe mean when he states, “it’s possible for a couple of zebras to outsmart a crocodile”?

Paired Resource

“How Friendship Affects Your Brain”

This 4-minute TED Ed video discusses how the development of friendships—specifically in adolescence and teens—affects the brain and helps these bonds form/strengthen.
This resource relates to the theme of Being Different.
From what you watched in the video, what are your predictions for Joe and Ravi’s friendship?

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The shared theme in this novel includes Being Different.
Shared topics include immigration, change, adjustment to new cultures, and assimilation.
Other Words for Home on SuperSummary

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

10-year-old Auggie Pullman suffers from Mandibulofacial Dysostosis, leaving his face misshapen. This middle grade book follows his story as he faces bullying, discrimination, and the struggles of growing up.
The shared themes in this novel include Being Different, Prevalence of Bullying, and Assumptions Can Be Harmful.
Shared topics include bullying, being different, and disabilities.
Wonder on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

PART 1

Reading Check

1. Incorrectly pronounces his name (Chapter 1)

2. Dillon (Chapter 3)

3. Steal items (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. Ravi is confused because he speaks English at home and went to an English-medium school. (Chapter 1)

2. Joe visits Miss Frost for help with his hearing issue. (Chapter 2)

3. Dillon gave this nickname to Joe, based on a Looney Tunes show and Joe’s last name, to bully Joe. (Chapter 4)

4. Mr. Barnes thinks that the world is full of mean people; however, Joe must rise above them. (Chapter 6)

5. Joe feels that his mom’s new job as a lunch lady (cafeteria worker) at his school will embarrass him. (Chapter 8)

PART 2

Reading Check

1. He makes mistakes when he is put on the spot. (Chapter 9)

2. Mrs. Beam says that he did too much unnecessary work. (Chapter 11)

3. Dillon trips Ravi. (Chapter 12)

4. Ravi states the biological definition, not the correct cultural one. (Chapter 13)

Short Answer

1. The M&Ms represent the many layers of Joe’s identity and personality. Though he may look different on the outside, just as each M&M is a different color, on the inside, they are all the same. (Chapter 14)

2. Ravi states that he has a photographic memory. Additionally, he finds the ESL resources to be juvenile and too easy. (Chapters 13 and 15)

3. Ravi realizes that he was incorrect in his definition of “assimilation” and that he may be referred to counseling to help him adjust to his move. (Chapter 15)

4. Joe is still upset about his mother’s new job and does not want to tell her that Ravi called him “stupid.” (Chapter 16)

PART 3

Reading Check

1. Mrs. Beam appreciates the cookies he gave her and compliments him for reading ahead. (Chapter 17)

2. Ravi does not have the PE goggles. (Chapter 20)

3. Dillon hits Ravi with a baseball. (Chapters 20-21)

4. There is beef in the chili, and Ravi is a vegetarian. (Chapter 23)

Short Answer

1. In India, he played cricket, not baseball. Additionally, the girls did not play with the boys, and he was allowed to wear his glasses during the games in India. (Chapter 19)

2. Dillon is convinced that Joe would cause them to lose the game. (Chapters 20 and 22)

3. Joe begins to laugh and stand up to Dillon, but his mother intervenes, causing Dillon to make fun of him more. (Chapter 22)

4. Dillon makes fun of Ravi in the cafeteria, calling him an insensitive name. Additionally, he makes fun of the way Ravi did math in class and the face he made when getting hit by the baseball. (Chapter 23)

PART 4

Reading Check

1. He accuses her of babying Joe—he thinks she is being too soft on him. (Chapter 26)

2. Perimma finds the negative drawing Dillon made of Joe and Ravi. (Chapter 27)

3. His father’s apology letter, which describes Joe as a great son, helps Joe. (Chapter 28)

4. Ravi feels he has changed too much to complete the project. Perimma and Amma try to help him by explaining his accomplishments. (Chapter 29)

Short Answer

1. Joe expresses that his father dislikes all people who are different, which includes himself because of his Auditory Processing Disorder. This demonstrates the strain between Joe and his father, as the former feels that he is not being accepted for who he is. (Chapter 26)

2. Perimma threatens to leave because she claims that Ravi is ashamed of her because he does not want her to accompany him to school. This leads to a fight and Ravi stating that he will no longer be attending the school. (Chapter 27)

3. This project is no longer easy for him to complete because he views himself as “a loser who can’t speak English and has no friends.” He has lost his sense of identity and can no longer express himself in a positive, authentic way that is true to himself. (Chapter 29)

PART 5

Reading Check

1. Joe brings a blue M&M; Ravi brings leeches in a jar. (Chapters 32 and 37)

2. Ravi replaces Joe’s stolen M&M with his own. (Chapter 35)

3. Students write down their item’s meaning, and other students guess whose it is. (Chapter 36)

4. Dillon attempts to steal the jar of leeches by hiding it in his pants. (Chapter 46)

Short Answer

1. Ravi’s projects represent his family’s legacy and perseverance throughout the varying generations, including the idea of soldiering on and not quitting. (Chapters 41-43)

2. Joe knew that Dillon liked to steal items and place them in his pants, so he unscrewed the lid of the jar and warned Ravi not to pick it up, knowing that Dillon would take it. (Chapters 45-46)

3. When Joe uses the word “zebras,” he is metaphorically referring to himself and Ravi, victims of bullying. Though seen as “prey,” they can take on predators such as Dillon (the “crocodile”) if they work together. (Chapter 48)