Return to Sender

Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Why was Tyler not present when Mari’s family initially came to their farm?

2. Who led Mari and her family across the border when she was four years old?

3. Why did Mari’s mother return to Mexico without the family?

4. To what does the term la migra refer? Why is Mari’s family afraid of la migra?

Multiple Choice

1. Why is Tyler upset that his parents might sell the farm?

A) He does not want to move and change schools.

B) He thinks of it as part of his family’s history and future.

C) He knows Grandma would be furious and move away.

D) He overhears that they will lose money in the sale.

2. Which statement summarizes the biggest irony regarding Mari’s first two letters to Mamá in Chapter 1?

A) She writes lengthy, detailed letters, but Mamá will not get to read them now.

B) When Ofie and Luby discover her letters, they want Mari’s help in writing their own.

C) Just as she completes her letters, Mamá sends a letter to the family.

D) She feels more hopeful after sending the letters, but Papá seems to be sadder.

3. In which scene does it first appear that Tyler and Mari will be friends?

A) when Tyler brings the board games

B) when Clayton and Ronnie harass both of them

C) when they share food around Grandma’s memory table

D) when Tyler shows Mari the stars from the hayloft

4. When Tyler and the girls study the stars at Grandma’s on November 2, he is sorry that he treated them coldly in the last few months. Which of these details most likely contributes to his change of heart?

A) He comes to understand that the girls might be arrested and deported at any time.

B) He obeys his mother when she tells him to be kinder and more understanding to the girls.

C) He hears from Grandma that Gramps thought everyone deserves a chance for success.

D) He realizes that Mari taught him meaningful things about la golondrinas.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. At the opening of the novel, what hardships has Tyler’s family experienced in recent months? What are the consequences on the family?

2. What does Tyler learn about Mari that makes her different from her sisters, and how does this knowledge about her lead to his conflicted feelings about their friendship?

3. What is the significance of Grandma’s new “memory table,” and why does she plan to keep it in the upstairs of her house where few family members go?

4. What is the crux of the argument between Ofie and Mari over Mamá’s photo, and how does Papá resolve the disagreement?

Chapters 4-5

Reading Check

1. Where does Grandma initially hide out shortly after Thanksgiving, and why?

2. Who is arrested and detained shortly before the Christmas holiday?

3. To whom does Tyler compare the Pleiades’ seventh sister?

4. How will Tío Felipe get Wilmeta back?

Multiple Choice

1. Regarding “the Grandma problem” in Chapter 4, which pair of adjectives best describes Aunt Jeanne’s actions?

A) bossy and dismissive

B) confused and mystified

C) sympathetic but resigned

D) controlling but considerate

2. What can be inferred about Mari based on her petition to the Virgin of Guadalupe regarding Tío Felipe?

A) She desires a bold course of action, as she wants Tío Felipe to escape from jail and run away.

B) She trusts a higher power with Tío Felipe’s fate, as she prays only that he stays in good health.

C) She understands the need for sacrifice sometimes, as she realizes Tío Felipe may be deported.

D) She is becoming bitter from the loss of Mamá, as she wonders if Tío Felipe is better off in jail.

3. What is Tyler’s solution for communicating with Tío Felipe when Mari reminds everyone that none of the Cruzes can visit her uncle?

A) He recalls that Grandma has friends who visited Spain and can loan their language guides.

B) He changes the subject to avoid upsetting Mari and distracts her with questions about Mamá.

C) He researches several attorneys who speak Spanish and chooses the most qualified.

D) He recommends asking his Spanish teacher Mrs. Ramirez to translate messages at a visit.

4. Which plot scenario represents Papá’s struggle to retain the family’s respect for their Mexican heritage?

A) He wants only Spanish spoken at home and disallows English-speaking TV shows.

B) He wants the girls to politely turn down Tyler’s mother’s offer to attend Thanksgiving dinner.

C) He wants Tío Felipe’s girlfriend to forget Tío Felipe and stop visiting him in the jail.

D) He wants Mrs. Ramirez to tutor and practice Spanish with Ofie but cannot afford it.

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Tyler’s section of Chapter 4, which occurs around Thanksgiving, is named “Farm of Many Plots.” Why might Tyler think of his family’s farm by this nickname?

2. How does Mari intend to “deliver” her letter to Adorada Virgen de Guadalupe?

3. Describe Tyler’s role in visiting Tío Felipe in the jail on Christmas Eve.

4. What are at least two connections between Groundhog Day and Candlemas?

Chapters 6-7

Reading Check

1. Who loses $860.00? Who finds it?

2. Why does Tyler fight bullies Ronnie and Clayton?

3. Whose help does Tyler employ to bring Mari’s mother to Vermont?

4. Where do Tyler, his aunt and uncle, Mari, and Mari’s mother stop on the way home to Vermont?

Multiple Choice

1. How does Mr. Bicknell impact the motion made at the town meeting regarding the “rounding up” of illegal immigrants (Chapter 6)?

A) He says working conditions are so bad that undocumented workers would be better off in custody.

B) He makes others realize what they might have in common with undocumented newcomers.

C) He frustratedly begs others to consider virtues and lessons learned at church.

D) He quickly agrees with the motion and makes no effort to hide his opinion.

2. In what way does Mr. Rossetti demonstrate that he is a “round” or 3-dimensional character?

A) He is intolerant of undocumented workers but offers Tyler a job so he can earn towards the school trip.

B) He knew Grandma a long time ago but cannot justify trying to begin a relationship at his age.

C) He can cook and bake nice meals and desserts but prefers to have others cook for him.

D) He is irate over losing objects and forgetting memories but keeps one family photo always safe.

3. Tyler earns and saves enough money for the trip to D.C., but he decides to give the money for another purpose. What literary device is exemplified in this turn of events?

A) indirect irony

B) dramatic irony

C) verbal irony

D) situational irony

4. How can Mari’s actions and demeanor best be characterized as she first meets the smugglers with ransom money, then interacts with Mamá on the way back to Vermont?

A) abrupt and suspicious

B) bitter and gloomy

C) cautious and mature

D) ecstatic and enthusiastic

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Tyler want more than anything for his birthday? Why does it seem unlikely that he will get it?

2. According to her letter to Abuelito in Las Margaritas, what has occurred lately that gives Mari hope that Mamá may still come back to the family?

3. Explain how the relationship between Grandma and Mr. Rossetti begins, how it changes, and where it stands by the time Mari’s mother comes to Vermont.

4. Describe how 3-4 various pieces must fall into place to successfully bring Mamá home.

Chapters 8-9

Reading Check

1. What two characters plan to visit Mexico over Alyssa’s spring break?

2. Where is Mari when she begins composing in her new diary?

3. How does Mamá manage to avoid a court trial after being arrested?

4. What farm name does Mari suggest to Tyler?

Multiple Choice

1. Which of these plot details demonstrates irony, considering the given circumstances?

A) Mari’s trip to the cemetery on Memorial Day

B) the Cruzes’ stay in Boston with Tyler’s aunt and uncle

C) Tío Armando’s immediate deportation to Mexico

D) Grandma’s suggestion for a farm name

2. Which of these objects best symbolizes the intent on Mari’s and Tyler’s part to continue to form bridges between their families and cultures?

A) Mari’s diary

B) the farm

C) Mamá’s purse

D) the telescope

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does the phrase “return to sender” typically mean in American colloquial (conversational) vocabulary? To what historical event in the spring of 2006 does the phrase refer?

2. How is it possible that Kyle’s family must give up the farm but they do not have to move?

3. Why does Mari want to meet with the immigration official when she knows she is considered “illegal”?

4. What are some differences in their lifestyle now that the Cruzes have moved back to Mexico?