83 pages • 2 hours read

Chains

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2008

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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, CHAPTERS 1-3

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Reading Check

1. By whom does Isabel hope to be purchased?

2. Who purchases Isabel and her sister?

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Short Answer

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

1. According to Mary Finch’s will, what is supposed to happen to Isabel and Ruth upon Mary’s death? What happens instead and why?

Paired Resource

“New England Colonies’ Use of Slavery”

This article from National Geographic covers the difference between indentured servitude and enslavement in the northern colonies at this time.
Why might Jenny have more sympathy for Ruth and Isabel than others?

PART 1, CHAPTERS 4-7

Reading Check

1. What are people who sympathize with England called during this time period?

Short Answer

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

1. Why is Elihu Lockton threatened with arrest during the search of their belongings in New York?

2. Why do enslaved people make for good spies, according to Curzon?

PART 1, CHAPTERS 8-10

Reading Check

1. What does Madam Lockton change Isabel’s name to?

Short Answer

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

1. What job is Ruth assigned in the Lockton household?

2. How does Isabel identify the men who meet with Elihu Lockton?

PART 1, CHAPTERS 11-13

Reading Check

1. What do Bellingham and the soldiers who enter the Lockton house intend to make with the lead they “harvest” from people’s houses?

2. Who is protecting Elihu Lockton from getting arrested again?

Short Answer

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

1. What lie does Madam tell about her lip injury?

PART 1, CHAPTERS 14-16

Reading Check

1. What does Elihu Lockton require in order to provide the money for Goldbuttons’s plan?

2. What password is Isabel given to get her back into the Battery if she has more news?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Goldbuttons suggest that the loyalists quickly quell rebellion in New York?

2. Why does Madam beat Ruth with a broom for having a seizure?

Paired Resource

“Signal Songs of the Underground Railroad”

This teachers’ resource provides context and a key for songs as coded messages within enslaved people’s communities. Although this resource specifically mentions the Underground Railroad, the content may be connected to the message Isabel receives in town. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing)
This resource includes information that connects to the theme of Courage as a Spiritual Feat.

PART 1, CHAPTERS 17-20

Reading Check

1. What is the sentence for the soldier who intended to execute Washington?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Elihu Lockton escape the string of arrests following the assassination plot?

2. What news interrupts the church service the girls are attending?

PART 1, CHAPTERS 21-24

Reading Check

1. What letter is Isabel branded with for trying to run away?

2. Who takes care of Isabel during her fever?

Short Answer

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

1. Why did Madam spike Isabel’s milk with a sedative?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 25-29

Reading Check

1. Which side in the war is offering to free any enslaved person that fights for them?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Curzon attempt to comfort Isabel about all she has been through?

2. Why does Captain Campbell refuse to hire Isabel when she attempts to run away?

Paired Resource

“Joshua and the Israelites Cross the Jordan”

This 2.5-minute video explains the story from the Bible that Curzon references in this section.
This information connects to the theme of The Nature and Cost of Freedom.
The text’s reference to this Bible story is an allusion. What can we learn about the characters and their thoughts or feelings based on this reference?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 30-33

Reading Check

1. Due to the shock of the fire, what does Lady Seymour experience?

2. Whom does Isabel see among the captured rebel prisoners?

Short Answer

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

1. Why is the Locktons’ situation different from most others’ situation in town since the fire?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 34-37

Reading Check

1. What injury has Curzon received from battle?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Isabel get into the prison to see Curzon?

2. What message is Isabel supposed to relay from the prison?

Paired Resource

“Prisoners of War”

The Mount Vernon resource site offers this informative article about conditions faced by prisoners on both sides of the American Revolutionary War.
This article connects to the themes of The Nature and Cost of Freedom and Courage as a Spiritual Feat.
What information in the article is reflected in Curzon’s experience in the prison?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 38-40

Reading Check

1. In what does Captain Morse hide the message for his soldiers?

Short Answer

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

1. How does Isabel go about celebrating Christmas in her own way?

2. What does Lady Seymour confess to Isabel on her deathbed?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 41-45

Reading Check

1. What event is the ball Madam Lockton prepares for intended to celebrate?

Short Answer

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

1. What happened to Ruth?

2. How does Isabel break Curzon out of prison?

Recommended Next Reads

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

The second installment in the series, Forge follows Isabel and Curzon as they begin their journey as fugitives from slavery during the American Revolution.
Shared themes include The Nature and Cost of Freedom and Family as a Source of Strength and Identity.
Shared topics include enslavement and the American Revolution.
Forge on SuperSummary

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Johnny is a young silversmith in Boston during the start of the Revolutionary War. The reader follows his journey of self-discovery as he gets swept up in the excitement and danger of the war.
Shared topics include the American Revolution and young people in history.
Johnny Tremain on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

PART 1, CHAPTERS 1-3

Reading Check

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8,800+ In-Depth Study Guides
4,700+ Quick-Read Plot Summaries
Downloadable PDFs

1. Jenny the tavern owner (Part 1, Chapters 1-3)

2. Anne Lockton (Part 1, Chapters 1-3)

Short Answer

The SuperSummary difference

8x more resources than SparkNotes and CliffsNotes combined
Study Guides you won’t find anywhere else
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1. Isabel and Ruth are supposed to be freed, but the greedy nephew doesn’t follow her wishes. He claims they are his property now, ignoring Isabel’s request to contact the lawyer about the will. Robert, the nephew, sells the girls for profit. (Part 1, Chapters 1-3)

PART 1, CHAPTERS 4-7

Reading Check

1. Tories (Part 1, Chapters 4-7)

Short Answer

1. Elihu Lockton is rumored to be a Tory, and the man says that he may be arrested for treason, even though the Locktons both claim to support the rebellion. (Part 1, Chapters 4-7)

2. Enslaved people make good spies because enslavers don’t consider them “people.” Enslavers are less careful about what they say around enslaved people. (Part 1, Chapters 4-7)

PART 1, CHAPTERS 8-10

Reading Check

1. Sal (Part 1, Chapters 8-10)

Short Answer

1. Ruth serves as personal maid to Madam Lockton. Isabel believes Madam Lockton intends to take advantage of Ruth’s disability. (Part 1, Chapters 8-10)

2. Isabel finds things about their appearance that are memorable, such as their buttons or wigs. (Part 1, Chapters 8-10)

PART 1, CHAPTERS 11-13

Reading Check

1. Bullets (Part 1, Chapters 11-13)

2. Lady Seymour (Part 1, Chapters 11-13)

Short Answer

1. Madam Lockton claims that Isabel was careless and left candle wax on the floor. Because of it, Madam Lockton claims she “slipped” instead of being hit by her husband. (Part 1, Chapters 11-13)

PART 1, CHAPTERS 14-16

Reading Check

1. A list of conspirators (Part 1, Chapters 14-16)

2. “Ad astra” (to the stars) (Part 1, Chapters 14-16)

Short Answer

1. Goldbuttons argues that the fastest way to quell the rebellion is to assassinate George Washington. (Part 1, Chapters 14-16)

2. Madam Lockton believes that Ruth is possessed by the devil, and she is trying to beat the possession out of her. (Part 1, Chapters 14-16)

PART 1, CHAPTERS 17-20

Reading Check

1. Death by hanging (Part 1, Chapters 17-20)

Short Answer

1. Elihu Lockton gets word of it ahead of time and is able to burn the evidence. He then escapes, hidden in a dairy crate. (Part 1, Chapters 17-20)

2. A boy interrupts church to tell everyone that the British ships have arrived to fight the rebels. (Part 1, Chapters 17-20)

PART 1, CHAPTERS 21-24

Reading Check

1. “I” for “insolence” (Part 1, Chapters 21-24)

2. Lady Seymour (Part 1, Chapters 21-24)

Short Answer

1. Madam Lockton is getting rid of Ruth and doesn’t want Isabel to interfere. Ruth is sold to a family in Nevis in the West Indies. (Part 1, Chapters 21-24)

PART 2, CHAPTERS 25-29

Reading Check

1. The British (Part 2, Chapters 25-29)

Short Answer

1. Curzon gives Isabel two pieces of information he thinks will provide hope. He says that he may know more about where her sister is being kept, and also that many others are also experiencing loss in the fight for freedom. (Part 2, Chapters 25-29)

2. Captain Campbell says that he can only accept rebel soldiers, and Isabel is from a Tory household. (Part 2, Chapters 25-29)

PART 2, CHAPTERS 30-33

Reading Check

1. A stroke (Part 2, Chapters 30-33)

2. Curzon (Part 2, Chapters 30-33)

Short Answer

1. Because they are wealthy and loyal to the British, the Locktons are able to maintain their standard of living. Their house did not burn down, and they are able to continue buying food. (Part 2, Chapters 30-33)

PART 2, CHAPTERS 34-37

Reading Check

1. A bullet wound in the leg (Part 2, Chapters 34-37)

Short Answer

1. Isabel lies and says she is there to visit her brother. She continues to go back and bring him food and comfort when she can. (Part 2, Chapters 34-37)

2. Isabel is supposed to tell the commander what horrible conditions the prisoners are being kept in. They are filthy; disease is rampant and kills many prisoners. (Part 2, Chapters 34-37)

PART 2, CHAPTERS 38-40

Reading Check

1. A loaf of bread (Part 2, Chapters 38-40)

Short Answer

1. Isabel bathes, then bakes a pudding to give to a family in need. (Part 2, Chapters 38-40)

2. Lady Seymour confesses that she wanted to buy Isabel, but she never actually did. (Part 2, Chapters 38-40)

PART 2, CHAPTERS 41-45

Reading Check

1. The Queen’s Birthday (Part 2, Chapters 41-45)

Short Answer

1. Ruth could not be sold, so the Locktons moved her to their plantation in Charleston to continue working as an enslaved child. (Part 2, Chapters 41-45)

2. Isabel lies and says that she is instructed to clean out the cells. When she cleans Curzon’s, she pretends that he has died and wraps his body up to carry out in a wheelbarrow. (Part 2, Chapters 41-45)