These questions may be used as the teacher reads the story aloud stopping on the appropriate pages to build understanding by eliciting answers from the students.
I created these questions as a guide but, of course, your own questions would work just as well. I’ve provided answers to my own questions if you’d like to use them. However, please feel free to accept all reasonable responses.
The first two questions are pre-reading activities to ready the students for the story.
Q. Describe what you see on the cover.
A. Expect a variety of descriptions.
Q. Read the title and tell what you think this story is about.
A. The cover shows two teams playing basketball. From the title, I think the story will be about the growth of a basketball team.
Q. What is the problem that Todd and Jake are discussing at the beginning of Grow Team Grow?
A. Colin is “hogging the ball” again. The coach and Colin’s dad are pleased with him doing this.
Q. What does the word team mean to Todd?
A. Together Each Athlete Moves
Q. Who gives Todd the inspiration to help his basketball team? How?
A. Georgie, his cat, gives Todd inspiration. Georgie refuses to allow Helene, the cat, to take his toy. Georgie shows he can control his toy.
Q. Describe Todd’s plan to help his team improve their basketball game.
A. The Cougars will meet from 4:00 to 6:00 PM two times a week at the park to practice skills, strategies, and playing. They will meet at lunch recess at school to work on the same things.
Q. What does Sam say to Coach Topper when he says, “Go for the win.”
A. “We would love to win, but it’s more important that we play as a united team.”
The way to achieve your own success is to be willing to help somebody else get it first.— Iyanla Vanzant
Q. As the team practices regularly what begins to happen?
A. The team plays with their heads in the game and makes good decisions that involve all players on the court.
Q. Do they win every game after their regular practices?
A. No, they do not.
Q. What makes them pleased about their new way of playing?
A. They are all able to participate and contribute to the game and the score.
Q. What important thing does Coach Topper say to the team at the half time of the Eagles game?
A. “It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.”
Q. What does this tell you about the coach’s thinking and how he has changed?
A. He now believes that the team members must all contribute equally to the game, so the play is fair. Also, the players are all learning what it means to be a team.
Q. At the end of the story, we see the boys all together in Todd’s basement. What does this tell you about how the team changed from the start of the story to the end?
A. They came together through playing basketball fairly. The players are now more than a team, they are friends
Q. Who created the opportunity for the boys to grow a team through additional practice? What does this teach you about the importance of just one person?
A. Todd created the opportunity. This shows one person can be effective.
Q. What is the lesson of this book?
A. The lesson is that just one person can make a team become a true team by using determination, hard-work, and cooperation.
George was abandoned by his first family. It took four homes for him to find his forever home. He is not angry or bitter. Rather he is loving and playful.