I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to The Blind Side, and Beyond

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PROLOGUE-CHAPTER 3

Reading Check

1. The Prologue opens with Oher visiting the Department of Children’s Services in which city?

2. What is the name of the low-income housing project where Oher lives from age 11 until he enters high school?

3. Oher’s mother suffered from an addiction to what illicit substance?

4. Oher’s maternal grandmother was cruel to all but one of Oher’s siblings. Which sibling?

5. What is the name of the particularly persistent social worker who is assigned to the Oher family’s case?

6. How old are Oher’s younger sisters Denise and Tara?

Short Answer

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

1. Why was the first of each month often a joyful time for Oher’s family?

2. How was “trouble” the biggest source of entertainment for Oher and his brothers, as described in Chapter 2?

3. What role did Oher’s younger sisters Denise and Tara play in Child Protective Services’ decision to take the children into custody?

Paired Resource

“Amid Dispute Over Being ‘Blindsided,’ Michael Oher Tells His True Story from Orphan to Overcomer”

• Coinciding with the release of Oher’s latest book called When Your Back’s Against the Wall, CBN News profiles Oher’s life story, from his football career to the movie The Blind Side in this clip.
• Oher’s mission with I Beat the Odds and his latest book is to correct the record to show that Personal Responsibility and Taking Initiative is the primary reason he “beat the odds.”
• What does Oher mean when he says that, from just three years old, his back was “against the wall”? Do you see that reflected in these opening chapters of I Beat the Odds?

“Why Do We Have Housing Projects?”

• PBS Origins explains the history of public housing in this 11-minute video, exploring why governments make the decision to subsidize housing projects. (For a shorter viewing, you may want to begin the video at 7:33 and the chapter entitled “HUD.”)
• Though Hurt Village was often the setting of some of Oher’s best memories, it also was an unsafe living situation for Oher and his brothers. Housing projects are often environments that cultivate At-Risk Youth.
• What elements of Hurt Village do you see reflected in this history of housing projects? Did you learn anything that helps you see Hurt Village in a new light?

CHAPTERS 4-9

Reading Check

1. Velma is the head of Oher’s initial foster family. What is the name of her twin sister?

2. Some weekends, Velma takes Oher and his siblings out of the city to do what activity?

3. In total, how long did Oher stay in Velma’s care?

4. In Chapter 6, which hospital is Oher admitted to?

5. What was the curriculum at Ida B. Wells School specially designed for?

6. As described in Chapter 8, which famous Bulls basketball player deeply inspired Oher?

Short Answer

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

1. Why did Oher feel restricted by Velma’s household rules?

2. What is the definition of a “runner” in the foster care system?

3. How did Oher’s fourth-grade teacher, Verlene Logan, have a significant impact on his life?

Paired Resource

“One Former Foster Child’s Simple Approach to Fixing a Broken Home”

• In this PBS NewsHour video, Sixto Cancel, a former foster care child and founder of the non-profit Think of Us, offers up his idea to fix the broken foster care system.
• His idea is to refocus the system by placing children with relatives rather than foster parents in order to keep families together.
• The founder of Think of Us explains that stories such as Oher’s are seen repeatedly in the foster care system, creating traumatizing conditions for already At-Risk Youth.
• Could Cancel’s idea to fix the foster care system have worked in Oher’s case? Why or why not?

CHAPTERS 10-15

Reading Check

1. What special program at Gateway Academy helped improve Oher’s notetaking and time management skills?

2. In what grade did Oher eventually join Briarcrest?

3. At Briarcrest, why were students required to wear formal clothing on Wednesdays?

4. In Chapter 12, shortly after Thanksgiving, Leigh Anne Tuohy offers to take Oher shopping for which necessity?

5. Which teacher does Oher credit as doing the most to help him meet the University of Mississippi’s grade requirement?

6. In his freshman year of college, Oher wins an award for his efforts during a big game against Alabama, in which he played on the offensive line and allowed zero sacks. What is the name of the award?

Short Answer

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

1. Why did Steve and Oher decide to attend Briarcrest Christian School as opposed to another private school?

2. As described in Chapter 12, how did Oher first meet the Tuohys?

3. How did Leigh Anne Tuohy stick up for Oher during a basketball game, when the referees were unfairly calling out Oher for supposedly “foul” play?

Paired Resource

“All-American Spotlight: Michael Oher”

• This video from Ole Miss Rebels, the official athletics YouTube channel for University of Mississippi, highlights the football career of Oher.
• As one of the most decorated offensive linemen in University of Mississippi sports history, Oher is a shining example of how mentorship and education can help transform the life of an At-Risk Youth.
• How did football help keep Oher on the path of success and overcome the obstacles in his life? How do you think football might have helped him develop a strong sense of personal responsibility?

CHAPTERS 16-21

Reading Check

1. In February 2009, Oher attended the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in which city?

2. Which team drafted Oher in the first round in the 2009 NFL draft?

3. Why didn’t Oher watch the film adaptation of The Blind Side when it was first released in 2009?

4. After Oher made it into the NFL, how did Oher’s biological mother react when he bought gifts for his siblings?

Short Answer

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

1. As he explains in Chapter 16, what tipped off Oher that the sports agent he initially worked with to prepare for the NFL draft might not be a good fit for him? What is the role of an agent in this context?

2. As described in Chapter 18, what is one of the main criticisms that Oher has with his depiction in the book and film adaptation of Michael Lewis’s The Blind Side?

3. What does Oher consider to be the upside of the film adaptation of The Blind Side?

4. How does Oher define “popcorn giving”? Where does this term come from?

Recommended Next Reads 

We Beat the Street: How A Friendship Pact Led to Success by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, Rameck Hunt, and Sharon Draper

• This is a joint memoir telling the story of Davis, Jenkins, and Hunt all growing up in the rough streets of Newark, NJ. Despite numerous obstacles, the three boys become medical professionals.
• Davis, Jenkins, and Hunt overcome major societal obstacles by Taking Initiative to change the course of their lives.
• As Black youth growing up in an underprivileged community like Oher, Davis, Jenkins, and Hunt face some of the same disadvantages to having a successful and comfortable life.
• We Beat the Street on SuperSummary

Three Little Words: A Memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

• In this inspiring true story, Rhodes-Courter tells her painful experience growing up in the Florida foster care system.
• At the core of Three Little Words is the theme of the Plight of Foster Children and At-Risk Youth.
• Both Oher’s and Rhodes-Courter’s childhoods were wracked with profound instability. This incites them to use their position later in life to give voice to children suffering in foster care.
• Three Little Words on SuperSummary