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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What else does the digger wasp prepare for its children?

2. The poet names _________________ insect species.

3. The poet creates what between the two readers in "Cicadas?"

4. Which bee believes life is hard and unenjoyable?

5. "Honeybees" is quite different from the previous poems. Why?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author use poetry and literary devices to teach about whirligig beetles?

2. How does this mood in "The Digger Wasp" change? Why?

3. How does the poet use poetry to give the reader a sense of what cicadas sound like?

4. Compare the different types of honeybees.

5. From whose perspective is "Honeybees?" Why?

6. How do "Whirligig Beetles" and "Requiem" compare?

7. What is the mood of "The Digger Wasp?" Why?

8. How is "Requiem" unlike any of the other poems? Why?

9. Describe the whirligig beetle, based on this poem.

10. What does "Water Boatmen" describe? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This book is filled with poems about insects.

Part 1) Why might the poet have chosen insects as his subject matter? What might have led him to choose these types of insects? What do these insects have in common?

Part 2) After reading these poems, how has your opinion of insects been altered? Why? Which insect is your favorite, after reading this book? Why?

Part 3) Why is it important to learn about insects? How are insects important to our world? How different would our world be without insects? Would it be a balanced world without insects? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Mayflies live for only one day.

Part 1) How do they spend their day? Why might they do this? How do they feel about this one day? Are you surprised by this? Why or why not?

Part 2) How are many people like the mayfly? How can one relate to this creature whose life lasts only twenty-four hours?

Part 3) What is the lesson of this poem? What can the reader learn about how one should spend one's life, based on this poem? Why?

Essay Topic 3

The point of view of these poems is often from the point of view of the insect that is the main character of the poem.

Part 1) Support this statement with facts from the book. Why might the poet choose to have most of the poems from the perspective of the insect?

Part 2) What is a poem not from the perspective of one insect? From whose perspective is it? Why? How does this affect your view of the insect?

Part 3) How is perspective important in a story or poem? How does this affect the mood of the story and the readers' view of the story and characters?

(see the answer keys)

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