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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. In "March 14 Storm" what is the author beginning to feel?

2. In "March 20-21 First Tappers," what does the author notice about the squirrels?

3. The author drives his son back to _____________ in "April 28."

4. In one he sees a huge _____________ owl starting at him.

5. In "January 31," the author must deal with extreme cold weather as well as the return of _______.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author learn from this dissection? How is this important to him?

2. What takes place in "Cows"? What is your reaction to this? Why?

3. What takes place in "January 5 Bog Trip"? How might this affect the students?

4. What is taking place in "March 13 Storm Warnings"? Why do the people act and feel this way?

5. Describe "April 20." Is the author's life a simple one? Why or why not?

6. Describe the author's walk in "April 28 Free Search." Why does he do this?

7. What does the author think of himself and his students in comparison to other people? Do you agree? Why or why not?

8. Describe the snow storm. How does it affect the author?

9. What takes place in "March 31"? How might the author feel about this?

10. How does the author feel about celebrating Christmas? Why might he feel this way?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author teaches a fifteen-day intensive course.

Part 1) Describe this course. Why does the author teach it? What does this reveal about him? What does this experience also reveal about him? What does this experience also reveal about his students? Describe the relationship between the author and his students.

Part 2) What are the benefits of a course such as this? Would you be interested in participating in something like this? Why or why not?

Part 3) How does this course compare to a regular college or high school course? What can teachers and professors of regular classroom-based classes learn from the course taught by the author? How might aspects of this course be incorporated into a regular classroom setting?

Essay Topic 2

The author rids himself of many modern conveniences.

Part 1) What are several modern conveniences he does away with? Why? What is the purpose of ridding his life of modern conveniences? Should he do this? Why or why not?

Part 2) How does this "simpler" life affect the author? What does he learn about himself, the natural world around him, and the modern world from doing away with most modern conveniences?

Part 3) Should people spend time without modern conveniences and technology? Why or why not? Would you choose to live without modern conveniences for a period of time? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Although the author's life may seem more simple, he is often very busy.

Part 1) What is he often busy doing? Why? What does this reveal about the "simple" life? Is it truly all that simple? Explain.

Part 2) How is the author affected by this simple life? How does he feel about his new routine and daily activities? Why does he feel this way?

Part 3) How might you be changed by simplifying your life? Would your life slow down if you simplified it? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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