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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. Who was the principal of Kelly School when Mrs. Zajac was a teacher there?

2. What happened if a student did not hand in their best work?

3. How many reading groups did Mrs. Zajac have in her classroom?

4. What different kinds of reports did Mrs Zajac assign to her students monthly?

5. What happened to the Flats in the 1980's?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was Alphonse Laudato? What kind of job did he have at Kelly School? Did Mrs. Zajac like him? Why or why not?

2. When and where did Mrs. Zajac have time to grade her social studies papers? What trend did Mrs. Zajac see in her students' performance? Who in particular had made real strides in class and homework? Who had not done so well?

3. How did Clarence's behavior change in the first three days of school? What was Mrs. Zajac's reaction? What were Clarence's consequences for his behavior? What does Mrs. Zajac finally decide to do?

4. Why did Clarence immediately catch Mrs. Zajac's eye? What were some of his behaviors in the classroom? What did she and her student teacher Miss Hunt notice about Clarence?

5. What were the afternoons like for Mrs. Zajac? Why were they easier for her?

6. What subject did Mrs. Zajac's students have on Wednesday afternoons? How was the behavior in the classroom different from other times as the students prepared their Halloween project?

7. What were the work conditions for female teachers of the late 19th and 20th centuries?

8. What was Mrs. Zajac's favorite saying, or mantra, to her students? What does she want her students to understand about learning?

9. What was the name of Mrs. Zajac's school and where was it located? What did we know about the school? What was the make-up of the student body in her classroom?

10. In the first chapter, what does the reader learn about Mrs. Zajac? How old is she? How long has she been a teacher? Does she have a family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the following quote and its relevance to the book:

"Teachers usually have no way of knowing that they have made a difference in a child's life, even when they have made a dramatic one. But for children who are used to thinking of themselves as stupid or not worth talking to or deserving rape and beatings, a good teacher can provide an astonishing revelation. A good teacher can give a child at least a chance to feel. 'She thinks I'm worth something. Maybe I am.' "

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Mrs. Zajac and her student teacher Miss Hunt. Are there traits they share in common? What are some of the ways the two women contrast each other.

Essay Topic 3

Choose three of the children in Mrs. Zajac's fifth grade. How are the children similar? How are they different? Include social skills, cultural differences, levels of intelligence, family backgrounds.

(see the answer keys)

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