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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 was the name of Mrs. Zajac's church?

2. Which students worked with Claude on a Science Fair project?

3. Why did Felipe's father choose to live in the Flats?

4. What did the children in the classroom Mrs. Zajac visited ask her for?

5. What was the best part of the trip to Puerto Rico for Mrs. Zajac?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where did Mrs. Zajac take her class on a field trip? Why did she choose this place for the children to see? Why was this trip especially important to Judith and Arabella?

2. What did Mrs. Zajac and her family do over spring break? Who organized the experience? Why did Mrs. Zajac decide to spend her spring break this way?

3. How did Mrs. Zajac think the students in her class would react to Clarence's departure from their class? How did they actually respond to Clarence not being in the classroom?

4. What did Mrs. Zajac dream about the night before her first day in class without Clarence? How does she feel as the week begins and Clarence is not there?

5. What is the history of Puerto Ricans in the town of Holyoke? How were they treated in the second half of the twentieth century?

6. What were some of the differences Mrs. Zajac noticed between the English Mass and the Spanish mass? What did she learn about the Puerto Rican culture by attending the bilingual mass Father Joyce offered?

7. Who among Mrs. Zajac's students was particularly excited about entering the science fair? What was the project? How did Mrs. Zajac feel about this student's participation in the science fair?

8. Who in Mrs. Zajac's class won a ribbon for their Science Fair project? How did the ribbon recipients respond to being awarded for their efforts? How did the other children respond to the award?

9. How did some of the teachers at Kelly School speak about the Puerto Rican students at Kelly School? Why did they respond this way to them?

10. Who was the new child sent to Mrs. Zajac's class when school resumed after winter break? How did she get to Holyoke and Mrs. Zajac's class?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of the book when school is over, Mrs. Zajac described Clarence and Robert as "my failures." Do you agree that Mrs. Zajac had failed these two students? Defend your position.

Essay Topic 2

Teaching in America today is a challenge, but the history of teaching in America has always been fraught with challenges. What are some of the challenges faced by teachers in the earlier part of the century that are no longer a problem today? What ones remain challenges to teachers today? Why do you think this is?

Essay Topic 3

Miss Hunt was the student teacher for sixteen weeks in the beginning of the school year. What suggestions did Mrs. Zajac give Miss Hunt as she prepared to go out into the world and teach? Why was each suggestion an important one?

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