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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 "First-Day Fly," how old were you when your mother taught you how to iron?

2. What color door do Dre or Jamal have to go through in order to inherit Big Mac's house?

3. What does Fort see in a bubble on page 15?

4. What quartz stone did Dylan's mother always carry?

5. What does Mbalia want readers to feel when they read Black Boy Joy?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Fort run into on page 6?

2. Why does Mbalia dislike watching the news?

3. In "First-Day Fly," why did the main character get sent to the principal's office?

4. How does Jamal remember that his granddad told him a breathworm can be defeated, and does it work?

5. What is the Between and what is it like?

6. What are some facts Dylan wants to share about Dodos with his friend and his teacher?

7. In "First-Day Fly," how are sneakers prepared for the first day of school?

8. How should jeans be ironed in "First-Day Fly"?

9. What happens in the school cafeteria on Fridays?

10. What cars are in the driveway when Cornell gets home, and what information do they provide him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Big Mac sets up a competition between his grandsons to be held after he dies in “The McCoy Game.” What is Big Mac’s goal for the competition?

Essay Topic 2

An analogy is the comparison of an unfamiliar object or idea to a familiar one in an attempt to explain the unfamiliar or to help readers understand characters, events, or concepts. What are some analogies Randall uses in “But Also, Jazz? How do these analogies help readers comprehend characters, events or concepts?

Essay Topic 3

Dialogue tags help identify who is speaking in a written conversation. What would happen if dialogue tags were never used to identify who is speaking in a written conversation? What are some common dialogue tags used to identify speakers in a written conversation in the stories in Black Boy Joy? What descriptive dialogue tags have authors used, especially in "The Gender Reveal"? How do those dialogue tags help readers imagine scenes? How do they add another layer of description?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 856 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample