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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 title of address did Jackie's mother forbid her children to use?

2. What did Georgina tell her grandchildren never to do?

3. How many children did Grandma Georgiana's mother give birth to?

4. Whose dream of a ladder to heaven is described in "Bible Times"?

5. What Biblical river is referenced in the poem "The Leavers"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe the names in her family in "Family Names"?

2. How does the author describe her grandmother's rules in "The Right Way to Speak"?

3. When and where does the author describe her paternal great-great-grandfather's birth in "It’ll Be Scary Sometimes"?

4. How is the house described in "The Ghosts of the Nelsonville House"? Where is Nelsonville?

5. What event is described in the poem "The Candy Lady"?

6. What does the author describe calling her grandfather in "Gunnar's Children"? How does she describe her feelings for her grandfather?

7. How is Odell described in the poem "Uncle Odell"? Who was named for Odell?

8. How does the author describe her ancestry in "February 12, 1963"?

9. Who is the focus of the poem "Football Dreams"? What is related in this narrative?

10. How is "Daywork" described in the poem with the same name? Who took on daywork to support Jackie and her siblings when they were growing up?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Jacqueline Woodson's time of birth. How does the author illustrate the atmosphere of this period in history? What major events occurred in the United States in the year the author was born? How did these events influence her life and culture?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and discuss the imagery and symbolism in the final poems of Part 1. Why did Jackie and her family travel at night on the bus from South Carolina to Ohio? How does the author describe the river they follow on their journey? What do you think the river represents symbolically? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the themes of family and sacrifice seen in the memoir. What are some of the sacrifices that Georgiana has made for her children and grandchildren? What are sacrifices Gunnar has made? How has Mary Anne sacrificed for her children?

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