View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What excites Petra in school?

2. What does Petra learn about the woman in her dream?

3. What is significant about the Art Institute in Chicago for Petra and Calder?

4. What does Ms. Hussey drop off in front of Powell's?

5. Who have arrived outside where Calder is?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Ms. Hussey and the students discuss in class and what does she quote from Picasso?

2. What does the letter from Tommy say, and what is Calder's thoughts about the letter?

3. Who did Calder used to spend his time with, and what does he do now?

4. What is wrong with Ms. Hussey and what do Caler and Petra think about all the problems?

5. What interrupts Calder's writing about his assignment?

6. To what does the author compare pentominoes?

7. What does Calder discover in Mrs. Sharpe's home?

8. How are clues related to the story?

9. What does Petra begin looking for, and does she find it at home?

10. What does the author challenge the reader to do concerning the artwork and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many novels, and perhaps a majority, of novels ends on a happy note. Discuss the following:

1. Why do you think many (most?) people want what they perceive as a happy or good ending to a novel? Explain your opinion. Do you? Why or why not?

2. What are three reasons to read fiction? Discuss each one in light of "Chasing Vermeer" and whether or not it fulfills all three, two or one of the reasons you mention. Give examples as to why "Chasing Vermeer" is or is not successful in fulfilling the reasons you discuss.

3. Do you think reading solely for entertainment is as good a reason to read as any other? Why or why not? Can any work of fiction or non-fiction, no matter how poorly written, enlighten, teach, stimulate thought? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Lo! is a book full of unexplained events. The clippings in this book come from newspapers from all over the world and include hundreds of stories of bizarre events. The majority of these events are of living animals falling out of the sky. Charles Fort, the author of the book, believes that people take what happens around them and then make these often odd and unlikely events fit into something they can understand, rather than taking what actually happens and trying to figure out why it has happened.

1. Do you think a bizarre event can always be explained by science, even if the knowledge is not available in the present time? Why or why not? Use examples from "Chasing Vermeer" and your own life to support your answer.

2. Making something you see into something your mind understands or expects is a common phenomenon. For example, we might see "waht" but read "what". Discuss an incident in "Chasing Vermeer" in which one of the characters saw an event and decided to interpret that event based on what the character wanted to find or know. Use examples from "Chasing Vermeer" and your own life to support your answer.

3. Explain, in depth, how reading Lo! changed Petra and Calder's perception of the world. Use examples from "Chasing Vermeer" and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The art information given in Chapter 3 encourages young readers to be interested in art and its connection to literature. This chapter is an example of teaching across curriculum and how various school subjects are related. Ms. Hussey gives the students a quote by Picasso regarding how are tells a lie but also tells the truth.

1. Discuss the ways in which art and history are connected. Use examples from the book and your own life to support your answer.

2. Explain what is meant by teaching across curriculum. Use examples from "Chasing Vermeer" and your own life to support your answer.

3. Choose one of the following pairs of school subjects and explain, in detail, how they are connected in real life. Math/English; Science/History; Art/Social Studies or Math/Music.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,091 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample