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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the plot of the story "The Pudding Like the Night on the Sea"?
(a) A schoolgirl imagines that her pudding is the ocean, and she daydreams about a fantastic sea voyage.
(b) A pudding cup joins with other food items to defeat a rotten piece of cheese.
(c) A pudding comes to life to terrorize a small town.
(d) A father threatens to whip and beat his son, but it turns out that the "whipping" and "beating" involve making pudding.

2. How does Codell teach Melanie to control her destructive urges?
(a) Codell refuses to let Melanie check out any books from the classroom library unless Melanie stops.
(b) Codell calls a parent-teacher conference to explain the issue to Melanie's mother.
(c) Codell tells Melanie to think about sitting on the beach in Hawaii, rather than committing the crime.
(d) Codell tells her that when she has a "funny feeling" in her stomach telling her to commit a crime, she should find Codell instead.

3. Who is Codell especially impressed with, in respect to his or her stitching skills?
(a) Vanessa.
(b) Ashworth.
(c) Zykrecia.
(d) Ruben.

4. How long after the events in the journal does Codell write her Epilogue?
(a) Two months.
(b) Three weeks.
(c) Twelve years.
(d) Three years.

5. Why does Codell compare teaching to an apple in her poem "How to Teach Learning"?
(a) Learning can take many forms, like an apple can become juice or applesauce.
(b) The mind can rot, just like an apple.
(c) One bad apple (student) can spoil the bunch.
(d) If a teacher makes learning like a forbidden fruit, students will want it even more, like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

6. What gift does Akila give to Codell?
(a) A gold necklace.
(b) Fake vomit, as a joke.
(c) A sari.
(d) A woven basket.

7. What song does Codell hear in her mind when she has recess duty?
(a) "Cinderella's Departure for the Ball" by Prokofiev.
(b) "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly and the Family Stone.
(c) "Stoney End" by Laura Nyro.
(d) "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" by B. J. Thomas.

8. According to the end of Part II, what is Codell's ultimate career aspiration?
(a) She wants to be a school librarian.
(b) She wishes to remain a teacher of fifth-graders.
(c) She wishes to join the teachers' union full-time.
(d) She wishes to become a school principal.

9. How many stages does Codell create as part of her Storyteller Festival?
(a) One.
(b) Zero.
(c) Four.
(d) Two.

10. Which best describes an aspect of Codell's philosophy of reading out loud to the class?
(a) The teacher should often stop to have discussions about the text.
(b) The teacher should read words very slowly and loudly.
(c) Any difficult words should be immediately looked up in the dictionary.
(d) Each child should have a book, so they can follow along with the reading.

11. Why do Ozzie's grades plummet?
(a) Ozzie has joined a gang.
(b) His mother's ex-boyfriend is verbally and physically abusive.
(c) Ozzie is malnourished.
(d) Ozzie has developed dyslexia.

12. What ultimate fear does Codell express about Melanie?
(a) Melanie will likely have to repeat the fifth grade.
(b) Melanie may be expelled from the district after a hearing.
(c) Melanie may grow up to become a felon.
(d) Melanie will fail as a storyteller, and ruin the Storyteller Festival.

13. In the Afterword, how does the chairman of the State Board of Education act when he visits a school?
(a) He acts cold and indifferent.
(b) He acts extremely enthusiastic.
(c) He acts like he is royalty.
(d) He acts humble.

14. In Codell's reading group method, what role does the "literary luminary" play?
(a) Making questions up about the book.
(b) Defining difficult words in the text.
(c) Reading passages out loud.
(d) Guessing what comes next in the plot of the book.

15. When Mr. Turner sees Codell and several of her students wearing saris, what does he think?
(a) He believes Codell is mocking his own wearing of a sari two weeks earlier.
(b) He believes Codell is a terrible influence on her students.
(c) He believes Codell is having a cultural festival.
(d) He believes Codell is performing an open act of defiance.

Short Answer Questions

1. What organization gives a teaching award to Codell, as described in the April 7 entry?

2. What award does Codell receive during the events in the book?

3. What does Esme think about the physical appearance of her former students at the graduation ceremony?

4. Who draws muscle men in his journal?

5. What special guest(s) arrive(s) for the Storyteller Festival?

(see the answer keys)

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