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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the former occupation of Esme's current principal (as of the Epilogue)?
(a) Civil engineer.
(b) College professor.
(c) School librarian.
(d) Army colonel.

2. Why doesn't Codell respond favorably to the educational chiropractor?
(a) She thinks the rules being proposed are much too harsh for the students.
(b) She wishes to sign her name "Madame Esme," and the educational chiropractor discourages this.
(c) She believes her classroom seating arrangement is just fine without someone interfering.
(d) She doesn't believe in the curriculum conformity he advocates.

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

4. What kind of people too often dominate public education, according to Trelease?
(a) People like Esme Codell.
(b) Ill-tempered people who are too quick to anger.
(c) People like Ms. Federman.
(d) Haughty, prideful, disconnected people.

5. Which child is especially shy about being a storyteller?
(a) Serena.
(b) B. B.
(c) Ozzie.
(d) Maurissa.

6. Why is Codell impressed with her students when they have a field trip to the Historical Society?
(a) They do not steal anything the entire day.
(b) They make sure to carefully read the plaques on display.
(c) They are exceedingly polite to the society's staff.
(d) They are using knowledge learned in class in the real world.

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

8. How does the class do on the yearly standardized tests the district administers?
(a) The class performs poorly, and Codell is disappointed and disillusioned.
(b) The class scores best out of all the fifth-grade classes in the school.
(c) The class scores third-best out of all the fifth-grade classes in the school.
(d) The class scores the best in the state.

9. How long did Esme Codell work at the first school she taught at?
(a) Ten years.
(b) As of the Epilogue, she continues to teach there to this day.
(c) One year.
(d) Two years.

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

11. Which student does Codell believe has the potential to become a children's book illustrator?
(a) Shira.
(b) Ashworth.
(c) Serena.
(d) B. B.

12. What special guest(s) arrive(s) for the Storyteller Festival?
(a) Michael Jordan.
(b) Connie Porter.
(c) Representatives from the foundation which gave Codell the grant for the festival.
(d) Members of the Chicago Board of Education.

13. Why doesn't Mr. Turner initially want to suspend B. B.?
(a) B. B. has otherwise been an exemplary student, and his misbehavior is isolated.
(b) He believes that at-risk blacks should be given a break, given their circumstances.
(c) Mr. Turner happens to be friends with B. B.'s father.
(d) Mr. Turner wishes to expel B. B. and only reluctantly agrees to the lesser punishment.

14. According to Codell, how must a teacher behave with a student to get him/her to learn?
(a) Kind and nurturing.
(b) Coy and elusive.
(c) Tough and strict.
(d) Aloof and disinterested.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Codell teach the students to multiply double-digit numbers?

2. Why is Codell's day spoiled on April 11th?

3. How does Codell teach Melanie to control her destructive urges?

4. In Codell's reading group method, what role does the "literary luminary" play?

5. What misbehavior does Melanie have a propensity to commit?

(see the answer keys)

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