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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 prank does Nick play in his fourth-grade classroom?

2. Why does Mrs. Granger finally cut Nick off and end his report?

3. Who is the author of Frindle?

4. In Chapter Four, "Word Detective," what are the neighborhood kids doing while Nick does homework?

5. How does Nick's teacher react to the tropical island decorations?

Short Essay Questions

1. What question does Nick ask at the end of class in Chapter Five, "The Report," and how does Mrs. Granger respond?

2. Explain the three steps that lead to Nick's "frindle" plan.

3. In Chapter One, "Nick," what does Nick discover about blackbirds, and what does he do about it?

4. How does Mrs. Avery react to Nick's blackbird noise?

5. In Chapter Six, "The Big Idea," how does Nick put his "frindle" plan into action?

6. What evidence is there in Chapter 4, "Word Detective," that Nick's family values reading?

7. Who is James, and what does he have to do with Nick's homework?

8. In Chapter One, "Nick," how do the different school staff members react to Nick's "tropical island"?

9. In Chapter Five, "The Report," what is Nick's plan to waste class time, and how does Mrs. Granger react?

10. In Chapter Four, "Word Detective," why is Nick upset about doing his homework?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are many surprises at the end of this book. One of the important things about surprise endings is that they are supposed to be "earned." This means that even if the reader does not predict the ending, after reading it the reader should think that it makes sense with the rest of the story. An "unearned" ending is not only a surprise, but the reader has no way to see how the rest of the story leads up to it. (For instance, the story of "Little Red Riding Hood" ended with the wolf becoming a tap dancer in a Broadway show, that would certainly be surprising--but it would not make any sense with the rest of the story.) Explain why the surprises at the end of this story are either earned or not earned by the rest of the book.

Essay Topic 2

This story was written at a time when people used paper dictionaries to look up words--which was much less quick and easy than just clicking on the word and asking Google what it means. How important are words to you? Do you think that your attitude would have been more like Nick's, or more like Mrs. Granger's, under these circumstances?

Essay Topic 3

Mrs. Granger talks about how fast the world is changing and how she wants to teach things that will always be valuable no matter how the world changes. Does she succeed in her goal? Explain what she wants to do with her teaching, what choices she makes as a teacher in this story, and whether she does or does not achieve her goal--at least with Nick Allen.

(see the answer keys)

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