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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. While she is in the woods, what does Tamaya realize about the fuzzy mud?

2. When Tamaya offers Chad the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, what does he do?

3. How long did Marshall's friends refuse to let him play basketball with them because of Chad's intimidation?

4. Which word best describes the school nurse's reaction when Tamaya tries to explain how her rash feels and where she thinks she got it?

5. What happens to the leaf that Tamaya dips into the fuzzy mud?

Short Essay Questions

1. What condition is Chad in when Tamaya finally finds him?

2. What do all of the rumors about Chad's disappearance show about both Chad and the other students at Woodridge Academy?

3. How do the kids discover that Tamaya has lost her vision?

4. When Tamaya confronts Marshall on the basketball court, what makes it clear that the school nurse's treatment is not helping Tamaya's rash?

5. What happens when Mr. Walsh shows up at Woodridge to pick up Marshall?

6. When they are in the woods together, what does Chad reveal is behind his anger toward Marshall?

7. When Marshall is on the basketball court at lunch, what is ironic about his behavior toward Tamaya?

8. How does Chad feel that he is different from his siblings and from the other Woodridge students?

9. When Chad tells Tamaya and Marshall about being up in the trees, what does Tamaya think sounds so nice about it, and why?

10. How does Tamaya try to ensure that she will be able to find her way back out of the woods?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the realistic setting, characters, and plot of Fuzzy Mud all interact to keep the reader engaged in the story? Why does it matter that the story is set in ordinary places like a school, the woods, and students' homes? How do the thoughts and feelings of the ordinary children in this story help the reader bond with them? How does this bond increase the reader's engagement? In what ways is the plot realistic, and why does it matter that these things could really happen? Write an essay that uses evidence drawn from plot, characterization, and setting to show the many ways in which Fuzzy Mud is realistic and how Sachar's use of realism keeps the reader engaged.

Essay Topic 2

When you began reading this novel, you made a guess about whether Tamaya would be a static or dynamic character. What kind of a person is she at the beginning of this book? How do you know? What kind of a person is she at the end? How do you know? Does this make her a static or a dynamic character? After you have an answer to these questions, write an essay that makes a claim about whether Tamaya is a static or dynamic character and that uses evidence from the beginning, middle, and end of the text to support your claim. Remember that if you use quoted evidence, this should be cited in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What message does this novel convey about choosing the easy way out of a dilemma instead of choosing to do what is right, even if it is hard to do? How does this question relate to people in the book who do not seem to understand their own intentions or why they make the choices they make? How does this relate to the idea of a "Hobson's choice"? How does it relate to Woodridge Academy's emphasis on virtue and valor? Write an essay that takes and defends a position about what Fuzzy Mud communicates about making ethical choices. Support your claims with evidence drawn from throughout the text. If you use quoted evidence, remember to cite it in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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