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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. Where does the family spend the night the first day on the road?

2. What family does Pat say lives three miles away?

3. What does Pa use for a temporary roof?

4. What does Mr. Edwards tell Laura he is?

5. What is the first state through which the Ingalls family travels?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Charles Ingalls want to move west?

2. How long does it take for Mr. Edwards and Pa to finish the house and why is Mr. Edwards helping them?

3. How does the family get across the creek and who does not make it?

4. Where do the Ingalls stop for supplies and where do they spend the first night on the road? What do they hear that first night?

5. What happens with Pet the day after the stable is built?

6. What does the family do after Pa and Mr. Edwards finish the house, except for the roof?

7. How does Laura end up wading in the creek?

8. What does Mr. Edwards look like and what does he tell Laura he is?

9. Why is Laura worried about crossing the creek?

10. How does Jack appear at the camp on the prairie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify the protagonists of the story and why you believe they are such? Identify the antagonists of the story and why you believe they are such? Which three secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot? Which, if any, characters are not essential to the story? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Often, authors will write about what they know, and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:

Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Wilder's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Wilder's probable agenda concerning that idea.

Essay Topic 3

Define plot and include the definitions of the most important elements of a plot. Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not? Write a brief synopsis of the plot of Little House on the Prairie, identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot? Give a brief synopsis of any important sub-plots.

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