Chapter 4 The Boy who Harnessed the Wind

What is the main idea of chapter 4?

Answer explanation

William graduated from primary school and would rather be a scientist than a farmer but farming maize was very important because it was the main food they ate at every meal.

How did William spend his holiday break from school?

• Hunting with his dog

• Helping his father prepare the maize

• Playing Bawo "Mancala"

• watching movies at the trading center

What was Nsima and how is it used?

• It is wheat flour used in porridge

• It is the milk they get from the goats used in porridge

• It is Maize flour and water that is rolled up into a ball and used to scoop up vegetables and meat

• It is Maize flour and milk that is rolled up into a ball and used to scoop up vegetables

What is involved in growing a good Maize crop?

• Growing Maize takes many years months preparing the soil, adding fertilizer, and killing the weeds to get a good harvest

• Growing Maize takes a month to get a good harvest

• Growing Maize takes a few months to get a good harvest

• Growing Maize takes 1 year preparing the soil, adding fertilizer, and killing the weeds to get a good harvest

What does remnants mean in this sentence? (page 64) "We began in July, when we cleared the remnants of the previous season's harvest."

• Left over remains of old Maize

• Extra corn that is harvested

• Soil that the Maize grows in

• Fertilizer used for the Maize

Why did William and Geoffery like setting the Maize stalks on fire?

• They like to watch the fire burn

• They enjoyed the warmth from the fire

• They caught the grasshoppers jumping from the fire and ate them

• They caught the rats jumping from the fire and ate them

What was the hardest work in farming for William?

• Harvesting the Maize

• Making the long dirt rows or ridges in the field with their hands

• Making the long dirt rows or ridges in the field with the plow

• Making the long dirt rows or ridges in the field by hand with a hoe

Why did William's father tell him to be careful with the hoe in the dark?

• He might hurt and animal

• He might break the hoe if he hits a rock accidentally

• He might cut off his foot.

• He might not make the ridge correctly in the dark

What did the creepy shadows along the road remind William of?

• Witch planes or Gule Wamkulu

• Witch doctors

• Monsters from his childhood

• Theives that hide in the brush waiting to rob people who pass by

After the ridges were dug what did they have to wait for?

• The fertilizer

• The rainy season

• Enough workers to help with planting the seed

• Wait for the seedlings to push through the soil