Spring Intercession '24

Which sentences from the selection “Sticking to It” support the thesis that the two men were determined to make their invention succeed?

• It took them several more years to perfect the design, but finally, with the help of other scientists, they had it: a thin film of the special adhesive along just one side of a piece of paper. (paragraph 7)

• The two worked hard to convince others of the adhesive's usefulness. (paragraph 6)

• Yet few people were interested in microspheres. (paragraph 6)

• How could something with such a weak adhesive be beneficial? (paragraph 6)

Read this information about the word persistence. 

From Latin per-, meaning “through,” and sistre, meaning “to stand firm”

This information helps the reader understand that the word persistence in paragraph 5 of the article “Sticking to It” means-

• continuing even with setbacks or difficulty

• waiting for the right moment to act

• continuing to improve even after succeeding

• holding onto an opinion against the majority

What does the introduction in the article “Sticking to It” help the reader understand about sticky notes?

• They are a useful tool for developing skills.

• They have more uses than is commonly thought.

• They are used differently in different places.

• They have had a major effect on people's lives.

What does the break between lines 4 and 5 in “An Unexpected Gift” help reader understand?

• A shift in tone from excitement to disappointment

• A move away from people to the natural world

• A change from general statements to particular events

• A turn from addressing the reader to teaching a lesson

Lines 13 through 16 are important to the plot of the poem “An Unexpected Gift” because that is when - 

• the speaker's perspective on his own success changes

• the family decides how far the boats have to travel for the race

• the speaker realizes the boat can work better as something else

• the family members express their admiration from the speaker's boat

What is the most likely reason the author used a limited point of view in the poem “An Unexpected Gift”?

• To show why the speaker wants to win the race

• To reveal how the speaker's feelings about the boat change

• To illustrate why the speaker's interest is in nature

• To portray how the speaker thinks through a difficult problem

Read lines 37 through 40 from the poem “An Unexpected Gift.”

My boat became a backyard fixture

Not on our pond but in our tree;

There it sits steady, offering

A tasty treasure of bird seed.

Which sentence from the article “Sticking To It” contains a SIMILAR idea about an object being used often?

• It took them several more years to perfect the design, but finally, with the help of other scientists, they had it . . . . (paragraph 7)

• The men chose their company as a place to test their invention. (paragraph 8)

• Their impact is undeniable - roughly 50 billion sticky notes are manufactured in the United States each year. (paragraph 9)

• Indeed, sticky notes may be the most valuable "mistake" in invention history? (paragraph 9)

Both Silver in the article “Sticking to It” and the speaker in the poem “An Unexpected Gift” create something useful.  How is this experience DIFFERENT for Silver?

• He creates his design as part of a contest.

• He feels great pride in the success of his creation.

• He finds the suggestion for his design in nature.

• He has to wait much longer to see his work finished.

One DIFFERENCE between the article “Sticking to It” and the poem “An Unexpected Gift” is that only the article shows -

• that Silver was competing with others

• that Silver had immediate success

• that Silver began with a clearly defined goal

• that Silver immediately saw the value of his mistake

Read the sentence from the article “Sticking to It.”

Although Silver missed his initial goal, he knew he designed something revolutionary. (paragraph 4)

Which group of lines from the poem “An Unexpected Gift” contains a SIMILAR idea?

• Just then, a group of birds came down' upon my boat where it sat resting. (lines 29 - 30)

• To our surprise (and my delight), / they seemed to find it interesting ( lines 31 - 32)

• My cardboard boat, I recognized, / was never made to race and ride, / but even so it had a role - / For the birds it could provide! (lines 33 - 36)

• My boat became a backyard fixture/ not on our pond but in our tree; / there it sits steady, offering/ a tasty treasure of bird seed. (lines 37 - 40)