"A School for Robots" Review

Which excerpt from the story identifies the main conflict?

• You can understand why, in a school devoted to perfect order and regularity, these little programmed robots would be far more convenient than real students. One teacher was enough for everybody. (paragraph 3)

• 1. The teacher was so dumbfounded that she went to examine the robot’s buttons at once, to see whether she might have pressed them incorrectly. Indeed not. All the buttons were in place. (paragraph 14)

• Then the teacher telephoned frantically to the factory to send a repairman at once. She was even willing to pay from her own pocket. (paragraph 18)

• “There must be a bad connection somewhere,” said the repairman, pulling an oil can from his bag. “Now you’ll see that everything will be all right.” (paragraph 22)

Which detail from the story suggests that it is a work of science fiction?

• The school strictly follows a regular schedule.

• The students are robots programmed to be perfect.

• The robots are programmed to do their work efficiently.

• The students already know most of what is being taught.

Select TWO excerpts from the story that BEST support the inference that the principal values the consistency of the robot students.

• There was once a school without a single living student; the principal got his pupils from a robot factory instead. (paragraph 1)

• So these little robots were indeed marvels of mechanical and electronic efficiency, and everyone who saw them working was stunned by their performance. (paragraph 4)

• Of course, it was possible to switch subjects around somewhat to take arithmetic before history, or, in place of one rule of grammar, to take another. (paragraph 11)

• Indeed, the principal was so content with this state of affairs that he not only praised the teacher highly, but even gave her a promotion. (paragraph 11)

• The teacher couldn’t imagine such a disrespectful version of history being recited in school. She went back to her desk, full of anxiety, hoping that the principal would not find out. (paragraph 14)

Read the dictionary entry.

promotion \prə-mo′shən\ n 1. the act of moving someone to a higher job, grade, or rank; 2. support or encouragement of the progress or growth of something; 3. advertising or publicity; 4. an act, event, or offer that helps increase interest in or demand for something

Which definition best matches the meaning of promotion as it is used in paragraph 11?

• Definition 1

• Definition 2

• Definition 3

• Definition 4

How does the new robot's behavior propel the story forward?

• It causes the other robot students to act strangely.

• It causes school personnel to look deeper for the truth.

• It causes the teacher to forget about learning for the day.

• It causes the principal to reconsider giving the teacher a promotion.

Select TWO sentences that BEST explain why the characters are surprised at the conclusion of the story.

• They expected the robot to be an actual robot.

• They thought the school had only robot students.

• They were confused by the new robot’s behaviors.

• They could not understand why the boy was laughing.

• They did not know if the repairman knew about the robot.

What is hidden from the reader as a result of the story's third-person point of view?

• the inner feelings of the principal

• how the principal handled the problem

• how the repairman tried to fix the new robot

• the reason why the new robot answered questions incorrectly

The purpose of the specific times mentioned throughout the story is to ...

• help clarify the non-chronological timeline

• help advance the story from day 1 to day 2

• help show the differences between day 1 and day 2

• help the reader compare the robots’ school day to their own school day