Background Info.
Comprehension & Analysis
"First Rain"
Vocabulary
Evaluation & Synthesis
100
The President of the United States during this time period.
Who was Franklin D. Roosevelt?
100
What does Billie Jo want to do with the baby found abandoned at church?
What is adopt the child?
100
In this excerpt from the poem "First Rain," why does Billie Jo compare the sound of the rain to a "concert of rain notes?"
What is it sounds like music to her?
100
Despite being in constant storms, Billie Jo says that farmers were still "dazed by dust." Dazed, as it is used here, most closely means...
What is stunned?
100
Billie Jo meets Louise and tells her about Ma; Pa goes to the doctor for his spots.
What is Falling Action?
200
"Black Sunday" refers to...
What is the worst recorded storm, in April 1935?
200
What happens soon after the grasshoppers destroy the apples on the trees?
What is Ma dies?
200
In Stanzas 7 & 8. How do the farmers most likely feel after the rain?
What is hopeful and thankful?
200
The word "fidgety" most closely means...
What is restless and nervous?
200
Billie Jo and her family (Ma and Pa) struggle to make a living during the Dust Bowl, 1934.
What is Exposition?
300
The Dust Bowl took place in which decade.
What is the 1930s
300
What happens to the money Billie Jo earns from her piano playing?
What is Ma saves it to send Billie Jo to music school?
300
What is the effect of comparing the rain to a "stranger at the door" (Stanza 3)?
What is it shows that the rain is a surprise?
300
How dos someone most likely feel if they are described as sulking?
What is bad-tempered?
300
By accident, Billie Jo throws the pail of kerosene at Ma. Both are burned badly.
What is Inciting Event?
400
The Dust Bowl mainly occurred in/affected which of the following states?
What is Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Texas?
400
Throughout the novel, who encourages Billie Jo to keep playing the piano?
Who is Arley Wanderdale?
400
In stanza 1, What is Billie Jo's motivation for putting a wet cloth over her nose?
What is to avoid breathing the dust?
400
The lazy boy ______ in the field even though there was much work to do.
What is idled?
400
Pa drinks away the money; Ma and Franklin die; the storms worsen; a family moves into school.
What is Rising Action?
500
Many people fled the Dust Bowl states looking for better lives in.....
What is California?
500
"Mad dog scooped a handful of dust, like a boy in a sandpit. He said, 'I love this land, no matter what.' I looked at this hands. They were scarless." (Spring 1935) Why does Billie Jo make this observation about Mad Dog's hands?
What is she is jealous of his perfect hands in comparison to her own?
500
Billie writes, "Mad Dog had come first to Arley Wanderdale's mind, but I didn't get too riled. Not so riled I couldn't say yes," What does the word riled mean here?
What is upset and irritated?
500
Pa decides to diversify his crops on the farm; Pa and Louise are engaged; Billie Jo plays piano.
What is Resolution?
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