The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is a Sing’anga?

A) Witch doctor

B) Masked dancer

C) Village chief

D) Evil spirit

2. What did Banda demand of every trader in Malawi?

A) That they give him a portion of their profits

B) That they wear the same style of clothing as he did

C) That they hang a picture of him in their shop

D) That they add “Banda” to the name of their stores

3. How does William come to befriend Khamba?

A) William finds him abandoned on the side of the road.

B) William’s Uncle Socrates brings him to the farm.

C) Khamba is a gift from Charity.

D) Khamba hides in William’s room.

4. What are the first electronic devices William and Gilbert learn to fix?

A) Radios

B) Televisions

C) Bike lamps

D) Cell phones

5. How is most of the electricity generated in Malawi?

A) Nuclear

B) Fossil fuels

C) Wind

D) Water

6. How does William’s mother earn money for the family during the drought?

A) She washes the neighbors’ clothing.

B) She returns to her job as a secretary.

C) She teaches at the primary school.

D) She sells cakes along the roadside.

7. Why is William’s father so upset when he discovers that Annie has run off with a teacher?

A) He believes he will not receive a dowry for her.

B) She was his favorite child, and he is hurt by her secrecy.

C) He is worried that the teacher will not marry her, leaving her ruined.

D) She had a promising future in education.

8. Why does William get into Kachokolo Secondary School?

A) He gets top scores in each of the subjects tested.

B) He gets low scores in each of the subjects tested.

C) His father pays a bribe for William to attend this school.

D) His home is located close to this campus.

9. Wat ailment does Geoffrey have during the famine?

A) Scabies

B) Tuberculosis

C)  Anemia

D) Shingles

10. What crop is William hoping will “fetch a good price” and get him back to school?

A) Corn

B) Soybeans

C) Tobacco

D) Wheat

11. What strategy does William use to try to stay in school?

A) William hides underneath the open window to listen to the lessons.

B) William stays quiet and tries to remain unnoticed.

C) William promptly pays all his school fees.

D) William tries to show how smart he is by answering every question.

12. When William is asked how he built the windmill, what does he tell villagers?

A) That he built the windmill by learning about windmills at school

B) That he built the windmill based on a dream he had

C) That he built the windmill after talking to his dad about farming problems

D) That he built the windmill after researching windmills

13. What was one of the main improvements of having electricity in William’s home?

A) Having lights at night

B) Being able to charge their phones

C) Having a way to keep food cold

D) Being able to pump water from the well

14. What illness does William’s mother contract while visiting her parents?

A) Dengue Fever

B) Malaria

C) HIV

D) Pneumonia

15. Where does William travel to see wind farms?

A) Colorado

B) Connecticut

C) California

D) Pennsylvania

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Describe William’s relationship with Khamba throughout the text. Why is telling his readers about Khamba’s death so important to William?

2. With the return of yet another famine, what becomes the scapegoat? How do the villagers react?

3. What happens to William after he presents at the TED conference?