Book Info
The Testing takes place after a series of wars and natural disasters when the US has been reduced to a handful of colonies. Cia, a sixteen-year-old girl from the Five Lakes Colony (near the former Great Lakes) is chosen to participate in the Testing to determine whether she will have the leadership qualities necessary to attend the university. When she starts taking the tests, she realizes that there are more than just grades at stake. In fact, passing the Testing might just be the only way to stay alive!
Videos
Navigating the Post-Apocalypse
Testing Anxiety
Engineering or Extinction
The Testing Event - Highlights of the Day
Joelle Charbonneau's Top 5 Stephen King Books
Rejection and Failure with Joelle Charbonneau
Activities
Check out photos from The Testing: The STEM Read Experience over in our The Testing gallery.
Educators
Idea Sparks and Mini Lessons
These questions, prompts, and short activities provide quick ways to inspire interest and explore the STEAM concepts related to the book. Idea Sparks and Mini lessons can also be used for differentiation and to foster new ideas of your own.
Navigating the Post Apocalypse
In this activity students will learn how to navigate without GPS using the chain link method of navigation by following a set of directions in order to reach a final location.
Engineering or Extinction
In the book The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau, Cia is forced to adapt and build in order to survive. In this activity, students will design different prototypes in order to solve different problems. Using the engineering design cycle, students will work in teams to brainstorm, design, build, and test their prototypes. Students will then vote as a team on the prototype that best solved the problem presented in order to see who would survive The Testing.
Video Discussion Guide
Watch the videos and then use these questions to facilitate classroom discussions about the topics presented.
Download the Video Discussion Guide.
About the Author
Joelle Charbonneau
Joelle has performed in opera and musical theater productions across Chicagoland. She now teaches private voice lessons and is the author of the New York Times best selling THE TESTING trilogy (THE TESTING, INDEPENDENT STUDYand GRADUATION DAY) as well as two mystery series: The Rebecca Robbins mysteries (Minotaur Books) and the Glee Club mysteries(Berkley). Her YA books have appeared on the Indie Next List, on the YALSA Top 10 books for 2014 as well as the YALSA Quick Picks for reluctant readers. Paramount optioned THE TESTING as the project is currently in development. Other titles by Joelle include Need, Dividing Eden, and Time Bomb.
Learn more at joellecharbonneau.com.
Source: Joelle Charbonneau
