"Spirit Walking in the Tundra"

What effect do the line breaks have on the poem’s rhythm, mood, or tone? Why do you think the poet chose to break the lines where she did?

• The line breaks create a cheerful tone through the imagery of nature. The poet did this to emphasize how beautiful Alaska is.

• The line breaks create a steady rhythm. The poet did this so the reader would be able to read the poem easier.

• The line breaks create a thoughtful mood through unnatural pauses mid-sentence. The poet did this to make the reader think about the deeper meaning of each line.

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Identify the imagery in lines 4 and 5. To what senses does it appeal? Explain what this imagery suggests about the speaker’s feelings during her flight to Alaska.

4 The plane is so heavy with cargo load it vibrates our bones.

5 Like the pressure made by light cracking ice

• Touch, sight, smell; the speaker is excited to go home.

• Hearing, sight; the speaker doesn’t want to go home.

• Touch, sight, hearing; the speaker is anxious to get home.

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A key idea explored in the poem is the impact of-

• Technology on nature

• Distance on one’s friendship

• Place on one’s identity

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How do lines 9-11 reinforce a theme of the poem?

9 We drive to the launching place

10 And see walrus hunters set out toward the sea.

11 We swing to the summer camps where seal hangs on drying frames

• They show a relationship between native people and nature

• They remind the speaker that she is far from home

• They introduce tension between the speaker and her friend

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The mood created by the last line of the poem is-

27 Up here, we are near the opening in the Earth’s head, the place where the spirit leaves and returns.

28 Up here, the edge between life and death is thinner than dried animal bladder.

• Solemn

• Fearful

• Joyful

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CCSS.RL.8.4

The imagery in line 24 is used to suggest -

24 We are refreshed by small winds.

• The stillness of the tundra

• The energizing effects of the walk

• The speaker’s distaste for the landscape

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6 Which t response best describes the irony in lines 13–16?

13 I watch her son play video games on break from the university.

This is what it feels like, says her son, as we walk up tundra,

16 Toward a herd of musk ox, when you spirit walk.

There is a shaking, and then you are in mystery.

• The son says one thing but does another. G The son says one thing but believes another.

• The son’s words contrast with the thoughts of the speaker.

• The son’s actions contrast modern technology and traditional culture.

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3 For which reason does the poet most likely use personification in line 1?

1 All the way to Nome, I trace the shadow of the plane as it walks

• To indicate how quickly the plane is moving

• To foreshadow the darkness that awaits

• To suggest that the flight is related to the speaker’s spirit walk

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CCSS.L.8.5A

CCSS.RL.8.4

Which of the following is an important idea in the poem?

• Places can remind people of who they are.

• Cultural change can cause serious problems.

• Air travel can be uncomfortable.

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CCSS.RL.8.2

This poem alludes to the Native American tradition of spirit walking. For the speaker, the spirit walk most likely represents —

• a blind leap of faith

• a path to self-knowledge

• an escape from reality

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