The Medicine Bag

In “The Medicine Bag,” how does Grandpa arrive at the narrator’s home?

• He is driving an old, dust-covered car.

• He is walking down the street with dogs following him.

• He is traveling to the narrator’s home in a police car.

In “The Medicine Bag,” why does Grandpa say he has arrived for a surprise visit with the family?

• He wants to see where his only existing descendants live, and he wants to give Martin the medicine bag.

• He wants to see his family in person to discuss the resentment he has felt for years.

• He wants to teach his grandchildren lessons that will help them respect the old ways.

As Grandpa explains in “The Medicine Bag,” how is the medicine bag to be passed down from generation to generation?

• only through males

• only through chiefs

• only through firstborn children

Which of the following words gives the most likely meaning of wearily as it is used in this sentence?

After a ten-mile hike, we ate an early dinner and then climbed wearily into our tents.

• sadly

• playfully

• carefully

If Kris asks a question sheepishly, how does she ask it?

• in an embarrassed way

• in a clever way

• in an annoying way

Which person best demonstrates the meaning of frail?

• a sickly person being helped up the stairs

• a famous athlete signing autographs

• a middle-school student taking high-school math classes

In “The Medicine Bag,” before Grandpa comes to visit, how does the narrator feel about talking to his friends about his Lakota grandfather?

• He likes the fact that his stories about Grandpa appeal to the other kids.

• He becomes angry when the other children make fun of Grandpa’s heritage.

• He never reveals to his friends that Grandpa is a Lakota.

Which quotation from “The Medicine Bag” best supports the answer to Part A?

• Our friends, who had always lived in the city and only knew about Indians from movies and TV, were impressed by our stories.

• He taught me a Lakota chant to sing while I beat the drum with a leather-covered stick that had a feather on the end.

• He was my great-grandfather, and he didn’t live in a tipi; he lived all by himself in a part log, part tar-paper shack on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

Which quotation from “The Medicine Bag” shows most clearly that Cheryl’s reaction to Grandpa’s visit differs from Martin’s?

• Nothing bothered Cheryl about bringing her friends to see Grandpa.

• As we supported him up the steps, the door banged open and Cheryl came bursting out of the house.

• My kid sister, Cheryl, and I always bragged about our Lakota grandpa, Joe Iron Shell.

At the end of “The Medicine Bag,” for which of the following is the medicine bag most clearly a symbol? Choose two options.

• Martin’s respect for his grandfather

• Martin’s acceptance of his family heritage

• Martin’s feelings of embarrassment about Grandpa