WorksheetsTHE MEDICINE BAG
Total questions: 32
Worksheet time: 18mins
In "The Medicine Bag," how does Grandpa arrive at the narrator's home?
A. He is driving an old, dust-covered car.
B. He is riding in the back of an old pickup truck.
C. He is traveling to the narrator's home in a police car.
D. He is walking down the street with dogs following him.
In "The Medicine Bag," why does Grandpa say he has arrived for a surprise visit with the family?
A. He wants to see where his only existing descendants live, and he wants to give Martin the medicine bag.
B. He feels that death is now very near, and he wants to be buried where his only existing relatives live.
C. He wants to teach his grandchildren lessons that will help them respect the old ways.
D. He wants to see his family in person to discuss the resentment he has felt for years.
In "The Medicine Bag," why does Grandpa collapse after arriving at the house?
A. He has been injured in an attack by dogs.
B. He is shocked by life in the suburbs.
C. He is overcome with grief.
D. He has heat exhaustion.
As Grandpa explains in “The Medicine Bag,” how is the medicine bag to be passed down from generation to generation?
A. only through chiefs
B. only through males
C. only through females
D. only through firstborn children
In "The Medicine Bag," why is the pouch referred to as a medicine bag?
A. It holds rocks that carry magical energy.
B. It holds leaves that can overcome sickness.
C. It holds items that protect and guide the wearer.
D. It holds powders needed in the work of a Sioux shaman.
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.
A. sadly
B. tiredly
C. playfully
D. carefully
If Kris asks a question sheepishly, how does she ask it?
A.in a bold way
B.in a clever way
C.in an annoying way
D.in an embarrassed way
Which person best demonstrates the meaning of frail?
A. a famous athlete signing autographs
B. a sickly person being helped up the stairs
C. a shopper complaining about poor service in a store
D. a middle-school student taking high-school math class
The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.
Part A: In "The Medicine Bag," before Grandpa comes to visit, how does the narrator feel about talking to his friends about his Sioux grandfather?
A. He makes fun of how Grandpa dresses and where he lives to amuse his friends.
B. He becomes angry when the other children make fun of Grandpa's heritage.
C. He likes the fact that his stories about Grandpa appeal to the other kids.
D. He never reveals to his friends that Grandpa is a Sioux.
Part B : Which sentence from "The Medicine Bag" most clearly supports the answer to Part A?
A. 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. (Paragraph 1)
B. Our friends, who had always lived in the city and only knew about Indians from movies and TV, were impressed by our stories. (paragraph 2)
C. 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. (paragraph 3)
D. We never showed our friends Grandpa's picture. (paragraph 4)
The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Which statement most clearly describes Martin in the early part of “The Medicine Bag”?
A. Martin worries about his friends' opinions.
B. Martin is cruel and insensitive toward others.
C. Martin appreciates and respects Grandpa's behavior.
D. He never reveals to his friends that Grandpa is a Sioux.
Part B: Which sentence from “The Medicine Bag” best supports the answer to Part A?
A. Maybe we exaggerated and made Grandpa and the reservation sound glamorous…. (Paragraph 2)
B. We usually had some authentic Lakota article to show our listeners. (Paragraph 3)
C.I watched the group as it slowly came closer and saw that in the center of the strange procession was a man wearing a tall black hat. (paragraph 7)
D. His getup wasn't out of place on the reservation, but it sure was here, and I wanted to sink right through the pavement. (paragraph 12)
Which quotation from “The Medicine Bag” shows most clearly that Cheryl’s reaction to Grandpa’s visit differs from Martin’s?
A. My kid sister, Cheryl, and I always bragged about our Lakota grandpa, Joe Iron Shell. (Paragraph 2)
B.As we supported him up the steps, the door banged open and Cheryl came bursting out of the house. (Paragraph 18)
C. So even after she married my dad, who's not an Indian, and after Cheryl and I were born, Mom made sure that every summer we spent a week with Grandpa. (Paragraph 30)
D. Nothing bothered Cheryl about bringing her friends to see Grandpa. (paragraph 45)
Near the end of “The Medicine Bag,” Grandpa gives Martin the medicine bag and says, “[You] need not wear it.” What do these words show most clearly about Grandpa’s thinking?
A. Grandpa knows that the medicine bag has power even if Martin does not wear it.
B. Grandpa realizes that the medicine bag will be more meaningful at a later time.
C. Grandpa feels sad that Martin does not want to wear the medicine bag.
D. Grandpa understands that Martin is uncomfortable about his heritage.
At the end of "The Medicine Bag," for which of the following is the medicine bag most clearly a symbol?
A. Martin's desire to please his friends
B. Martin's respect for his grandfather
C. Martin's dislike for his Sioux heritage
D. Martin's feelings of embarrassment about Grandpa
The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Part A
in "The Medicine Bag," Grandpa describes a piece of iron his father once found.
What does the piece of iron most likely symbolize?
A. his father's purpose in life
B. his father's death in a coming war
C. his father's distrust of white people
D. his father's refusal to learn from his elders
Part B: Which quotation from "The Medicine Bag" most clearly supports the answer to Part A?
A. He did not understand his vision of finding something belonging to the white people, for in that time they were the enemy. (Paragraph 64)
B. At first Iron Shell resisted the teachers' attempts to change him, and he did not try. (Paragraph 66)
C.As he walked into the place, he knew that his medicine had brought him there to learn and work with the white man's iron. (paragraph 66)
D. I kept the bag until my son, your mother's father, was a man and had to leave us to fight in the war across the ocean. (Paragraph 69)
What makes Grandpa sound glamorous to the narrator’s friends?
(a)
What happens when Grandpa arrives at Martin’s house?
(a)
Why does Grandpa want Martin to have the medicine bag?
(a)
What is in the medicine bag, and what does Martin add to it at the end of the story?
(a)
What is the theme of the story?→ It is important to know and honor your heritage.
TRUE
FALSE
What is the resolution of the story?→ Grandpa has died and Martin returns to Rosebud.
TRUE
FALSE
Martin is a dynamic character because he changes at the end. → Rosebud Reservation
TRUE
FALSE
Name an internal conflict → He was embarrassed.
TRUE
FALSE
string tie held together with a decorated sliding device → bolo
TRUE
FALSE
the first people to live in North America → reservation
TRUE
FALSE
A method an author uses to let readers know more about the characters and their personal traits. → Characters
TRUE
FALSE
in an embarrassed way → sheepishly
TRUE
FALSE
a sacred pouch used to carry objects or symbols of animal spirits for good luck, protection, and strength. Examples: plants such as sage, types of gems → Medicine Bag-n.:
TRUE
FALSE
to look or to see → authentic-adj.:
TRUE
FALSE
a plant or shrub used for medicine and seasoning Note: Burning sage is also known as smudging in ancient spiritual rituals. → sage-n.:
TRUE
FALSE
