Totem Poles

Who has been carving totem poles for hundreds of years?

• native people who live on many South Pacific islands

• hunters who trap beaver and fox in the mountains

• people who live along the Pacific coast of Alaska and Canada

• people from China who moved to California and Mexico

Which is not true about the figures carved on totem poles?

• They help to tell stories.

• They help to tell stories.

• They tell the history of a clan.

• They have no special meanings.

What is a family’s or clan’s crest?

• a secret only the clan knows

• their special carver

• a special symbol

• a story about an animal

What would be the best reason to have a team of carvers work on one totem pole?

• It takes less time to finish with several people working.

• Museums want the ones that many people worked on.

• One person gets too tired if he tries to carve it all.

• Each person has a special animal they carve best.

What is the main idea of the section titled “Totem Poles Come Home”?

• Many houses have totem poles that are part of the house itself.

• European explorers were impressed by the many totem poles they found.

• A law was passed to return totem poles to their original homes.

• House poles show the wealth and status of a family.

Which of the sentences below states a fact?

• The master carver always draws beautiful designs.

• Carving a big pole can take nine months.

• A potlatch is the best part of making a totem pole.

• Carving a bird from a block of wood is hard work.

When do the helpers start work?

• after the tree is cut down

• when the totem pole is in a museum

• after the master carver draws the designs

• after the totem pole is raised

What detail tells about how totem poles are carved?

• Many totem poles from Alaska and Canada ended up in museums.

• Mortuary poles are like gravestones.

• Some totem poles welcome visitors to a village.

• The carver chips away the soft outer wood.

Why were totem poles put into museums?

• People were interested in looking at them.

• People wanted to carve others just like these.

• People didn’t think they were safe where they were.

• People who created them didn’t want them anymore.

A house with a totem pole attached means_______

• someone died in that house

• the family is wealthy and respected

• the house is now a museum

• all of the above