The Medicine Bag

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

• his father’s purpose in life

• his father’s death in a coming war

• his father’s distrust of white people

• his father’s refusal to learn from his elders

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

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Part B Which quotation from “The Medicine Bag” most clearly supports the answer to Part A?

• He did not understand his vision of finding something belonging to the white people, for in that time they were the enemy.

• At first Iron Shell resisted the teachers’ attempts to change him, and he did not try.

• 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

• 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.

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CCSS.RL.2.6

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

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

• He is riding in the back of an old pickup truck.

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

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

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.1

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In “The Medicine Bag,” why does Grandpa collapse after arriving at the house?

• He has been injured in an attack by dogs.

• He is shocked by life in the suburbs.

• He is overcome with grief.

• He has heat exhaustion.

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CCSS.RL.2.10

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

• only through chiefs

• only through males

• only through females

• only through firstborn children

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CCSS.RL.2.10

CCSS.RL.2.2

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In “The Medicine Bag,” why is the pouch referred to as a medicine bag?

• It holds rocks that carry magical energy.

• It holds leaves that can overcome sickness.

• It holds items that protect and guide the wearer.

• It holds powders needed in the work of a Lakota shaman.

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CCSS.RL.2.10

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Which topic do both the short story “The Medicine Bag” and the documentary video “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage” present?

• rites of passage from the Lakota culture

• a boy’s growing respect for his heritage and traditions

• traditions from American Indian culture

• a girl’s transition from childhood to adulthood

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CCSS.RI.8.7

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Read the following passage from "The Medicine Bag" by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve: *"My kid sister Cheryl and I always bragged about our Sioux grandpa, Joe Iron Shell. Our friends, who had always lived in the city, were impressed by our stories about Grandpa."* Based on the passage, what does the dialogue between the narrator and their friends reveal about the narrator's feelings towards their grandfather?

• The narrator is embarrassed by their grandfather.

• The narrator is proud of their grandfather.

• The narrator is indifferent to their grandfather.

• The narrator is afraid of their grandfather.

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In the context of "The Medicine Bag," what does the word "bragged" most likely mean?

• Complained

• Boasted

• Whispered

• Questioned

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What is the theme of "The Medicine Bag" and how is it developed throughout the story?

• The importance of wealth

• The significance of cultural heritage

• The power of technology

• The inevitability of change

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CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

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