ANSWER KEY
from Follow the
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Doris Pilkington
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Answers
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Standards
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1. (a)
The sisters miss their home and want to return to it.
(b) The
sisters are heading home, and Martha Jones’s mention of “the first day” shows
that they have arrived in the settlement only recently. Students may also
cite details in the Background note, which describes the harsh practice of
taking children of mixed Aboriginal ancestry from their homes to settlement
camps to train them to fit into white culture.
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RI.8.1
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2. (a)
Paragraph 17 offers background information about the sisters and the
rabbit-proof fence. The first three sentences explain that Molly’s knowledge
that she and her sisters can follow the rabbit-proof fence to get home is
based on information that came from her father and grandfather. The next two
sentences show that the younger sisters agree to follow Molly because they
are used to doing what she says.
(b) Molly,
the eldest, is bossy and has always been the leader among the three sisters.
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RI.8.5
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3. (a)
The author seems to know the camp well and to have some positive feelings
about it. Students may refer to the “About the Author” note and mention that
the author herself was in a settlement camp as a child. When she describes
the children’s traditions of making grass graffiti, swimming in the river,
and skating in the mud, the author seems to be recalling fond memories.
(b) Molly has
a negative point of view on the settlement camp. She and her sisters have
just arrived there, and the text shows them on their first day, watching the
“bossing and bullying” around them. Molly is already so eager to return home
that she is willing to risk the dangers of walking a great distance to get
there.
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RI.8.6
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4. In their written responses or
discussion, students should
• identify the events and actions involved in
the sisters’ escape, such as their search for a safe site to cross the river,
Molly’s rejection of two possible sites, her discovery of the river gum tree,
and the sisters’ use of the tree’s trunk to cross the river.
• name descriptive words that help them
visualize events in the story. Students should mention words that describe the
girls’ actions, such as dashing,
dodging, crashing, leading, measuring, and cautiously.
• identify that the setting is a remote area
of Australia and name descriptive words that help readers visualize the
physical obstacles and plant growth that the girls must cope with. Students
should name words such as sandy,
cliffs, shrubs, flooded, obstacles, suckers, slippery, muddy, trampled,
reeds, and fluttering.
• explain that the words used by the author
to describe the girls’ actions and the physical setting create a mood of
suspense and fearfulness.
• identify a central idea of the text.
Students may identify the idea that taking a stand sometimes means deciding
what is best for oneself, following a bold course of action, and risking
danger to follow that course.
• explain that the words that describe the
setting and mood help readers to understand how risky the girls’ escape is
and how much physical effort and courage it takes.
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RI.8.4
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ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES
PARALLELISM