Study Guide for Selection Test 1: The Medicine Bag and Apache Girl's Rite of Passage

“The Medicine Bag” Study Guide

Comprehension

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

2.      Why does Grandpa say he has arrived for a surprise visit with the family?

3.      Why does Grandpa collapse after arriving at the house?

4.      As Grandpa explains in the story, how is the medicine bag to be passed down from generation to generation?

5.      In the story, why is the pouch referred to as a medicine bag?

Concept Vocabulary and Word Study

6.      Wearily

7.      Sheepishly

8.      Frail

9.      Fatigue

1  Straggled

   Animal Words

Analyze the Text

1.  In the story, before Grandpa comes to visit, how does the narrator feel about talking to his friends about his Lakota grandfather?

1.  How would you describe Martin in the early part of “The Medicine Bag?”

1.  Describe how Cheryl’s reaction of Grandpa’s visit is different from Martin’s.

1.  Near the end of the story, Grandpa gives Martin the medicine bag and says, “You need not wear it.” What do these words show most clearly about Grandpa’s thinking?

Analyze Craft and Structure

1.  At the end of the story, what does the medicine bag symbolize?

1.  In the story, Grandpa describes a piece of iron his father once found. What does the piece of iron symbolize?

Conventions

1.  Active and Passive Voice

Comparing Text to Media

1.  Which topic do both the short story and the documentary video present?

2.  Why might video be a more effective medium for “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage” than it would be for “The Medicine Bag”?