Story Questions
Martin’s grandfather lives A. in a retirement community B. on an Indian reservation C. with Martin and his family D. on a Texas ranch
What is B. on an Indian reservation
The medicine bag comes to represent Martin’s A. Decision to go and live on the reservation. B. Family heritage and his pride in his grandfather. C. Desire to reject his Sioux heritage. D. Love for the Sioux way of life and for the prairie.
What is B. Family heritage and his pride in his grandfather.
Which of the following is not a reason for Grandpa's visit? A. Grandpa wants to see where his descendants live. B. Grandpa is tired and wants to see a city doctor. C. Grandpa knows it is time to give Martin the medicine bag. D. Grandpa is lonesome after the family's last visit.
What is B. Grandpa is tired and wants to see a city doctor.
A Medicine Bag is a pouch containing A. spices for cooking B. spirits C. sacred objects to be passed down through the generations D. items that will help with headaches and body aches.
C. sacred objects to be passed down through the generations
What is the main reason given by Grandpa for his surprise visit to the family? A. He wants to see Cheryl. B. He feels that death is near and he wants to pass on the medicine bag to Martin. C. He wants to see what life is like in the city. D. He wants to discuss the resentment he feels toward his family.
What is B. He feels that death is near and he wants to pass on the medicine bag to Martin.
Which statement should you infer from Martin’s embarrassment about his grandfather? A. Martin is a cruel and insensitive person. B. Grandpa’s behavior is out of control. C. Martin is overly sensitive to what his friends think. D. Martin once had a bad experience with his grandfather.
What is C. Martin is overly sensitive to what his friends think.
Grandpa offers to give Martin's mother his money because A. he needs her to buy him a new medicine bag. B. he is afraid he will be robbed on the bus. C. he wants to send Martin on a Vision Quest. D. he does not want to be a burden on her.
What is D. he does not want to be a burden on her.
What is suggested by the fact that Martin is alone on the prairie at the conclusion of the story? A. Martin is following tradition in his own way. B. Martin is ignoring the traditions of the Sioux. C. Grandpa has died. D. Martin is meeting his Grandpa there to learn more about Sioux traditions.
What is C. Grandpa has died.
What can the reader infer about Grandpa when he dresses in fancy clothes on the day he expects a visit from Martin’s friends? A. He is losing his wits. B. He is vain. C. He is sensitive to Martin’s insecurities. D. He has bad taste in clothes.
What is C. He is sensitive to Martin’s insecurities.
Which vocabulary word means not suitable, inappropriate, or improper?
What is unseemly?
Why does Grandpa collapse after arriving at the house? A. He is having a heart attack. B. He has heat exhaustion. C. He is shocked by life in the suburbs. D. He is overcome with emotion.
What is B. He has heat exhaustion.
Martin is a dynamic character because we see him change as he A. entertains his school friends. B. takes care of his sister Cheryl. C. learns to be proud of Grandpa. D. remembers visits to the reservation.
What is C. learns to be proud of Grandpa.
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.
A. his father's purpose in life
The medicine bag is passed along through the tribe’s generations of A. Oldest child B. Males only. C. Females only. D. Males and females.
What is B. Males only.
Which vocabulary word means a state of confused and noisy disturbance?
What is commotion?
How does Cheryl’s reaction to Grandpa’s visit differ from Martin’s? A. Cheryl is not ashamed for her friends to see Grandpa. B. Cheryl is jealous because she will not get a medicine bag. C. Cheryl wishes Grandpa had never come. D. Cheryl is afraid of Grandpa and tries to hide from him.
What is A. Cheryl is not ashamed for her friends to see Grandpa.
Which sentence from "The Medicine Bag" most clearly supports that Martin likes that his stories about Grandpa appeal to the other kids? 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)
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)
A Vision Quest is A. a search for better eyesight. B. going off alone to find spiritual guidance through a dream. C. living on the reservation. D. not considered a rite of passage.
What is B. going off alone to find spiritual guidance through a dream
How do Martin’s feelings about Grandpa relate to his feelings about wearing the medicine bag? A. Martin feels he has no place in his life for Grandpa or for the medicine bag. B. From the time Grandpa arrives, Martin is always proud of him and his medicine bag. C. Martin likes Grandpa but never sees the point of the medicine bag. D. Martin feels embarrassment and pride about both Grandpa and the medicine bag.
What is D. Martin feels embarrassment and pride about both Grandpa and the medicine bag.
Which vocabulary word means loss of hope?
What is despair?
Which of the following best captures the main theme of “The Medicine Bag”? A. People, both young and old, need to value their culture and traditions. B. Martin’s family is an example of the mistreatment of older members of the family. C. Riding a bus for two hours will cause heat exhaustion. D. The younger generations are very disrespectful towards old people.
What is A. People, both young and old, need to value their culture and traditions.
Cheryl can be considered a static character because A. she learns and changes as the story progresses. B. she is not embarrassed to bring her friends home. C. she is not shown as changing during the story. D. she wears moccasins and walks quietly.
What is C. she is not shown as changing during the story.
Which sentence from “The Medicine Bag” best supports that Martin worries about his friends' opinions? A. Maybe we exaggerated and made Grandpa and the reservation sound glamorous…. (paragraph 2) B. We usually had some authentic Lakota articles 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)
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)