The Medicine Bag (PDF).pdf

MAKING MEANING Comparing Text to Media In this lesson, you will compare “The Medicine Bag” and “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage.” First, you will...

MAKING MEANING Comparing Text to Media In this lesson, you will compare “The Medicine Bag” and “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage.” First, you will complete the first-read and close-read THE MEDICINE BAG APACHE GIRL’S RITE activities for “The Medicine Bag.” OF PASSAGE About the Author The Medicine Bag Concept Vocabulary You will encounter the following words as you read “The Medicine Bag.” Before reading, note how familiar you are with each word. Then, rank the words in order from most familiar (1) to least familiar (5). Virginia Driving Hawk WORD YOUR RANKING Sneve (b. 1933) grew wearily up on the Rosebud Reservation in South straggled Dakota. Her grandmothers were storytellers, sharing fatigue traditional Sioux legends and folk tales that became frail an inspiration for Sneve’s work. She realized that sheepishly American Indians were often misrepresented in children’s books, and she has worked After completing the first read, come back to the concept vocabulary and throughout her writing review your rankings. Mark any changes to your original rankings. career to portray American Indians realistically. In First Read FICTION 2000, President Bill Clinton Refer to the information below as you conduct your first read. You awarded Sneve a National will have an opportunity to complete the close-read notes after your Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Humanities Medal. first read. Tool Kit First-Read Guide and Model Annotation NOTICE whom the story is ANNOTATE by marking about, what happens, where vocabulary and key passages and when it happens, and you want to revisit. why those involved react as they do.  STANDARDS Reading Literature By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including CONNECT ideas within RESPOND by completing stories, dramas, and poems, at the the selection to what you the Comprehension Check and high end of the grades 6–8 text already know and what you by writing a brief summary of complexity band independently and proficiently. have already read. the selection. 12 UNIT 1 RITES OF PASSAGE  ANCHOR TEXT | SHORT STORY The Medicine Bag Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve BACKGROUND The Lakota Indians are part of the Sioux Nation, an indigenous people of the Great Plains region of North America. Today there are about 170,000 Sioux Indians living in the United States. About one-fifth of the American Indian population live on reservations, which are designated pieces of land ruled by tribal law. 1 G randpa wasn’t tall and stately like TV Indians. His hair wasn’t in braids; it hung in stringy, gray strands on his neck, and he was old. He was my great-grandfather, and he didn’t live NOTES Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. in a tipi1; he lived all by himself in a part log, part tar-paper shack on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. 2 My kid sister, Cheryl, and I always bragged about our Lakota2 grandpa, Joe Iron Shell. Our friends, who had always lived in the city and only knew about Indians from movies and TV, were impressed by our stories. Maybe we exaggerated and made Grandpa and the reservation sound glamorous, but when we returned home to Iowa after our yearly summer visit to Grandpa, we always had some exciting tale to tell. 3 We usually had some authentic Lakota article to show our listeners. One year Cheryl had new moccasins3 that Grandpa had 1. tipi n. cone-shaped tent traditionally made of animal skins or bark. 2. Lakota adj. belonging to a Native American tribe from the Great Plains region (present-day North and South Dakota). 3. moccasins (MOK uh suhnz) n. soft shoes traditionally made from animal hide. The Medicine Bag 13  made. On another visit he gave me a small, round, flat rawhide NOTES drum decorated with a painting of a warrior riding a horse. 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. Man that really made an impression. 4 We never showed our friends Grandpa’s picture. Not that we were ashamed of him but because we knew that the glamorous tales we told didn’t go with the real thing. Our friends would have laughed, so when Grandpa came to visit us, I was so ashamed and embarrassed I could have died. 5 There are a lot of yippy poodles and other fancy little dogs in our neighborhood, but they usually barked singly at the mailman from the safety of their own yards. Now it sounded as if a whole pack of mutts were barking together in one place. 6 I walked to the curb to see what the commotion was. About a block away I saw a crowd of little kids yelling, with the dogs yipping and growling around someone who was walking down the middle of the street. 7 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. He’d pause now and then to peer at something in his hand and then at the houses on either side of the street. I felt cold and hot at the same time. I recognized the man. “Oh, no!” I whispered, “It’s Grandpa!” 8 I stood on the curb, unable to move even though I wanted to run and hide. Then I got mad when I saw how the yippy dogs were growling and nipping at the old man’s baggy pant legs and wearily (WEER uh lee) adv. how wearily he poked them away with his cane. “Stupid mutts,” in a tired way I said as I ran to rescue Grandpa. 9 When I kicked and hollered at the dogs to get away, they put their tails between their legs and scattered. The kids ran to the curb where they watched me and the old man. Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 10 “Grandpa,” l said and reached for his beat-up old tin suitcase tied shut with a rope. But he set it down right in the street and shook my hand. 11 “Hau, Takoza, Grandchild,” he greeted me formally in Lakota. 12 All l could do was stand there with the whole neighborhood watching and shake the hand of the leather-brown old man. I saw straggled (STRAG uhld) v. how his gray hair straggled from under his big black hat, which hung in messy strands had a drooping feather in its crown. His rumpled black suit hung like a sack over his stooped frame. As he shook my hand, his coat fell open to expose a bright red satin shirt with a beaded bolo tie under the collar. His getup wasn’t out of place on the reservation, but it sure was here, and I wanted to sink right through the pavement. 14 UNIT 1 RITES OF PASSAGE  13 “Hi,” l muttered with my head down. I tried to pull my hand away when l felt his bony hand trembling and then looked up NOTES to see fatigue in his face. I felt like crying. I couldn’t think of fatigue (fuh TEEG) n. anything to say so I picked up Grandpa’s suitcase, took his arm, physical or mental exhaustion and guided him up the driveway to our house. 14 Mom was standing on the steps. I don’t know how long she’d been watching, but her hand was over her mouth and she looked as if she couldn’t believe what she saw. Then she ran to us. 15 “Grandpa,” she gasped. “How in the world did you get here?” CLOSE READ 16 She checked her move to embrace Grandpa and l remembered ANNOTATE: Mark details that such a display of affection is unseemly to the Lakota and in paragraphs 12–13 and 18–21 that show how the would have embarrassed him. narrator and Cheryl each 17 “Hau, Marie,” he said as he shook Mom’s hand. She smiled and greet Grandpa. took his other arm. QUESTION: Why are their 18 As we supported him up the steps, the door banged open and greetings so different? Cheryl came bursting out of the house. She was all smiles and was so obviously glad to see Grandpa that l was ashamed of how I felt. CONCLUDE: What can you “Grandpa!” she yelled happily. “You came to see us!” conclude about Martin 19 and his sister by the way 20 Grandpa smiled, and Mom and I let go of him as he stretched they greet Grandpa? out his arms to my ten-year-old sister, who was still young enough to be hugged. 21 “Wicincila, little girl,” he greeted her and then collapsed. 22 He had fainted. Mom and I carried him into her sewing room, where we had a spare bed. 23 After we had Grandpa on the bed, Mom stood there patting his shoulder. “You make Grandpa comfortable, Martin,” she decided, “while I call the doctor.” 24 I reluctantly moved to the bed. I knew Grandpa wouldn’t want to have Mom undress him, but I didn’t want to either. He was so skinny and frail that his coat slipped off easily. When I loosened frail (frayl) adj. delicate; his tie and opened his shirt collar, I felt a small leather pouch that weak hung from a thong around his neck. I left it alone and moved to Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. remove his boots. The scuffed old cowboy boots were tight, and he moaned as I put pressure on his legs to jerk them off. 25 I put the boots on the floor and saw why they fit so tight. Each one was stuffed with money. I looked at the bills that lined the boots and started to ask about them, but Grandpa’s eyes were closed again. 26 Mom came back with a basin of water. “The doctor thinks Grandpa may be suffering from heat exhaustion,” she explained as she bathed Grandpa’s face. Mom gave a big sigh, “Oh hinh, Martin. How do you suppose he got here?” 27 We found out after the doctor’s visit. Grandpa was angrily sitting up in bed while Mom tried to feed him some soup. 28 “Tonight you let Marie feed you, Grandpa,” said my dad, who had gotten home from work. “You’re not really sick,” he said as The Medicine Bag 15  he gently pushed Grandpa back against the pillows. “The doctor NOTES thinks you just got too tired and hot after your long trip.” 29 Grandpa relaxed, and between sips of soup, he told us of his journey. Soon after we visited him, Grandpa decided that he would like to see where his only living descendants lived and sheepishly (SHEEP ihsh lee) what our home was like. Besides, he admitted sheepishly, he was adv. in an embarrassed lonesome after we left. way 30 I knew that everybody felt as guilty as I did—especially Mom. Mom was all Grandpa had left. So even after she married my dad, who’s not an Indian, and after Cheryl and I were born, Mom made sure that every summer we spent a week with Grandpa. CLOSE READ 31 I never thought that Grandpa would be lonely after our visits, ANNOTATE: Note the and none of us noticed how old and weak be had become. But language the author uses Grandpa knew, so he came to us. He had ridden on buses for two in paragraphs 31–32 that and a half days. When he arrived in the city, tired and stiff from shows the difficulty of Grandpa’s journey. sitting for so long, he set out walking to find us. 32 He had stopped to rest on the steps of some building QUESTION: Why does the downtown, and a policeman found him. The officer took Grandpa author provide so much to the city bus stop, waited until the bus came, and then told detail about the journey? the driver to let Grandpa out at Bell View Drive. After Grandpa CONCLUDE: What can you got off the bus, he started walking again. But he couldn’t see conclude about Grandpa the house numbers on the other side when he walked on the from the journey he took? sidewalk, so he walked in the middle of the street. That’s when all the little kids and dogs followed him. 33 I knew everybody felt as bad as I did. Yet I was so proud of this eighty-six-year-old man who had never been away from the reservation but who had the courage to travel so far alone. 34 “You found the money in my boots?” he asked Mom. 35 “Martin did,” she answered and then scolded, “Grandpa, you shouldn’t have carried so much money. What if someone had stolen it from you?” 36 Grandpa laughed. “I would’ve known if anyone tried to take Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. the boots off my feet. The money is what I’ve saved for a long time—a hundred dollars—for my funeral. But you take it now to buy groceries so that I won’t be a burden to you while I am here.” 37 “That won’t be necessary, Grandpa,” Dad said. “We are honored to have you with us, and you will never be a burden. I am only sorry that we never thought to bring you home with us this summer and spare you the discomfort of a long bus trip.” 38 Grandpa was pleased. “Thank you,” he answered. “But don’t feel bad that you didn’t bring me with you, for I would not have come then. It was not time.” He said this in such a way that no one could argue with him. To Grandpa and the Lakota, he once told me, a thing would be done when it was the right time to do it, and that’s the way it was. 16 UNIT 1 RITES OF PASSAGE  NOTES 39 “Also,” Grandpa went on, looking at me. “I have come because it is soon time for Martin to have the medicine bag.” 40 We all knew what that meant. Grandpa thought he was going to die, and he had to follow the tradition of his family to pass the medicine bag, along with its history, to the oldest male child. 41 “Even though the boy,” he said, still looking at me, “doesn’t have an Indian name, the medicine bag will be his.” 42 I didn’t know what to say. I had the same hot and cold feeling that I had when I first saw Grandpa in the street. The medicine bag was the dirty leather pouch I had found around his neck. “I could never wear it,” I almost said aloud. I thought of having my friends see it in gym class or at the swimming pool and could imagine the smart things they would say. But I just swallowed Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. hard and took a step toward the bed. I knew I would have to take it. 43 But Grandpa was tired. “Not now, Martin,” he said waving his hand in dismissal. “It is not time. Now I will sleep.” 44 So that’s how Grandpa came to be with us for two months. My friends kept asking to come see the old man, but I put them off. I told myself that I didn’t want them laughing at Grandpa. But even as I made excuses, I knew it wasn’t Grandpa I was afraid they’d laugh at. 45 Nothing bothered Cheryl about bringing her friends to see Grandpa. Every day after school started, there’d be a crew of giggling little girls or round-eyed little boys crowded around the The Medicine Bag 17  old man on the porch, where he’d gotten in the habit of sitting NOTES every afternoon. 46 Grandpa smiled in his gentle way and patiently answered their questions, or he’d tell them stories of brave warriors, ghosts, and animals, and the kids listened in awed silence. Those little guys thought Grandpa was great. 47 Finally, one day after school, my friends came home with me because nothing I said stopped them. “We’re going to see the great Indian of Bell View Drive,” said Hank, who was supposed to be my best friend. “My brother has seen him three times so he oughta be well enough to see us.” CLOSE READ 48 When we got to my house, Grandpa was sitting on the porch. ANNOTATE: Mark details He had on his red shirt, but today he also wore a fringed leather in paragraphs 50 and 51 vest trimmed with beads. Instead of his usual cowboy boots, that describe Grandpa’s he had solidly beaded moccasins on his feet. Of course, he had actions. his old black hat on—he was seldom without it. But it had been QUESTION: What do these brushed, and the feather in the beaded headband was proudly actions suggest about erect, its tip a bright white. His hair lay in silver strands over the Grandpa’s character? red shirt collar. CONCLUDE: What is 49 I stared just as my friends did, and I heard one of them the effect of readers murmur, “‘Wow!” learning more about 50 Grandpa looked up, and when his eyes met mine they twinkled Grandpa at the same time Martin does? as if he were laughing inside. He nodded to me, and my face got all hot. I could tell that he had known all along I was afraid he’d embarrass me in front of my friends. 51 “Hau, hoksilas, boys,” he greeted and held out his hand. 52 My buddies passed in single file and shook his hand as I introduced them. They were so polite I almost laughed. “How, Grandpa,” and even a “How... do... you... do, sir.” 53 “You look fine, Grandpa,” I said as the guys sat down. 54 “Hanh, yes,” he agreed. “When I woke up this morning, it seemed the right time to dress in the good clothes. I knew that my Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. grandson would be bringing his friends.” 55 “You guys want a soda or... ?” I offered, but no one answered. They were listening to Grandpa as he told how he’d killed the deer from which his vest was made. 56 Grandpa did most of the talking. I was proud of him and amazed at how respectfully quiet my friends were. Mom had to chase them home at supper time. As they left, they shook Grandpa’s hand again and said to me, “Can we come back?” 57 But after they left, Mom said, “no more visitors for a while, Martin. Grandpa won’t admit it, but his strength hasn’t returned. He likes having company, but it tires him.” 18 UNIT 1 RITES OF PASSAGE  58 That evening Grandpa called me to his room before he went to sleep. “Tomorrow,” he said, “when you come home, it will be time NOTES to give you the medicine bag.” CLOSE READ 59 I felt a hard squeeze from where my heart is supposed to be and ANNOTATE: Mark the was scared, but I answered, “OK, Grandpa.” details in paragraphs 59 and 60 that show how 60 All night I had weird dreams about thunder and lightning on a Martin feels. high hill. From a distance I heard the slow beat of a drum. When I woke up in the morning, I felt as if I hadn’t slept at all. At school QUESTION: Why might it seemed as if the day would never end, and when it finally did, I the author have chosen to include this information? ran home. 61 Grandpa was in his room, sitting on the bed. The shades were CONCLUDE: What do down, and the place was dim and cool. I sat on the floor in front of these details suggest about Martin? Grandpa, but he didn’t even look at me. After what seemed a long time, he spoke. 62 “I sent your mother and sister away. What you will hear today is only for your ears. What you will receive is only for your hands.” He fell silent. I felt shivers down my back. 63 “My father in his early manhood,” Grandpa began, “made a vision quest4 to find a spirit guide for his life. You cannot understand how it was in that time, when the great Teton Lakota were first made to stay on the reservation. There was a strong need for guidance from Wakantanka,5 the Great Spirit. But too many of the young men were filled with despair and hatred. They thought it was hopeless to search for a vision when the glorious life was gone and only the hated confines of a reservation lay ahead. But my father held to the old ways. 64 “He carefully prepared for his quest with a purifying sweat bath, and then he went alone to a high butte6 top to fast and pray. After three days he received his sacred dream—in which he found, after long searching, the white man’s iron. He did not understand his vision of finding something belonging to the white people, for in that time they were the enemy. When he came down Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. from the butte to cleanse himself at the stream below, he found the remains of a campfire and broken shell of an iron kettle. This was a sign that reinforced his dream. He took a piece of the iron for his medicine bag, which he had made of elk skin years before, to prepare for his quest. 65 “He returned to his village, where he told his dream to the wise old men of the tribe. They gave him the name Iron Shell, but they did not understand the meaning of the dream either. At first Iron Shell kept the piece of iron with him at all times and believed it gave him protection from the evils of those unhappy days. 4. vision quest n. in Native American cultures, a difficult search for spiritual guidance. 5. Wakantanka (WAH kuhn tank uh) Lakota religion’s most important spirit—the creator of the world. 6. butte (byoot) n. isolated mountaintop with steep sides. The Medicine Bag 19  66 “Then a terrible thing happened to Iron Shell. He and several NOTES other young men were taken from their homes by the soldiers CLOSE READ and sent to a boarding school far from home. He was angry and ANNOTATE: Mark lonesome for his parents and for the young girl he had wed details the author uses before he was taken away. At first Iron Shell resisted the teachers’ in paragraph 66 that describe Iron Shell’s attempts to change him, and he did not try to learn. One day experience. it was his turn to work in the school’s blacksmith shop. As he walked into the place, he knew that his medicine had brought him QUESTION: What important information there to learn and work with the white man’s iron. does this passage reveal? 67 “Iron Shell became a blacksmith and worked at the trade when he returned to the reservation. All his life he treasured the medicine CONCLUDE: What can you bag. When he was old and I was a man, he gave it to me.” conclude about Grandpa’s belief in fate and destiny? 68 Grandpa quit talking, and I stared in disbelief as he covered his face with his hands. His shoulders shook with quiet sobs. I looked away until he began to speak again. 69 “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. I gave him the bag, for I believed it would protect him in battle, but he did not take it with him. He was afraid he would lose it. He died in a faraway land.” 70 Again Grandpa was still, and I felt his grief around me. 71 “My son,” he went on after clearing his throat, “had no sons, only one daughter, your mother. So the medicine bag must be passed to you.” 72 He unbuttoned his shirt, pulled out the leather pouch, and lifted it over his head. He held it in his hand, turning it over and over as if memorizing how it looked. 73 “In the bag,” he said, as he opened it and removed two objects, “is the broken shell of the iron kettle, a pebble from the butte, and a piece of the sacred sage.7” He held the pouch upside down and fine dust drifted out. 74 “After the bag is yours you must put a piece of prairie sage Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. within and never open it again until you pass it on to your son.” He replaced the pebble and the piece of iron and tied the bag. 75 I stood up, somehow knowing I should. Grandpa slowly rose from the bed and stood upright in front of me holding the bag before my face. I closed my eyes and waited for him to slip it over my head. But he spoke. 76 “No, you need not wear it.” He placed the soft leather bag in my right hand and closed my other hand over it. “It would not be right to wear it in this time and place where no one will understand. Put it safely away until you are again on the reservation. Wear it then, when you replace the sacred sage.” 77 Grandpa turned and sat again on the bed. Wearily he leaned his head against the pillow. “Go,” he said. “I will sleep now.” 7. sage (sayj) n. type of herb. 20 UNIT 1 RITES OF PASSAGE  78 “Thank you, Grandpa,” I said softly and left with the bag in my hands. NOTES 79 That night Mom and Dad took Grandpa to the hospital. Two weeks later I stood alone on the lonely prairie of the reservation and put the sacred sage in my medicine bag. ❧ Comprehension Check Complete the following items after you finish your first read. 1. What makes Grandpa sound glamorous to the narrator’s friends? 2. What happens when Grandpa arrives at Martin’s house? 3. Why does Grandpa want Martin to have the medicine bag? 4. What is in the medicine bag, and what does Martin add to it at the end of the story? Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Notebook Write a three-sentence summary of “The Medicine Bag.” RESEARCH Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an aspect of the story? Research to Explore Choose something that interested you from the text and formulate a research question. The Medicine Bag 21  MAKING MEANING Close Read the Text 1. This model, from paragraph 38 of the text, shows two sample annotations, along with questions and conclusions. Close read the passage, and find another detail to annotate. Then, THE MEDICINE BAG write a question and your conclusion. ANNOTATE: These details hint at Grandpa’s personality. QUESTION: Why does the writer reveal two sides of Grandpa’s personality? ANNOTATE: The CONCLUDE: Creating a compassionate but author repeats firm character makes Grandpa seem real. the word time. QUESTION: What “But don’t feel bad that you didn’t effect does the bring me with you, for I would not repetition create? have come then. It was not time.” He CONCLUDE: The said this in such a way that no one repetition stresses the Lakota belief could argue with him. To Grandpa in doing things and the Lakota, he once told me, a only when the thing would be done when it was the time is right. right time to do it…. Tool Kit 2. For more practice, go back into the text and complete the Close-Read Guide and close-read notes. Model Annotation 3. Revisit a section of the text you found important. Read this section closely and annotate what you notice. Ask yourself questions such as “Why did the author make this choice?” What can you conclude? Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE Analyze the Text to support your answers. Notebook Respond to these questions. 1. Evaluate Do you think Grandpa made the right decision to travel and visit his family? Use details from the story to support your answer. 2. Interpret Summarize the story Grandpa tells about his father. Why do you think Grandpa tells Martin this story at this time?  STANDARDS 3. Draw Conclusions What happens to Grandpa and to Martin at the Reading Literature end of the story? Cite story details to support your conclusion. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, 4. Essential Question: What are some milestones on the path to including figurative and connotative growing up? What have you learned about the path to growing up meanings; analyze the impact of by reading this story? specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. 22 UNIT 1 RITES OF PASSAGE  essential question: What are some milestones on the path to growing up? Analyze Craft and Structure Figurative Meaning: Symbolism A symbol is anything that stands for or represents something else. Symbolism is the use of symbols. Symbols are common in everyday life as well as in literature. For example, a dove with an olive branch in its beak is a symbol of peace. In literature, symbolism can highlight certain ideas the author wishes to emphasize. Symbolism can also add levels of meaning to a text. Most Native American cultures show deep respect for nature, and the natural world is considered to have profound spiritual qualities. Symbols of nature play an important role in Native American traditions, especially religious ones. In “The Medicine Bag,” the medicine bag is an important symbol. Think about other symbols connected with Grandpa in the story. CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE Practice to support your answers. Notebook Respond to these questions. 1. (a) What details in the story suggest that the medicine bag is a symbol and is important to Grandpa? (b) Why do you think the author wants readers to understand Grandpa’s connection to the medicine bag? 2. (a) How does Martin’s view of the medicine bag change? What changes his mind? (b) How do Martin’s changing feelings about the medicine bag help show what it represents? 3. (a) The medicine bag is not the only symbol in the story. Record in the chart two other details from the story that serve as symbols and what each one represents. (b) What is the purpose of each symbol? Write your answers in the chart. THE MEDICINE BAG: SYMBOLS Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Symbol What It Represents Purpose in the Story The Medicine Bag 23  LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT Concept Vocabulary wearily fatigue sheepishly straggled frail THE MEDICINE BAG Why These Words? These concept vocabulary words show someone who is not at full strength or does not look his or her best. For example, Grandpa wearily pokes his cane at the dogs that are chasing him. When he arrives at the house, Martin can see the fatigue in his face. Notice that both words emphasize how tired Grandpa seems. 1. How does the concept vocabulary sharpen the reader’s understanding of Grandpa’s state of health and his appearance? 2. What other words in the selection connect to the concept of Grandpa’s state of health and his appearance? CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE Practice to support your answers.  WORD NETWORK Notebook The concept words appear in “The Medicine Bag.” Add words related to the topic of rites of passage 1. Use each concept word in a sentence that demonstrates your from the text to your Word understanding of the word’s meaning. Network. 2. With a partner, come up with an antonym, a word with the opposite meaning, for each of the following words: wearily, frail, and sheepishly. How would Grandpa seem different if the author had used the antonyms to describe him instead of the original words? Word Study Animal Words In “The Medicine Bag,” the narrator describes Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Grandpa as sheepishly admitting he was lonely after his family finished their visit and drove away from the reservation. Grandpa is acting like a sheep—suddenly bashful and shy—because he is  STANDARDS embarrassed to admit his true feelings. Comparing him with a Language sheep presents a vivid image of Grandpa’s behavior. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning There are many words that acquire their meanings from words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing the characteristics we associate with certain animals. Guess flexibly from a range of strategies. the meanings of each of the following words based on the c. Consult general and specialized characteristics of the animal: doggedly, bullheaded, lionize, reference materials, both print and elephantine. Then, verify their actual definitions using a dictionary digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify or thesaurus. its precise meaning or its part of speech. d. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase. 24 UNIT 1 RITES OF PASSAGE  essential question: What are some milestones on the path to growing up? Conventions Verbs in Active and Passive Voice It’s important to learn and use active and passive voice of verbs in your writing. The voice of a verb shows whether the subject of the verb is performing the action or receiving it. A verb is in the active voice when its subject performs the action. A verb is in the passive voice when its subject receives the action. A passive verb is a verb phrase made from a form of be with the past participle of an action verb, as shown in the chart: ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE We filled the bucket. The bucket was filled. (Filled is the past participle of fill.) Alison is winning the race. The race is being won by Alison. (Won is the past participle of win.) Generally, the active voice is considered a better choice for writers. The active voice communicates ideas in a more engaging, concise way. It also put the emphasis on the person performing the action. Passive voice should be used when the performer of the action is unknown or when it is desirable to stress the action instead of its performer. In general, avoid passive voice to keep your writing from sounding vague. Read It 1. Identify whether each sentence uses the active or the passive voice. a. Our friends were impressed by our stories about Grandpa. b. Grandpa taught me a Lakota chant to sing. c. Grandpa’s old black hat had been brushed. 2. Reread paragraph 66 of “The Medicine Bag.” Mark and then label one example of passive voice and one of active voice. Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Write It Revise each sentence to use the active voice, to stress the performer of each verb’s action.  STANDARDS EXAMPLE Language Demonstrate command of the Grandpa was brought to Martin’s neighborhood by the bus. conventions of standard English The bus brought Grandpa to Martin’s neighborhood. grammar and usage when writing or speaking. b. Form and use verbs in the active 1. Martin was embarrassed by the way Grandpa looked. and passive voice. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, 2. Grandpa’s father was given the name Iron Shell by the wise old men. reading, or listening. a. Use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the conditional 3. The medicine bag was given to Martin by Grandpa. and subjunctive mood to achieve particular effects. The Medicine Bag 25  EFFECTIVE EXPRESSION Writing to Sources Short stories, like “The Medicine Bag,” have a narrator—the character or voice that relates story events. Point of view is the perspective, or vantage point, from which a narrator tells a story. “The Medicine Bag” THE MEDICINE BAG is told from Martin’s point of view. How would the story be different if it were told from another character’s point of view? Assignment Write a retelling of the story “The Medicine Bag” from Grandpa’s point of view: Based on the details provided in the story, imagine Grandpa’s journey to see his family. What are his impressions of Martin and his friends? How does he feel about giving the medicine bag to Martin to preserve a sacred Lakota tradition? Draft your retelling of the story. Make sure to do the following: Make Grandpa the narrator, the character who tells the story using the pronoun “I.” Include details, thoughts, feeling, and insights from Grandpa’s point of view. Vocabulary and Conventions Connection You may want to include  STANDARDS several of the concept vocabulary words in your retelling. Also, remember Writing to use the active voice to keep your sentences lively. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, wearily fatigue sheepishly relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences. straggled frail a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds Reflect on Your Writing naturally and logically. After you have written your retelling of the story, answer the following b. Use narrative techniques, such as Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. dialogue, pacing, description, and questions. reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. 1. How well do you think your retelling expressed Grandpa’s point d. Use precise words and phrases, of view? relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events. 2. What was the most challenging part of retelling the story from e. Provide a conclusion that follows Grandpa’s point of view? from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events. Speaking and Listening Present claims and findings, 3. Why These Words? The words you choose make a difference in your emphasizing salient points in a writing. Which words did you specifically choose to add power to your focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid retelling? reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. 26 UNIT 1 RITES OF PASSAGE  essential question: What are some milestones on the path to growing up? Speaking and Listening Assignment A monologue is a speech given by a character that expresses that character’s point of view. Imagine you are the narrator of “The Medicine Bag.” Write and present a monologue in which you reflect on how you came to understand the importance of the Lakota tradition of the medicine bag. 1. Plan Your Interpretation As you write your monologue, plan how you want to express the narrator’s thoughts and feelings about the medicine bag. Answer the following questions to help guide your delivery. How does the narrator think and feel about the medicine bag tradition when Grandpa first mentions it? Did the narrator’s thoughts and feelings change over the course of the story? How? What caused these changes? What word choices can help you sound as if you are speaking from the narrator’s point of view? 2. Prepare Your Delivery Practice reciting your monologue before you present it to your class. Include the following performance techniques to help you achieve the desired effect. Use details from the story about the importance of the medicine bag. Make appropriate eye contact with the audience. Speak at adequate volume. Pronounce each word clearly so your audience can easily understand what you are saying. 3. Evaluate Presentations As your classmates deliver their presentations, listen attentively. Use a presentation evaluation guide Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. like the one shown to analyze their presentations. Presentation Evaluation Guide  EVIDENCE LOG Rate each statement on a scale of 1 (not demonstrated) to 5 Before moving on to a (demonstrated). new selection, go to your Evidence Log and record The monologue reflects the narrator’s voice and character. what you learned from “The Medicine Bag.” The details used convey insights about the importance of the Lakota tradition. The speaker made appropriate eye contact with the audience. The speaker spoke at an appropriate volume. The speaker’s pronunciation was clear. The Medicine Bag 27