Chapter 8

Learning Intentions

•I understand that books have the ability to change the way I think about myself and about my world.

 

•I am able to look for and identify things in a book that matter the most to me.  There are examples of this in my writing.

 

Questions

Olemaun's father regretted letting her go to residential school before. Now all three daughters had to go back.

 

What would you do in this situation? Go along with your siblings or run like Agnes, knowing what you know?

 

How is this time going to be different? What will Olemaun teach her sisters?

Chapter 7

Learning Intentions

•I understand that books have the ability to change the way I think about myself and about my world.

 

•I am able to look for and identify things in a book that matter the most to me. There are examples of this in my writing.

 

Questions

1.     Olemaun's language slowly came back to her. How did her father help her with this? Why is it important for her to reconnect with her language?

2.    Her father had her manage the dog sled on her own and told the family about her accomplishments. She felt "Olemaun grow large inside her". What does this mean? Why is it happening?

3.    What made Olemaun's 'best day of her life!' so special? Why do you think that would be?

Chapter 6

Learning Intentions

•I understand the story and can use the information to imagine what the characters are thinking and feeling beyond what is written.

•I can imagine what the characters' hopes and fears are based on what I have read.

Questions

How is Olemaun feeling now? She says, "And I only had to remember how to be Olemaun Pokiak, an Inuvialuit girl."  What does she mean by that? Why is that important?

Why do you think Olemaun thinks so much about the Dubilak? What do they have in common?

When the outsider's boat came to collect the children, Agnes disappeared. She faced great danger out in the tundra alone. Did she make the right decision? Explain.

Interesting fact: Dubilak comes from a traditional word for a terrible spirit that brings misfortune. A variation of the name "tupilak" is widely recognized amongst distant Inuit groups.

Chapter 5

 

 

 

 

Learning Intentions

•I can use the words in the text to create pictures in my mind while reading. I show this through my writing and drawn responses.

•I can imagine others senses in the images in my mind, such as the smell and feel of something.

•I understand the difference between a fact (something found in the book) and an inference (reading between the lines, which is something that is implied).

 

Questions

1.       Olemaun had a strange nightmare that she was back at residential school. What do you think parts of the dream meant?

2.       Olemaun feels the pain of her tender feet through her soft Kamiks. She feels the pain of not knowing her language and making mistakes. What do you think it means when she says, "The first time I had put my feet in outsiders' shoes they had pinched and felt awkward. Now they were a barrier, protection against the hard earth."

Chapter 4

Learning Intention

• I understand the story and can use the information to  imagine what the characters are thinking and feeling beyond what is written.
• I can imagine what the character's hopes and fears are based on what I 've read.

1. "My tears fell in the ocean, and I wished my spirit was in those tears, because then I could follow the current back to a place where I belonged." Where does Olemaun  belong? What would belonging look like and feel for her?
2. Why do you think Olemaun is not as afraid of Dubilak as everyone else is? What does she think of him? What does he represent to her?

Chapter 3

 

 

Learning Intentions

 

I can use my background knowledge to explain the importance of key events in the story.
 

1. Why is it upsetting to Olemaun when she has trouble fishing? Why is this skill important to her?
2. Why do you think she begins to talk about herself as two different people - Olemaun and Margaret?
3. "See? I told you, when she is hungry enough she will eat," my father said to my mother in Inuvialuktun on his way out the door to find out what was going on with dark stranger. Somehow, I understood every word. What is important about this?

Chapter 2

1.       Do you think the residential school was effective in educating Olemaun? (Recall the purpose of these schools).

2.       Why would Agnes's mother forbid her to speak English and play with Olemaun?

3.       How was Olemaun beginning to see herself? Why?