The Birchbark House

The Birchbark House

Lesson 10: Understanding text, understanding structure

What advice does Deydey refer to while telling the ghost story?

How might this advice be important to Omakayas?

What do you notice about the structure of the novel so far?

How are the chapters organized?

What do you notice about the scenes of the story within a chapter?

What is different about the font when a character is telling a story like Deydey did in this chapter?

How does Omakayas respond to Angeline breaking the necks of the birds? What phrase or sentence reminds you of another scene from this book?

What advice does Deydey refer to while telling the ghost story?

Deydey’s advice when telling the ghost story is “Never let fear take your mind away. Always think.” (65)

How might this advice be important to Omakayas?

This advice is important to Omakayas because she is keeping her gift a secret from everyone because she is afraid of how they will respond.

What do you notice about the structure of the novel so far?

Each season is different for the family. In each season, we will learn more about Omakayas.

How are the chapters organized?

Within the chapter, there are markers to break apart the scenes of the story.

What do you notice about the scenes of the story within a chapter?

The author moves from one scene to another, taking the reader through different settings and different experiences without introduction or notice.

What is different about the font when a character is telling a story like Deydey did in this chapter?

The author’s writing style to be able to understand what is happening in the text.

How does Omakayas respond to Angeline breaking the necks of the birds? What phrase or sentence reminds you of another scene from this book?

Angeline killed the birds to save the corn harvest and to provide food for the family. Omakayas turned away as Angeline killed the birds because she did not like to see the animals killed.

“She looked down at the bird. It gazed up at her with such a calm, trusting curiosity that it almost seemed to speak aloud.” (59)

Omakayas and Angeline need to find a way to shoo away the crows. They decide to use a fishing net to catch the crows.

“She helped harvest each seed saved in Mama’s seed bag. She had watered those seeds with water hauled from the lake, maluk after maluk of water, until they sprouted and grew. Then she had loosened the earth and weeded with Mama’s big moose antler hoe and her own smaller hoe carved from a crooked tree branch. She had guided these corn plants and worked hard and she was not, now, going to give up the winter’s dried corn soup to a flock of birds…” (56-57).