Two Old Women

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Introduction-Chapter 2

Reading Check

1. Where is the story being told?

2. What does Shruh Zhuu give to his grandmother?

3. What does Ozhii Nelii give her mother?

4. What do Ch’idzigyaak and Sa’ catch in their snare?

5. Who do the ladies believe may have left some supplies for them?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why doesn’t Ozhii Nelii intercede on behalf of her mother to the tribe?

2. How are “The People” described in the text?

3. Why do the women feel responsible for being left behind by the tribe?

Paired Resource

Ageism

• This article describes examples and types of ageism and how it affects society.
• What is ageism? What are the types of ageism? What are examples of ageism? How does this article relate to the text’s themes of The Sanctity of Human Life and The Cost of Ageism?

Chapters 3-4

Reading Check

1. What do the women create for themselves prior to going to their old fishing spot?

2. What do they make their sleds with?

3. What do the ladies create to sleep in?

4. What was Ch’idzigyaak afraid of when she was a girl?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the difference between Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak’s personalities?

2. Why do the two women have difficulty communicating with one another?

3. What happened to Ch’idzigyaak’s grandmother?

4. Why was Sa’ considered unusual in her tribe?

Paired Resource

Athabascan Snowshoes

• Why are Athabascan shoemakers disappearing? What steps have been taken to preserve the art form? What other forms of Athabascan craftsmanship might be in danger of becoming a dying art? How is this article related to the text’s themes of The Sanctity of Human Life and The Importance of Physical and Mental Health?

Work and Mental Health

• This article describes the psychological benefits of work.
• What are the benefits of work? How does work influence the mental health of Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak? When do the women tend to suffer mentally? How is this article related to the text’s themes of The Sanctity of Human Life and The Importance of Physical and Mental Health?

Chapters 5-6

Reading Check

1. What do the women hunt for when spring comes?

2. Why are the women sure someone will notice they were at the camp by the river?

3. What do the women use to keep the insects off them?

4. What do the women create to carry cranberries?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why do the women decide to move their camp?

2. Why did the Chief want to return for the women, and why is he glad he resisted?

3. Why does Daagoo hope he will find the two women?

4. What is the condition of the women’s food supply before winter?

Paired Resource

Subsistence in Rural Alaska

• This article explains the subsistence tradition in rural Alaska.
• Why is subsistence important in rural Alaska for Alaska Indigenous peoples and non-native people? How do people in rural Alaska care for one another? Why is conservation important in this area? How is this article related to the text’s themes of The Sanctity of Human Life and The Importance of Physical and Mental Health?

Chapters 7-8

Reading Check

1. What do the women offer the search party when they come to their camp?

2. What does Sa’ agree to provide to The People?

3. What does the Chief ask the women if he can send?

4. What does Shruh Zhuu ask his grandmother for when he returns to camp?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do the two women initially react to Daagoo?

2. What do the men promise to convince the women to come back to the camp?

3. How does Sa’ convince Ch’idzigyaak to rejoin the tribe?

Recommended Next Reads

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

• This novel is about the collision of three families on the Ojibwe reservation.
• Shared topics include family, Indigenous peoples, and aging.
• Shared themes include The Sanctity of Human Life and The Importance of Physical and Mental Health.
• Love Medicine on SuperSummary

There There by Tommy Orange

• This novel is about 12 characters and their lives leading up to the shooting at the Big Oakland Powwow.
• Shared topics include lineage, Indigenous identity, and survival.
• Shared themes include The Sanctity of Human Life and The Importance of Physical and Mental Health.
• There There on SuperSummary