The Sign of the Beaver

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. Indigenous people such as the Penobscot tribe members (Chapter 2)

2. Ben (Chapter 3)

3. Matt’s father’s rifle (Chapter 3)

4. Fish (Chapter 4)

5. Honey (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Matt cuts notches into sticks, seven notches per stick. Each stick equals one week. (Chapter 1)

2. Ben takes advantage of Matt’s generosity and steals his rifle. Later, a bear searching for food breaks down the cabin door, which Matt failed to latch properly. (Chapter 4)

3. Matt meets Saknis and Attean, who have been watching him from afar and later save him from a swarm of bees when he tries to steal honey from their hive. (Chapter 5)

Chapters 6-15

Reading Check

1. Robinson Crusoe (Chapter 7)

2. The beaver (Chapter 11)

3. A bow and arrows (Chapter 12)

4. The Bible (Chapter 14)

5. Glusekabe (Chapter 14)

6. A bear (Chapter 15)

Short Answer

1. Saknis wants Matt to teach Attean how to read English. He hopes Attean will be able to understand colonial treaties, so their people won’t be cheated in the future; he also hopes to bring the two boys together in friendship. (Chapter 6)

2. Matt realizes that Attean enjoys the action scenes in the book. (Chapter 8)

3. Attean shows Matt how to make traps, hunt with a bow and arrows, and mark trails. (Chapters 9-12, 15)

Chapters 16-20

Reading Check

1. Grandmother (Chapter 17)

2. Beaver pelts (Chapter 17)

3. Attean’s dog, Aremus (Chapter 18)

4. Attean’s sister, Marie (Chapter 18)

5. Matt’s shirt (Chapter 19)

6. Attean’s manitou, his spirit guide (Chapter 20)

Short Answer

1. Attean’s parents were killed by colonists. His mother was killed for her scalp, which would earn a bounty paid by the state of Massachusetts; his father went to seek justice and never returned. (Chapter 17)

2. Matt played a game of ball and sticks (“lacrosse”) with the Penobscot boys. It’s a rough game, and Matt’s black eye is a badge of honor. (Chapter 19)

3. Matt fears that, when Attean finds his manitou, he’ll be a man and won’t want to be friends with him, who’s still a boy. (Chapter 20)

Chapters 21-25

Reading Check

1. Snowshoes, maple sugar, and Attean’s dog, Aremus (Chapter 22)

2. Pocket watch (Chapter 22)

3. Fur mittens (Chapter 23)

4. A rocking cradle (Chapter 23)

Short Answer

1. Saknis and Attean want Matt to join them at their winter camp. Saknis hopes Matt will become another grandson to him, and Attean wants him to live with them as his brother. (Chapter 25)

2. Matt’s family suffered from the disease typhus. (Chapter 25)

3. The cabin contains many items made by Penobscot people (or made by Matt based on what he learned from them). (Chapter 25)