Wenjack 
English Language Arts 10-1 & 10-2 
Study Guide
 
 

Name: ______________________________________________________________ 

Unit 2: Project of Hearts  

Ms. Morgan  

March 2018 

/140 = ​___​% 

 
1 
 

 
 

Part I -Reading Response Questions 

/54 
Remember: each question needs to be responded to in complete sentences and 
with an explanation (the why & how). 1 point is awarded for the correct answer & 1 
point for the explanation.  

Sucker Fish 

1. Even though the narrator is being forced to learn English, what is he determined to 
not lose?  
2. What does the narrator call the teachers and Indian agents? 
3. What does the narrator vow he will do one day? 

Crow  

4. How does Charlie get involved in a plan to run away? Where do they plan on going 
and why? 
5. What is Charlie suffering from?  
6. Explain the situational irony in having cemeteries next to schools. 

Hummingbird 

7. Whose perspective is this book being written in?  

8. What is the decision the narrator and the boys are struggling with? What do they 
decide to do? 

 
2 
 

 
 

9. What kind of figurative language is used in the following passage? What does it 
accomplish? “Both begin to breathe like waves coming onto the beach…” 

Owl 

10. Who is the “us” that this chapters perspective is from? What forms do “they” take? 
11. What do we learn about Charlie’s real name? Why was it changed and by whom? 
12. Identify the line that foreshadows Charlie’s fate.  

Mouse Skull 

13. Find an example of personification (giving human like features or qualities to 
nonhuman objects) in this chapter. What is being described? 
14. What is Chanie’s plan with the mouse skull he found?  
15. How does Chanie relate water to the residential school he just escaped from? 

Skull 

16. What form do the “protectors” now take? 

17. What will these “protectors” offer to Chanie to help him on his journey? In what way 
is this meaningful? 

Spider 

18. What story do the boys uncle tell them? What is the purpose of the story? 

Wood Tick 

19. This chapter reveals how long it has been since Chanie has been home or around 
his own people. How long has he been away at school? 
20. What is the only lesson Chanie has learned at residential school? 
21. What do the boys’ aunt and uncle decide about Chanie? Why do they come to this 
conclusion? 
22. What does the little girl give Chanie for his journey? Why is this gift important? 

 
3 
 

 
 

Beaver 

23. What does Chanie interpret the snow as being? Who does he think the bad weather 
is from? 
24. Even though Chanie was told to back to the school, he is left with a message of 
encouragement from his friends. What was that message? 
25. Chanie has a flashback to punishment he received in school. How does this relate to 
the punishment Glen received in​ We Were Children​? 

Lynx 

26. When Chanie dies, who do the protectors transform into and what do they do to 
honour him? 
27. How long does it take for Chanie’s family to be notified of his death? 

Part II - Symbolism  

/50 
Complete the following table for each of the animals featured in the novella. 
Remember to use your notes on symbolism and research on Ojibwe symbols. In 
Include 1-3 notes in the “Symbolism” and “Importance” sections.  

 
4 
 

 
 

Animal  Ojibwe Name  Symbolism  Importance in the novella 

Sucker Fish       
   
 
 
 
   
 
Crow       
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
Hummingbird       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Owl       
 
 
 
   
 
 

 
5 
 

 
 

 
 
Mouse Skull       
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
Spider       
 
 
 
 
   
   
 
 
 
Wood Tick       
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 

 
6 
 

 
 

 
Beaver        
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
Rabbit       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lynx       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
7 
  

 
 

Part III - Quotations Clarified 

/36  
Find 4 quotations from any chapter of the novella and explain that quotes 
significance and meaning using the following process: 

Quotations Clarified  Qualities of a Good Quote  

● A quote is any word, sentence, or  ● It is meaningful: to you, the author, or 
passage taken from a written text.  the characters. 
● The words can be but are not  ● It is about something, important: an 
necessarily spoken.  event, person, idea. 
● Whatever appears between  ● You know you can write about it. 
quotation marks should be I what  ● It invites/helps you make connections 
the text/person wrote or said   between the book and yourself. 

 
Quote  Questions  Response 
A passage or phrase that has  What do I not know or  What I think the quote means. 
caught your attention.  understand? 

Write down the quote here:  List 3-5 questions that will help  Use the questions to help you write 
you write well about the quote:  about the quote here: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
8 
  

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Quote  Questions  Response 
A passage or phrase that has  What do I not know or  What I think the quote means. 
caught your attention.  understand? 

Write down the quote here:  List 3-5 questions that will help  Use the questions to help you write 
you write well about the quote:  about the quote here: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Quote  Questions  Response 
A passage or phrase that has  What do I not know or  What I think the quote means. 
caught your attention.  understand? 

 
9 
  

 
 

Write down the quote here:  List 3-5 questions that will help  Use the questions to help you write 
you write well about the quote:  about the quote here: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Quote  Questions  Response 
A passage or phrase that has  What do I not know or  What I think the quote means. 
caught your attention.  understand? 

Write down the quote here:  List 3-5 questions that will help  Use the questions to help you write 
you write well about the quote:  about the quote here: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
10 
 

 
 

 
11