Touching Spirit Bear

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following is not a reason why Cole feels angry at the world?

A) He is bullied by his father.

B) He has been sentenced to jail.

C) He feels like nobody cares about him.

D) He feels like Peter was wrong to report him.

2. Which symbol from the novel best represents the choices people have in life?

A) The baby sparrows

B) The perfect circle

C) The ancestor stone

D) The wolf dance

3. What is being foreshadowed when Garvey says, “Go ahead and try it. Try manipulating a storm or lying to your hunger. Try cheating the cold” (46)?

A) The starvation that Cole experiences in the winter

B) The blizzard that comes after Garvey and Edwin leave

C) The near-death experience after the bear attack

D) The thunderstorm that destroys Cole’s cabin

4. Which best describes Edwin’s position in Cole’s life?

A) Uncle

B) Antagonist

C) Foil

D) Mentor

5. When does Cole realize that he is insignificant and helpless?

A) After the Spirit Bear attack

B) After trying to escape the island

C) After Edwin and Garvey leave

D) After the shelter burns down

6. Which is the correct series of events?

A) Cole performs the anger dance, Cole touches the Spirit Bear, Cole begins carving the totem pole

B) Cole touches the Spirit Bear, Cole begins carving the totem pole, Cole performs the dance of anger

C) Cole performs the dance of anger, Cole touches the Spirit Bear, Cole begins carving the totem pole

D) Cole touches the Spirit Bear, Cole performs the dance of anger, Cole begins carving the totem pole

7. What does it mean to be “part of a much bigger circle” (17)? Choose the best answer.

A) It means being part of a community.

B) It means being understood.

C) It means being connected to all things.

D) It means being in a vicious cycle.

8. What is different about the way Cole reacts to Peter when Peter comes to the island?

A) Cole was patient and forgiving before, and now he is scared and cautious.

B) Cole was scared and cautious before, and now he is patient and forgiving.

C) Cole was patient and forgiving before, and now he is angry and violent.

D) Cole was angry and violent before, and now he is patient and forgiving.

9. What do Cole, Edwin, and Garvey have in common?

A) They each are members of the Tlingit tribe.

B) They each got banished to the island as a teenager.

C) They each made mistakes that hurt themselves and others.

D) They each come from the Alaska region.

10. How does Cole initially feel about performing animal dances?

A) Embarrassed and foolish

B) Optimistic and inspired

C) Angry and annoyed

D) Curious and open

11. What does Cole realize about his father that allows him to forgive?

A) He realizes his father is sorry and feels guilty.

B) He realizes his father was abused and feels scared.

C) He realizes his father has a mental illness.

D) He realizes his father tried his best.

12. Why does Cole carry and roll the ancestor stone?

A) To accept his anger and roll away his past

B) To accept his mistakes and roll away his sadness

C) To accept his sadness and roll away his mistakes

D) To accept his past and roll away his anger

13. Which animal does Cole not carve onto his totem pole?

A) Mouse

B) Hawk

C) Salmon

D) Wolf

14. Who helps Cole build his shelter the second time he comes to the island?

A) Edwin

B) Garvey

C) Peter

D) Nobody

15. Which of the following best describes the novel’s genre?

A) Thriller

B) Fantasy

C) Coming-of-age

D) Quest

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is an at.óow, and why does Garvey gift one to Cole? How does the at.óow help Cole, and what does he do with it in the end?

2. What does the Spirit Bear symbolize? How do Cole’s interactions with the Spirit Bear transform him as a person?