After reading the Terry Gardner Four Directions tale called “Flying Eights,” involve your students in responding to the following comprehension questions either in oral or written form or both.
- Click “Flying Eights” to read a copy of the target story.
Eleven Story Comprehension Questions
1. What is it that happens that wakes Ellen Eagle and her husband out of a sound sleep?
Students Respond: The crows are cawing loudly and flying in a strange way.
2. What does Eddie Eagle agree to do while Ellen Eagle goes off to investigate the crows?
Students Respond: He agrees to hunt breakfast for the two of them – a fish for each of them.
3. When Ellen Eagle asked Cody Crow what the four of them were doing, how did he respond?
Students Respond: Cody Crow said the four of them were flying life by flying figure-eight flight patterns.
4. As Ellen Eagle joins the four crows in flying figure-eights, how did Cody Crow explain what he meant by flying life?
Students Respond: Cody Crow said that they were flying figure eights to celebrate their choices about yes or no.
The crows have a choice between two points every moment:
* They can obey or disobey a teacher or boss.
* They can either use their right foot or their left foot for hopping.
* They can either be happy or sad-mad.
5. What way do the crows fly to indicate yes, and which way do they fly to indicate no?
Students Respond: They fly forward or clockwise to indicate the choice of yes. They fly backward or counterclockwise to indicate the choice of no.
6. When Cody Crow was amazed that he was actually teach the Guardian of Master Forest something, how did Ellen Eagle respond?
Students Respond: Ellen Eagle said that she does not know everything. She learns a bit here and there from everyone.
7. What does Ellen Eagle call that voice she hears in her head that tells her what she is doing or choosing is right or wrong?
Students Respond: Ellen Eagle calls that voice her conscience or her spirit.
8. How do the crows explain why they can hear each other over long distances?
Students Respond: The crows explained that they live from their spirits in their physical bodies. And because they have settled a lot of their past negative memories, it has made them have keen hearing and seeing of sounds, feelings, persons, and colors.
9. What bad memory does Ellen Eagle need to heal from?
Students Respond: She needs to heal from the memory of sometimes stealing fish from one of her brothers when he was not looking. This bothers her.
10. In what ways did the crows explain that Ellen Eagle could feel better about her bad memories?
Students Respond: The crows explained that she needed to spend some time sitting with her good and bad memories and sort through them. Then she can come to acceptance and peace about these memories and let the bad ones go. She can get help to do this if she needs to.
11. How did the story end?
Students Respond: Crow brought knowledge of how Eagle could let go of past bad memories and be more joyful. This will help Ellen Eagle be a stronger leader of Master Forest. She smiles her gratitude to them and goes to rejoin her husband to eat breakfast. The crows resume flying figure-eight flight patterns and enjoying their day.
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OTHER STORIES BY TERRY GARDNER
Four Coyote tales
- Read-Aloud Story for Grades 2-6: Coyote Meets his Master
- Read-Aloud Story for Grades 2-6: Courage to Fear
- Read-Aloud Story for Grades 2-6: Coyote Travels Inside
- Read-Aloud Story for Grades 2-6: Coyote Becomes Mindful
Story featuring Bear
- Read-aloud story for grades 2-6: Bear becomes bearable
Seven Stories from the East
- Read-Aloud Story for Grades 2-6: Dog Learns to Dance
- Read-aloud story for grades 2-6: Teeter-Totter Eagle reviews her past
- Read-aloud story for grades 2-6: Beaver Busy
- Read-aloud story for grades 2-6: Coyote and Fawn learn about growth within
- Read-aloud story for grades 2-6: Argument between the Deer and Rabbits
- Read-aloud story for grades 2-6: Wolf purpose versus Deer purpose
- Read-aloud story for grades 2-6: Flying Eights
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