Where the Red Fern Grows

Name: _____________________________________________________________ Date: ____________

Chapters VIII, IX

1. How did Billy's parents feel about his hunting?

2. How old was Billy when he went coon hunting for the first time?

3. What did Billy realize about the way his father was talking to him?

4. What feeling did Billy get on his first night of hunting, when Old Dan bawled the first time? What did he do after he also heard Little Ann's bawl?

5. Where had the hounds treed their first coon?

6. Describe Billy's thoughts and feelings when he saw where the hounds had treed their first coon.

7. How did the members of Billy's family feel about his decision?

8. How did Billy's grandfather keep the coon in the tree while Billy went home to rest?

9. What interesting news about coonskins did Billy's grandfather share with him?

10. What was the outcome of Billy's efforts?

Vocabulary Chapters VIII-IX

Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Context Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean on the lines provided.

1. He just lay there in the sunshine, all stretched out and limber as a rag.

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2. I heard the baying of a hound.

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3. I was expecting one of them to bawl, but when it came it startled me.

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4. Like a king in its domain, it towered far above the smaller trees.

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5. "If that tree takes a notion to fall, it'll mash you flatter than a tadpole's tail."

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6. He showed his sympathy by nuzzling me with his head.

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7. In a sober voice, he said, "I don't know, Billy."

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Part II: Determining the Meaning Match the vocabulary words to their dictionary definitions.

__ 1. limber                              A. to cry or wail loudly

___ 2. baying                           B. territory over which rule or control is exercised

___ 3. bawl                              C. serious, grave, or solemn

___ 4. domain                          D. uttering a deep prolonged bark

___ 5. notion                            E. bending or flexing readily; pliable

___ 6. nuzzling                          F. rubbing or pushing against gently with the nose

___ 7. sober                             G. an idea or conception