Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Chapter 1 Focus question: The narrator doesn’t yet reveal his name. What does he tell and show about himself? Vocabulary Words: sheen squalling

Farming in the 1920s

Chapter 2 Focus question: How do you picture Billy and his home? Vocabulary: aromatic canebrakes Sparsely squalling

Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma The Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma A Cherokee Chief

Chapter 3 Focus question: How does Billy change during these two years? Vocabulary: dumbfounded festered quavering

The Ozark Mountains

Chapter 4 Focus question: Compare Billy to the townspeople. Vocabulary: provisions

Chapter 5 Focus question: What bonds are already being forged between Billy and the pups? Vocabulary: muster provisions

Chapter 6 Focus question: Are you surprised by his parents’ reaction when Billy comes home with the puppies? Why or why not? Vocabulary: hampering querying

Rural Life A corncrib is a slatted enclosure for storing and drying ears of corn. The spaced slats let air circulate and prevent rotting.

Another example of a corncrib

Chapter 7 Focus question: What do you learn about raccoons and raccoon hunting in this chapter? Vocabulary: bulldogged gouge wiley

Raccoon Hunting Dogs chase the raccoon by scent until it is “treed,” which means that it is trapped in a tree.

The dogs then “bark treed,” and then the hunter got the raccoon down by chopping the tree down or scaring it out. It was considered unsportsmanlike to kill a raccoon while it was treed.

Chapter 8 Focus Question: How does this chapter demonstrate Billy’s feelings for his dogs? Vocabulary: domain jarred

Chapter 9 Focus Question: Based on Billy’s actions, what three adjectives would you use to describe him? Vocabulary: limbered wedge winced

Chapter 10 Focus Question: What do you learn about the unusual qualities of Old Dan and Little Ann in this chapter? Vocabulary: abounded nonchalantly riffle slough

Chapter 11 Focus Question: What do you discover about the importance of self-reliance? Vocabulary:

Chapter 12 Focus Question: Compare Billy and the Pritchard boys. Vocabulary: begrudgingly debris disposition surpassed

Prohibition (1920 – 1933)

Chapter 13 Focus Question: Are you surprised by the outcome of the ghost coon hunt? Why or why not? Vocabulary: clambered taut

Chapter 14 Focus Question: This chapter reveals the personalities of Billy’s mother, his youngest sister, and his grandmother. What is Billy’s relationship with each of them? Vocabulary: droning gloated jubilant

Chapter 15 Focus Question: What do Grandpa’s actions tell about his character? Vocabulary: dabbing

Chapter 16 Focus Question: How do you predict the hunt will end? What makes you think so? Vocabulary: doused faltered flitting

Chapter 17 Focus Question: Are the Colmans’ actions during the blizzard responsible or irresponsible? Explain your answer. Vocabulary: gawking

Chapter 18 Focus Question: What do you learn about love and loyalty from Billy, Grandpa, and the dogs? Vocabulary: awed haggard

Chapter 19 Focus Question: In what ways do Old Dan and Little Ann help Billy and his family? Vocabulary: berserk feeble churring foliage cleaved jugular disembowel lithe entrails scourge

Chapter 20 Focus Question: How does Billy come to terms with the deaths of Old Dan and Little Ann? Vocabulary: