73 pages • 2-hour read
Winter's Bone
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During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
CHAPTERS 1-9
Reading Check
1. How old is Ree?
2. What does Sonya bring Ree and her family?
3. What do Ree and Gail want to borrow from Floyd?
4. What does Ree regularly do to tend to her mother’s appearance?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why is The Sounds of Tranquil Shores important to Ree?
2. Why is Ree determined to find her father?
3. How does Uncle Teardrop respond when Ree asks for help finding her father?
4. What are some lessons Ree teaches her brothers?
Paired Resource
“How Teaching Kids to Hunt Puts Food on Their Table”
- This 10-minute short documentary from PBS documents a group in San Antonio teaching youth to hunt to combat hunger.
- This connects to the theme Nature/Environment.
- How does Ree’s experience compare to those in the video?
“Releasing Stress Through the Power of Music”
- This article from the University of Nevada Reno explains the effect that music of different frequencies has on the brain and includes a selection of music like the music that Ree might have chosen.
- This connects to the theme Escapism.
- When does Ree listen to her music? How does the music affect her mood?
CHAPTERS 10-18
Reading Check
1. Where does Ree decide to hitchhike, against Teardrop’s warnings?
2. After Thump Milton refuses to talk to Ree, where does she stay the night?
3. What are the two heirlooms from Jessup that Ree shows her brothers?
4. Whom does April confess to having seen in the previous weeks?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. After visiting Little Arthur, what does Ree realize about her father, and how does it affect her?
2. How does Blond Milton explain the disappearance of Ree’s father, and how does she react?
3. Why does Ree fight Blond Milton’s suggestion that Sonny move into his home?
4. What happens when Ree sees her father’s car on the way back from April’s home?
Paired Resource
Community Partnership of the Ozarks
- The Community Partnership of the Ozarks provides resources and information to help the residents of Missouri’s Ozark communities.
- This information connects to the themes Nature/Environment and Perpetuation of Need.
- How do the resources on this page reflect the challenges that Ree and her family face?
“Defining Rural at the U.S. Census Bureau”
- This resource offers images and background information about how the US Census Bureau distinguishes what areas are rural.
- This connects to the theme Nature/Environment.
- How does Ree’s rural environment affect her daily life?
CHAPTERS 19-27
Reading Check
1. What does Teardrop advise Ree to sell?
2. Who addresses Ree in the parking ot and informs her of her legal predicament?
3. What pressing debt did a mysterious man pay off for Jessup?
4. Who comes to take Ree home from Thump Milton’s?
5. What does Ree ask Gail to help her burn?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does Ree resist selling the family land?
2. How does Ree remember her mother on their walk?
3. What happens when Ree returns to confront Thump Milton?
4. Why does Teardrop ask Ree never to tell him who killed her father if she finds out?
Paired Resource
“A Guaranteed Income Program in Rural Georgia Hopes to Reduce Income Inequality”
- NPR explores guaranteed income programs, focusing on one in rural Georgia called In Her Hands.
- This connects to the theme The Perpetuation of Needs.
- How might a program like this impact Ree and her family?
CHAPTERS 28-35
Reading Check
1. Where does Ree plan to move her family when they lose the house?
2. What do Gail and Ree do together at Bucket Spring that has a rejuvenating effect on Ree?
3. What job does Satterfield offer Ree?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How do the women of Rathlin Valley respond to Ree’s troubles?
2. Why does watching Gail complete her chores while she recuperates bother Ree?
3. How are drugs affecting Ree?
4. How does Ree get the authorities to leave her family alone?
5. What does buying a car represent for Ree?
Paired Resource
“This Woman’s Before-and-After Photos Show the Power of Sobriety”
- Teen Vogue presents a woman’s journey away from drugs.
- Theme connections include Escapism and The Perpetuation of Needs.
- How does Dejah’s experience with drugs connect to and differ from Ree’s? What advice might Dejah give to Ree?
Recommended Next Reads
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Katniss volunteers for the Hunger Games to save her younger sister and is whisked away to the Capitol, where she must fight or die.
- Shared themes include Nature/Environment, Escapism, and The Perpetuation of Needs.
- Shared topics include violence, poverty, desperation, family, friendship, danger, nature, growing up, and survival.
- The Hunger Games on SuperSummary
Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao
- Poornima and Savitha grow up together in India. Violence drives them apart, yet they survive, determined to find each other.
- Shared themes include Nature/Environment, Escapism, and The Perpetuation of Needs.
- Shared topics include sexual violence, danger, poverty, physical violence, home, growing up, family, friendship, and survival.
- Girls Burn Brighter on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
CHAPTERS 1-9
Reading Check
1. 16 (Chapter 1)
2. Food (Chapter 4)
3. His car (Chapter 7)
4. Wash her hair (Chapter 9)
Short Answer
1. Ree uses new-age music like this to escape her reality. She listens while chopping wood. The music takes her away from her physical environment, building the theme of Escapism. (Chapter 3)
2. Ree learns her father used the house for bond, so if he does not appear in court, the family will lose the house. She reflects on how desperate losing their shelter would make them. They do not have large savings or a backup plan. (Chapter 3)
3. Teardrop tells her not to look for her father. He plays with his gun in an intimidating way and warns her of the dangers of visiting her relatives about this search. (Chapter 5)
4. Ree teaches her brothers how to take care of her mom, including washing her hair. She also teaches them lessons about how she expects them to act, such as “Never ask for what ought to be offered” (5). Ree is trying to fulfill a parenting role, since their father left and their mother does not interact with her surroundings. (Chapters 1-9)
CHAPTERS 10-18
Reading Check
1. Hawkfall (Chapter 10)
2. In a cave (Chapter 12)
3. Guns (Chapter 15)
4. Jessup (Chapter 16)
Short Answer
1. Ree realizes her father is dead and that others know it and are not stating it. This information hurts Ree. She collapses into the snow and cries. (Chapter 10)
2. Blond Milton brought her to a building that had exploded and claims Ree’s father died in the explosion cooking meth. Ree does not believe him because she sees weeds in the building, suggesting it had been destroyed before her father went missing. She keeps this realization to herself until arriving home, where she yells at Blond Milton. (Chapter 14)
3. Although Sonny might be safe in Blond Milton’s care, Ree realizes that this would keep him trapped in the cycle she wanted to keep him from, unable to break free and realize different dreams. (Chapter 15)
4. Ree motions, but the car drives away. She and Gail chase the car but slide in the dangerous weather, so they decide to stop pursuing whoever is inside. (Chapter 17)
CHAPTERS 19-27
Reading Check
1. The Bromont trees (Chapter 20)
2. Satterfield (Chapter 23)
3. His bond (Chapter 23)
4. Teardrop (Chapter 25)
5. Her clothing (Chapter 26)
Short Answer
1. Ree knows the family land is their shelter. It has been passed down in the family, and selling the property would lead to the demise of the family. (Chapters 19-20)
2. Ree remembers her mother before she faced her current mental health issues and retreated inside herself. She used to play with Ree and make up amazing stories about the land. (Chapter 21)
3. Thump’s wife and other women beat Ree and leave her in a barn. She is knocked unconscious, loses teeth, and suffers other injuries. Thump refuses to help her. Teardrop eventually arrives and takes her home. (Chapter 24)
4. Teardrop recognizes he must avenge his brother if he knows who killed him. He somewhat cryptically asks Ree not to reveal who it was, implying he does not want that knowledge on his shoulders. (Chapter 25)
CHAPTERS 28-35
Reading Check
1. A cave (Chapter 29)
2. Swim (Chapter 30)
3. Bail bondsman with his company (Chapter 35)
Short Answer
1. The women of Rathlin Valley become support for Ree. They bring comfort and pain medication, helping her heal. As they voice their disapproval of how Mrs. Thump attacked her, they eventually lead to Mrs. Thump helping Ree find her father’s body, which gives her freedom from losing her home. (Chapter 28)
2. Ree connects Gail taking care of her to Ree taking care of her mother. She is determined not to end up like her mother. (Chapter 30)
3. The drugs lead to Ree opening to Teardrop in ways she would not have ordinarily, admitting she is ashamed of her father and his decision to break the family rules. (Chapter 28-30)
4. Ree finds her father’s body and cuts off his hands to prove he is dead. Being dead gives him a reason not to appear in court, so the family will not lose the house. (Chapters 34-35)
5. Buying a car represents freedom for Ree and her family. They do not have a way of traveling currently. She has hitchhiked, and the boys walk to the bus stop. A car would be a way to leave the area on their own accord, a way to travel, a way to escape, a way to see other areas. (Chapter 35)
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