The Sentence

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Promoting Indigenous American Authors”

In this activity, students will peruse Tookie’s “Totally Biased List of Tookie’s Favorite Books” and think about ways in which Indigenous American work can be highlighted and celebrated.

Take a look at Chapter 18 of The Sentence. This is Tookie’s “Totally Biased List of Tookie’s Favorite Books,” and it includes many works by Indigenous American authors. It also serves as a message of encouragement to support independent bookstores. Throughout this novel, readers learn and reflect upon the ways in which Indigenous American stories are so often untold or omitted.

First, conduct research on the list of titles. Select 3 books that interest you based on initial investigation. Then, use a worksheet or notetaking form to answer the following questions:

• Which books did you choose?
• What are they about? Provide a brief 1-3-sentence summary or “logline” in your own words.
• Why does this topic or genre interest you?
• What do you think this book might teach you about Indigenous American history based on your research and what you have learned from The Sentence?
• Choose just one of the titles for your next read. Which one did you choose, and why?

What are some ways that readers can promote both The Sentence and those Tookie recommends so that more people read books by Indigenous American authors? Work with a partner to brainstorm 5-6 strategies. Then, set 2 specific goals (1 personal; 1 for the class) that serve to promote and highlight these stories. Your strategies and goals might involve activities, research, communication to the class or learning community, or other learning methods.

Teaching Suggestion: Some ideas for future activities might include highlighting an Indigenous American author each month or listening to an audiobook together as a class. This activity can help students continue to think about The Resilience and Importance of Indigenous American Identity.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The color blue often represents a space free from evil spirits.

• Why is it important that the door of Birchbark Books is blue? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss the significance of the blue door in 3 points using examples and details from the text. Include in your discussion any irony or additional symbolism associated with the bookstore door.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect these examples to the theme of The Power of Love as Redemption.

2. Tookie devotes time to Jarvis’s care in the novel.

• Why does Tookie come to enjoy caring for Jarvis? (topic sentence)
• Find 3 instances when Tookie and Jarvis are together and use them to prove your argument. Analyze and discuss each example, including the effect Jarvis has on Tookie and what readers learn about Tookie directly and indirectly from their interactions.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate Jarvis’s overall impact on Tookie’s character development throughout the novel.

3. References to bodies appear throughout this novel.

• What might bodies symbolize in the narrative? (topic sentence)
• Choose 3 instances in which bodies are mentioned and explore how Erdrich uses them as a narrative symbol. Choose the instances that most strongly support your topic sentence. Include details and quotations from the text to substantiate your ideas.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect your argument to the development of one of the novel’s three major themes.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. In this novel, Louise Erdrich writes herself into the story. Why would an author do this? How does this element add to the story? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze the effectiveness of Erdrich’s character in the narrative. Provide 3 examples to support your thoughts and connect your thesis statement to the theme of The Resilience and Importance of Indigenous American Identity. Throughout your essay, you might reference the contemporary timeline of the novel and/or Birchbark Books as a setting.

2. The Sentence has as much to do with the present as it does the past. There are references to the history of the genocide of Indigenous American peoples, the reservation system, and the personal history of its characters. How does this novel present the effects of history on Indigenous lives? What argument might Erdrich be making, and how might she want her story to be perceived by readers? Write a 3- or 5-parageaph essay that explores these questions; make connections to the theme of The Resilience and Importance of Indigenous American Identity or the theme of The Unpredictability of Life.

3. Tookie finds herself surrounded by people who help her to contend with Flora’s ghost, from Pollux, to her fellow employees, to even the novel’s author. How do her relationships with other people help her to find redemption? In a structured paragraph, explain the ways in which Tookie’s relationships with others are crucial to her character development. Use at least 3 examples that support a strong central thesis. Reference the theme of The Power of Love as Redemption in at least one of your examples.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1.  How is Tookie’s incarceration an example of a larger societal issue?

A) Minnesota has one of the highest rates of incarceration.

B) Many women are familiar with the police officers who arrest them.

C) Indigenous American women experience a high incarceration rate.

D) Most crimes involve two people who were romantically involved.

2. How does Tookie’s connection to literature help her while in prison?

A) Books allow Tookie to hide materials from the police.

B) Books offer Tookie an escape from reality.

C) Books suggest pastimes she can pursue while incarcerated.

D) Books challenge Tookie to think about her crime.

3. Which of the following ideas best sums up how this novel is connected to the real world?

A) In The Sentence, Louise Erdrich makes references to herself, her bookshop, and real events that occur in the time period.

B) In The Sentence, Louise Erdrich explores the life of a real Ojibwe woman.

C) In The Sentence, Louise Erdrich reveals her own life story to Tookie through the words of her character Louise.

D) In The Sentence, Louis Erdrich offers insights regarding Indigenous American reservations based on thorough research and interviews.

4. What message does The Sentence convey about books?

A) That books are becoming obsolete in an ever-changing society

B) That books are weapons used to wage battles

C) That books are ways for ghosts to communicate

D) That books are powerful and can withstand a variety of challenges

5. Which of the following explanations best describes how Erdrich uses the word “sentence” in this novel?

A) It refers to a phrase with a subject and predicate and incarceration.

B) It refers to a phrase and the way that people tell stories about the past.

C) It refers to incarceration and the history of Indigenous Americans.

D) It refers to incarceration and how people view the American political system.

6. Why are Tookie and Asema still polite to the woman who talks about her relatives’ treatment of Indigenous Americans?

A) They don’t want to lose a valuable customer.

B) They are trying to be friendly and instructive.

C) They are used to the ways white people treat Indigenous Americans.

D) They believe that she is Flora reincarnated.

7. Why does Tookie find so much comfort in caring for Jarvis?

A) She feels that Jarvis is the son she never had.

B) She thinks that Jarvis can help her rid the store of Flora’s spirit.

C) She hopes that Jarvis will help her grow closer to Hetta.

D) She likes that Jarvis’s innocence prevents him from judging her.

8. Which of the following terms describes the role Jackie plays with regard to Tookie?

A) Foil

B) Mentor

C) Antagonist

D) Ally

9. What do cowbirds symbolize in the story?

A) Invasive presences

B) Hope

C) Feelings of isolation

D) Tensions between writers and bookstores

10. What is implied by the fact that Birchbark Books has a hard time keeping up with orders for books on racism and history?

A) That Birchbark Books does not keep books on racism and history in stock

B) That people turn to bookstores for knowledge in times of crisis

C) That people in the community want to keep Birchbark Books in business

D) That Birchbark Books staff members are effective in making recommendations

11. How is George Floyd’s murder difficult for Pollux in particular?

A) Pollux is worried about Tookie since she’s been in prison before.

B) Pollux is concerned by Hetta’s involvement in protests.

C) Pollux thinks the murder distracts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

D) Police brutality makes Pollux think of his days as a police officer.

12. Which of the following ideas best describes the development of Hetta and Tookie’s relationship throughout the novel?

A) It is warm at first, and Hetta empathizes with Tookie more once she realizes that Laurent is Jarvis’s father.

B) It is tense at first, but Hetta’s role in the protests after George Floyd’s murder makes Tookie more concerned for her well-being.

C) It is tense at first, but Hetta comes to appreciate Tookie, especially after she takes care of Jarvis during the protests.

D) It is warm at first, but Hetta grows cold toward Tookie as she realizes that Tookie has struggled with her mental health.

13. How does Tookie embrace her Indigenous American identity?

A) By taking part in ceremonial dances

B) By working at Birchbark Books

C) By protesting George Floyd’s murder

D) By talking to customers about it

14. What does Flora’s death symbolize regarding how white Americans think about their history?

A) The idea that if all white Americans confronted the reality of the past, their sense of self might be destroyed

B) The recommendation that white Americans should never look into their own history

C) The notion that books are dangerous and can pose significant threats to their readers

D) The message that relationships between people should triumph over all differences

15. Which of the following ideas sums up the ultimate impact of Flora’s ghost on Tookie?

A) Flora’s ghost had a negative impact because she threatened the well-being of Birchbark Books.

B) Flora’s ghost had a negative impact because she scared Tookie and other bookstore customers.

C) Flora’s ghost had a positive impact because she helped Tookie reckon with her past.

D) Flora’s ghost had a positive impact because she taught Tookie how to write personal histories.

Long Answer

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

1. How does the novel suggest connections between George Floyd’s murder and Indigenous American history?

2. How do the secondary characters of Pen and Asema serve as allies to Tookie in the story?

3. How does this novel come full circle with the return and reburial of Indigenous American remains?