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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the event in question #1 mark for Coyote Runs?

2. What does Coyote Runs call the place he has gone to time after time to pray?

3. What does Coyote Runs learn he will be joining?

4. How many attackers chase Magpie and Coyote Runs?

5. What does Brennan's employer like to talk about?

Short Essay Questions

1. How hard is Brennan's job and what does his boss talk about?

2. Why can't Brennan sleep and why does he dig a skull out of the dirt?

3. What happens to the group of warriors the day after the raid?

4. What kind of school and where is it that Coyote Runs attended and who attended with him?

5. What horse is Coyote Runs riding after the raid and what are his hopes concerning it?

6. What does Coyote Runs believe about him and bullets and what does he do after catching up with the rest of the raiding party?

7. What kind of gun does Coyote Runs have and what will he be doing with the people in question #6?

8. Who does Coyote Runs' group encounter as they are heading to their destination, and how do they handle that encounter?

9. What does Brennan hear and what does he do with the skull?

10. How does Brennan feel about the person driving the van and how does he feel about the kids in it by the time they arrive?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Coyote Runs is shot and killed by a white soldier who jokes as he shoots a fourteen-year-old boy in the head. Discuss the following:

1. How do the circumstances demonstrate the tendency of people to dehumanize an enemy? Use examples from Canyons and from other sources to support your answer.

2. Describe ways in which prejudice contributed to Coyote Runs' death.

3. Discuss the ways in which Coyote Runs thoughts demonstrated his prejudice against white people.

Essay Topic 2

Brennan becomes friends with Mr. Homesley, his biology teacher. This friendship changes Brennan's life.

1. Discuss some of the changes that occur as a direct result of Brennan and Mr. Homesley's friendship. Use examples from the book to support your discussion.

2. Based on the character of Mr. Homesley discuss what kind of a teacher he is and whether he is a typical teacher. Use examples from the book to support your discussion.

3. Discuss Brennan's response to Mr. Homesley in relation to the fact of Brennan not knowing his father. Use examples from the book to support your discussion.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following:

1. Compare/contrast Brennan to Coyote Runs. How are they alike? How are they different? Do you think their differences are mainly due to their era differences or culture?

2. Coyote Runs seems to be connected to Brennan. Do you think the connection would have occurred with anyone who happened to have found his skull? Why or why not?

3. Compare Coyote Runs' life with Brennan's life. How are they similar? How are they different? Use examples from Canyons to illustrate your comparison.

(see the answer keys)

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