Reading Comprehension: The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter

‘Gramma said when you come on something good, first thing to do is share it with whoever you can find; that way, the good spreads out where no telling it will go. Which is right.’

Little Tree narrates his own story, the tale of a unique upbringing in the near-wilderness in the 1930’s with his Cherokee grandparents as loving teachers.

‘The Education of Little Tree’ by Forrest Carter is a book that many readers turn to again and again. It is suitable for students age 11 and up who are ready to read about a time and lifestyle that differ from their own, and are able to take an interest in larger, challenging themes of life (the passage of time, spiritual beliefs, the natural world, money and government affairs, history, etc.)

This resource contains reading comprehension sheets to go with the novel. (Still protected by copyright, the book must be purchased or borrowed separately.) For each chapter there are three short assignments:

1. to summarize a lesson learned from the chapter
2. to examine the language used in the chapter
3. to explain how a suggested ‘main theme’ is relevant to the chapter.

WARNING: The story does not paint a flattering picture of the Christian religion, and students who are Christian should be prepared; parents should read the book first, to be sure that their student is ready for this material. It also contains swear words and references to drinking alcohol, among other mature themes. The novel is presented as an autobiography, but it is a work of fiction.