Hi Everyone!! This article will share Talking Leaves Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of The Tree Lover, Think Like A Tree and I Was Born Different so, you can check these posts as well.
Talking Leaves Questions & Answers
Question 1: Fill in the blanks:
(a) ‘Talking leaves’ refers to letter and newspapers.
(b) Sequoya called them ‘talking leaves’ because they seemed to talk to people as clearly as voices did.
Question 2: Sequoya was a good learner. Pick out two instances from the text to support this statement.
Answer: Sequoya was a good learner. The following two instances from the text supports this statement:
- He went to a silversmith and requested him to train him. Being a good learner, he soon became skilled at working with silver.
- Impressed by the white men’s exchange of ideas through newspapers and letters, Sequoya started learning the white men’s alphabet. Very soon, he learnt all that he could learn about it.
Question 3: Choose the correct option:
Sequoya admired the white men too. Sequoya admired the white men because
(a) they were clever and honest.
(b) they could read letters and newspapers.
(c) they could send messages to distant places.
Answer: (b) they could read letters and newspapers.
Question 4: Describe how Sequoya developed the system of writing for the Cherokees. What does this tell us about him as a person?
Answer: In 1809, Sequoya began to work out a system for writing down the Cherokee language. He listened to each sound that the white men made when they spoke. Then, he invented marks for all the sounds the Cherokees used when they spoke. He then wrote these marks on pieces of bark and at last he developed the system of writing for the Cherokees.
This tells us that he was observant, clever a good craftsmen, a good learner and hardworking.
Question 5: Why was it called a syllabary? Do you think it is a suitable name?
Answer: It was called a syllabary because the marks in it stood for syllables rather than letters. Yes, it is a suitable name.
Question 6: Here are a few statements about Sequoya’s syllabary. Say whether they are True or False.
1. The syllabary was based on sounds that Cherokees made when they spoke – True
2. There were 26 marks in it – False
3. Each mark stood for a while syllable rather than a letter – True
4. Sequoya put in a lot of effort to develop the syllabary – True
Question 7: Sequoya was honoured by the state for his outstanding service to his community in two ways. What were they? Do you think they were appropriate ways to honour him? Why do you think so?
Answer:
- In 1907, when Oklahoma became the forty-sixth state in the United States of America, it was asked to send statues of two of its outstanding citizens to the Hall of Fame in Washington D.C. Sequoya’s statue was one of the two sent.
- Another tribute paid to Sequoya was that, the giant redwood trees in California were named ‘sequoia trees’ in his honour.
Yes, I think they were the appropriate ways to honour him because, the syllabary found by Sequoya allowed literacy and printing to flourish in the Cherokee nation, in the early nineteenth century in a short period of time.
Question 8: Do you think the title ‘Talking Leaves’ is suitable? Think of at least two reasons why you think so.
Answer: Yes, I think ‘Talking Leaves’ is a suitable title. This is because, ‘Talking Leaves’ refers to letters and newspapers. Sequoya called them Talking Leaves because they seem to talk to people as clearly as voices did.
So, these were Talking Leaves Questions & Answers.