A Single Shard

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. How do Tree-ear and Crane-man find food?

2. What object does Tree-ear break in Min’s workshop?

3. How many days must Tree-ear work for Min initially?

4. What is the first task that Tree-ear must perform for Min?

5. What is Min required to give Tree-ear each day even though he doesn’t pay him?

6. Where does Tree-ear go to find clay?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the meaning of Tree-ear’s name?

2. What is the meaning of Crane-man’s name?

3. Why does Min want a palace commission?

Paired Resource

“Reviving Traditional Korean Celadons”

• An 8-minute video showing the various steps required to create the type of pottery detailed in the novel
• How does the video tie into the tasks that Min requires Tree-ear to perform in the novel?

“UNESCO Heritage in Korea”

• Sponsored by the Korean Cultural Center of New York, this site presents an overview of Korea’s cultural and World Heritage sites from a variety of time periods and locations.
• Includes information and images on celadon pottery and other kinds of cultural artifacts
• What details from the images and information on this site are helpful in visualizing the opening chapters?

“Central Themes for a Unit on Korea”

• This Columbia University site presents an overview of Korea’s history through contemporary times in brief, bulleted informational points for teachers.
• Includes a section on the Goryeo (Koryeo) period in which the novel is set
• Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. What sort of object does Tree-ear dream of creating one day?

2. What clothing does Mrs. Min give to Tree-ear?

3. What is the name of the king’s emissary?

4. What does Min do with his flawed sample vases?

5. What name does Min’s wife insist that Tree-ear should call her?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Tree-ear observe Kang doing in his workshop?

2. Why isn’t the emissary impressed with Kang’s vase?

3. Why does Tree-ear wait to inform Min about Kang’s new design?

4. What reason does Min give for refusing to train Tree-ear?

Paired Resource

 “Korea, 1000-1400 A.D."

• An overview of the Goryeo dynasty from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History that includes discussion of the capital city Songdo and cultural features of medieval Korea
• Contrast Tree-ear’s life in a simple village with the journey he must make to the imposing capital as it pertains to the book’s theme of Fear Versus Courage.

Chapters 9-13

Reading Check

1. How many sample vases does Min succeed in creating for the palace?

2. What animal does Tree-ear encounter on his journey that frightens him?

3. Who finds Tree-ear at the famous rock?

4. What sample does Tree-ear give to the emissary?

5. Where does Tree-ear live after returning from Songdo?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Crane-man send Tree-ear to see the Rock of the Falling Flowers?

2. What happens to Tree-ear’s samples and why?

3. What happens to Crane-man in the final chapter?

4. Why does Min order Tree-ear to chop some extra-large logs after he returns with the palace commission?

Recommended Next Reads

SeeSaw Girl by Linda Sue Park

• A middle-grade novel by the author of A Single Shard in which a girl in 17th century Korea defies custom to gain a wider experience of the world
• Shared topics include defying tradition and an emphasis on family
• Shared themes include Fear Versus Courage

The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

• A middle-grade novel about a boy in ancient Egypt who wants to become a master goldsmith and the forces that stand in his way
• Shared topics include a dedication to art and the persistence to realize a dream
• Shared themes include Fear Versus Courage, Lost and Found Families, and Dreams of a Lifetime
• The Golden Goblet on SuperSummary