Grade+4

The Gold Coin

1. What is with the author’s three names? 2. Does Juan have even one relative left? 3. What is a black cloak? 4. How do you twist your face (p17)? 5. What is a poncho (p18)? 6. What does it mean to “hoe potatoes”? 7. How wide is the river if you need a boat to get across? 8. Who is Dona Josefa? 9. Why didn’t anyone take the gold coin? 10. Why did Juan think the gold coin was HIS gold coin? 11. Why did Dona Josefa try to give away the gold coin? 12. What is a wicker basket (p19)? 13. What does brimming mean? 14. Is the author Dona Josefa? 15. How long did it take to hoe up the potatoes? 16. When is the setting? 17. What does “sopped” mean (p19)? 18. Why does Juan miss having a home-cooked meal? 19. What’s so special about the gold coin? 20. What are Foothills? 21. Why was Juan stunned on p 20? 22. Why did Juan give the gold coin away at the end? 23. Why was Juan sitting outside the hut? 24. What does “surveyed the ransacked house” mean? 25. How to all of the people know each other? 26. What does muttered mean? 27. What does “Juan’s face broke into a smile” mean? 28. Where is Donna Josefa now? 29. How did Juan get shriveled? 30. Is Donna Josefa a Spanish name?