Branded Outlaw
Quiz
1. Main Idea
What is the main idea of the story?
A man finds himself accused of crimes and has to fight for his life and to clear his name.
Life as a cattle rancher is always dangerous and exciting.
A sheriff finds that his job is harder than he thought it would be.
The wild west wasn’t as wild as the stories make it seem.
2. Sequence
What belongs in the middle?
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1
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Lee Weston kills a man in a gunfight.
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2
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3
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Harvey Dodge rides to the cabin to get Ellen to come home.
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Ellen hides Lee at the cabin and nurses his gunshot wound.
Lee’s father is killed.
Harvey Dodge is shot in the back by Ace Doherty.
Harvey Dodge offers a reward for Lee’s capture.
3. Cause and Effect
The group of men start breaking in the door of the jail, so ______________.
Sheriff Randall lets Lee go out the back so he won’t be lynched without a trial
the sheriff and Lee hold them off in a huge gunfight
they capture Lee and plan to lynch him the next day
the sheriff runs and leaves Lee to fend for himself
4. Cause and Effect
With his father dead and Ellen against him, Lee feels he has nothing left, so ________________.
he decides to go to the Triple D and try to convince Ellen he is innocent.
he decides he might as well actually be an outlaw and joins Doherty’s gang.
he gives up and goes back to town to see if they will actually hang him.
he goes back to the cabin and decides to try to shoot it out with the men.
5. Context Clues
Harvey Dodge is a ___________, so he owns a large spread and lots of cattle.
rancher
Mexican
gunslinger
sheriff
6. Context Clues
Lee Weston is a fast and accurate shot, so _____________.
he is known as a gunslinger
he wants to become the sheriff
he can steal all the cattle he wants
he can play cards as well as Doherty
7. Prediction or Inference
Why do you think Lee got the name of “Suicide Weston”?
Lee is such an accurate shot that going up against him is suicide.
He’s always getting into battles that he can’t win.
Every town he goes to turns against him and tries to lynch him.
Everyone knows going against Harvey Dodge is suicied.
8. Prediction or Inference
How do you think Harvey Dodge will feel about his daughter and Lee after the book ends?
It is hard for him to take at first, but he comes to see that Lee was innocent all along.
He always liked Lee, so he throws a big engagement party.
He still wants to lynch Lee and so sends a posse after him anyway.
It is impossible for him to forgive anyone, so he forbids Ellen to see him again.
9. Facts and Details
When Lee goes to the Triple D ranch, he hopes to get _____________________?
guns, ammunition, blankets and food
Ellen’s agreement to marry him
a proper apology from Harvey Dodge
a good night’s sleep
10. Facts and Details
A quirt is ___________.
a riding whip of braided leather
a funny facial expression
An usual character trait
a type of grain fed to horses
11. Facts and Details
Lee Weston had returned from _________________ after receiving the letter from his father.
Wyoming
a vacation
Mexico
New York
12. Facts and Details
The name of Lee Weston’s father’s ranch was ___________.
the Lightning W
the OK Corral
the Weston ranch
the Old Homestead
13. Facts and Details
The stolen cattle were being move to ________________.
Mexico
California
another man’s ranch
the east coast
14. Facts and Details
Lee was able to find the old cabin easily because _____________________.
he knew the terrain well from riding over it so often as a child
he had a natural instinct for direction
he had an old map his father had left him
he had been taught to track by Indians
15. Facts and Details
A puncher is _____________________?
a hired hand who tends the cattle on horseback
someone who frequently uses a punching bag
a man who is good in a fistfight
a person who makes a lot of jokes
5a1
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Branded Outlaw
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Name
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Date
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24/3
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CHARACTERS
Write about the following characters, and be sure to explain their relationships to the other characters.
Lee Weston
Lee Weston, also known as Suicide Weston, is the son of a cattle rancher who has been killed. Lee has returned from Wyoming and finding his father dead, is out to find the killer he thinks to be Harvey Dodge, an old rival of his father. Lee is shot in a gunfight and secretly nursed back to health by Dodge’s daughter, Ellen. But he is discovered by Dodge and has to run and fight for his life, as the entire town has been turned against him and even Ellen believes he may be guilty. The sheriff gives him a chance by letting him out of the jail and Lee vows to find the real outlaw so he can be brought to justice. With almost no hope, Lee manages to use his wits to outsmart the real bandits and prove his innocence.
Harvey Dodge
Harvey Dodge is the man mentioned by Lee’s father as a raider and so Lee’s first suspect when he finds his father dead. Dodge has recently moved into the area and bought the largest spread in the valley. Dodge is also the father of the girl who helps Lee after he has been shot and harbors him until her father arrives unexpectedly and sees that Lee is there. Dodge is sure that Lee is responsible for many of the crimes that are being committed in the area and offers a reward for his capture. He is eventually shot by the real outlaw, but survives the shooting.
Ellen Dodge
Ellen Dodge is the daughter of Harvey Dodge. She happens to be at a cabin in the mountains when Lee first escapes after being shot in a gunfight. She nurses him back to health and hides him from the posse that comes looking for him. She believes him to be innocent until her father is shot and Lee appears to have been the killer. When she is taken captive by the band of outlaws that have been terrorizing the valley, Lee makes a daring plan for escape and nearly loses his own life in freeing her.
Ace Doherty
Ace Doherty is a gambler and as it turns out, the true villain of the story. He has formed a band of outlaws from the scum that have moved into the area to steal cattle and move them to Mexico. It is Doherty who captures Lee and then shoots Harvey Dodge in the back when Dodge refuses to pay the reward money since Lee has since escaped again. His men capture Ellen and Lee Weston is forced to think quickly to come up with a plan to save her while showing Doherty to be the outlaw he really is.
SUMMARY
Write a summary of the book on a separate piece of paper. You may prepare for an oral summary if you prefer.
SBQ (Story-based Questions)
Answer the following questions in short sentences.
1. Why does Lee Weston immediately suspect Harvey Dodge when he finds his father dead?
His father had sent a letter in which he mentioned Dodge as being a raider.
2. When Lee first comes to Pecos, how does the gunfight where he kills a man start?
The man acts as if he will tell Lee where Harvey Dodge is but pulls his guns and fires instead.
3. Why does Harvey Dodge himself ride up to the cabin to bring his daughter home?
The men he has sent could not convince her to come home and he is worried for her safety.
4. How does Lee escape from the cabin once Dodge discovers him there?
Lee has his gun under the blanket and makes Dodge drop his own gun while he gets away.
5. How does the story of Lee’s shootout become so out of proportion to the truth?
There was so little new in the small town that they story became more and more exaggerated as it was passed around.
6. What happens while Lee is cooking the deer he shot?
A band of outlaws, headed by Doherty capture him.
7. Why does Lee come down from his hiding place in the livery stable?
He sees Doherty shoot Dodge in the back and comes down to try and catch him.
8. What does Lee do when the bandit, don Jose, captures Ellen?
He pretends he has joined the band of outlaws and is helping take Ellen against her will.
SBD(Story-based Discussion)
While you are reading the book, find the answers to the following questions. You don’t have to write down the answers.
1. What advice does Sheriff Tate Randall give Lee when he first comes into town looking for Harvey Dodge?
To use his head and let the law do the finding and shooting.
2. How is Lee Weston tricked into trusting the five men who find him at his campfire cooking venison?
One of them recognizes him as Suicide Weston and acts so happy and honored to see him that he is thrown off guard.
3. Why does Lee decide to stay in town after Sheriff Randall releases him from the jail?
He realizes that the men will not expect him to be there and they will head out into the hills to find him.
SAW (Story-applied Writing)
Pick one topic below and write a complete response.
1. Write the next chapter of the book, explaining what happens to Lee Weston.
2. Compare and contrast Lee Weston with a character you have read about in another book.
3. Choose a few scenes from the book and rewrite them from Harvey Dodge’s perspective.
FIND THE MEANING
1. plumbed means
ate fruit
stirred up
became angry
stirred up
became angry
examined closely
2. rotund means
dignified
smart
gracious
plump or fat
3. gnaw means
cry out
sicken
tighten
trouble or worry
4. braggart means
someone who dislikes people
a person with poor eyesight
a boy who lies
a person with poor eyesight
a boy who lies
a person who brags
5. atone means
to want badly
to make musical sounds
to remember
to make musical sounds
to remember
to make up for
6. strife means
sunrise
unhappiness
unhappiness
upright
a quarrel or struggle
a quarrel or struggle
7. disdain means
contentment
thick stew
foggy weather
contempt; scorn
thick stew
foggy weather
contempt; scorn
8. part and parcel means
birthday gifts
a piece of land
wrapped nicely
a piece of land
wrapped nicely
an essential part
9. tortuous means
unhealthy
full of emotion
like a turtle
full of emotion
like a turtle
full of twists and turns
10. stigma means
soft, black cloth
a drawing pencil
a flowering plant
a drawing pencil
a flowering plant
a mark of disgrace
COMPLETE THE SENTENCES
11. The country has been troubled by so much that they are near an economic collapse.
rotund
gnaw
tortuous
strife
gnaw
tortuous
strife
12. I am sorry to see that he has become such a _________ that he only talks about himself.
part and parcel
plumbed
disdain
braggart
plumbed
disdain
braggart
13. Courage is __ of being a good soldier.
rotund
atone
stigma
part and parcel
stigma
part and parcel
14. He felt a need to find something he could do to for such a bad mistake.
plumbed
strife
gnaw
strife
gnaw
atone
15. She her reasons for causing such a scene and did not like what she saw.
stigma
disdain
braggart
plumbed
braggart
plumbed
16. Something was beginning to at her, but she could not figure out what it was.
rotund
strife
braggart
gnaw
strife
braggart
gnaw
17. I cannot believe he would speak to me with such ____________.
gnaw
part and parcel
atone
disdain
part and parcel
atone
disdain
18. The roads in the mountains are so ______________ that driving them can be quite dangerous.
strife
stigma
plumbed
tortuous
stigma
plumbed
tortuous
19. Despite being quite ______________, his well-cut suit made him look dignified and impressive.
tortuous
braggart
disdain
rotund
20. I am concerned that he may never lose the of having committed a crime.
plumbed
atone
gnaw
stigma
atone
gnaw
stigma