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The Biggest Bear
| Author: Lynd
Ward ISBN: 0395150248 Summary: Johnny Orchard is jealous because his neighbors have bear pelts hanging on their barns, so he takes a rifle and goes hunting to find a bear to trap and kill. However, he finds a small bear cub who he deems too small, and unfit to kill so he brings the bear home as a pet. As it grows, it becomes a nuisance to the neighbors, so after the neighbors complain Johnny tries three times to return the bear to the woods. Each time the bear follows Johnny back home. One day Johnny's father tells Johnny the only way to resolve the problem with the problem bear is to kill it. He goes far into the woods, and while loading a cartridge in his rifle the bear runs off and into a trap that has maple sugar in it. Soon the people from the zoo who set the live trap come, and they decide to put the bear in the zoo where Johnny can visit him anytime. Unit Written by Andrea Dean |
Timeline- When did the story Happen? What clues do you see? On page 35 there’s an antique Monarch Stove and an antique telephone on the wall. Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone March 10, 1876, and the Monarch stove was introduced at the turn of the century in 1901. The electric stove was introduced at Chicago’s World’s Fair in 1893, and began to be seen in homes in the early 1930’s. So this story must happen in the early 1900’s. Put these items in your Timeline if you have one.
Johnny walked for miles due west, then East, then went in a boat due South. Which way is West from your home? Where is South? Show your student a compass and watch how the needle always points North. Go for a Direction Drive or walk. For example: Go 1 block South, then turn and head East. Drive East for 2 blocks then go South again… Or in your yard, take 20 steps to the East, then turn and take 15 steps North. This would be fun if you had a treasure or small prize at the end of your drive or walk. You may also want to print a map of your area and show how on the map North is usually at the top.
Johnny was doing chores one morning when the bear showed up back at his home. Ask your students what chores Johnny did. (Answers might be feed the chickens, milk the cows, feed the pigs, set table for dinner) What chores do your children do? (Answers may include setting the table, cleaning up their room, etc.) Compare the two lists. Are any chores the same? Help your child make a chart of the chores that he or she does around the house and help them keep track of them.
Johnny takes his gun and goes into the mountains hunting with his gun. Discuss gun safety with your child. Even if you don’t own a gun, they may encounter them at some point in their lives at a friend’s house, or other places.
Teach them:
If you see a gun:
STOP!
Don't Touch.
Leave the Area.
Tell an Adult.
There is a short 6 minute You Tube Video on this- that you and your child might enjoy- put out by the NRA- Eddie Eagle-
If you own guns, or are around them more often- it may be time to teach more in detail-
1- Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction
2- Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot
3- Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use
4- Always treat any gun as if it is loaded
If they are interested- look into a “Hunter Education” program in your area.
Orchard- an area of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit or nut trees
Stump- the lower end of a tree or plant left after the main part falls or is cut
Mash- a mixture of boiled grain, bran, meal,
Humiliate- to cause a painful loss of pride,
Timber- wooded land
Tribulation- grievous trouble; severe trial or suffering.
After the bear kept returning, Johnny and his father talked it over, and decided there was only one thing to do. What did they decide to do? Why did they decide it was best? Research what happens to wild bears that continue to harass people, and come into their yards or other public areas nowadays.
Johnny’s grandfather said, “Better a bear in the orchard than an Orchard in the bear.” What did he mean by this?
Notice the picture where the bear scares the chickens to eat their mash. The chicken’s wings are flapping, and the one at the top of the page looks like it’s trying to fly. You can see the movement lines just below the chicken showing that it’s moving. The bear looks like he’s running because of the position of his legs, as they are stretched out.
Compare the forest at the beginning of the story- on page 16 with the forest at the end on page 64 as Johnny is leading the bear back into the forest.
Caldecott Medal-
a. Committee members need to consider:
· Excellence of execution in the artistic technique employed;
· Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept; of appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept; of delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting mood or information through the pictures.
b. Committee members must consider excellence of presentation in recognition of a child audience. (From this website)
Using Tally Marks-
Count the chickens, cows, apples, pigs, people, birds, trees etc. on different pages. Make a chart with various things you and your child would like to count. Use tally marks to show how many of each item there are.
Weight-
In the picture where Johnny is rowing the bear across the lake to the island, the boat is sticking out of the water at the front, and sinking in the water at the back end. This is because the bear weighs much more than Johnny. Get a balance scale and some household items. Try to predict which will be heavier. See if you can get your scale unbalanced just like Johnny’s boat. For more of a challenge, try and get your scale balanced with items that are different.
In the story, Johnny rowed his boat to Gull Island. What is an island? An island is a land formation totally surrounded by water. Find some islands on a map. The state of Hawaii is made up of many Islands. Make an Island in a foil pan. Dump some potting soil or sand into a 9x13 inch foil pan. Pile some dirt or sand into a mountain in the middle. Dig the dirt out from around the pile to make a ditch around the pile. Carefully pour some water around the island and show how the water totally surrounds the land. You may also want to talk about Peninsulas- a body of land surrounded on 3 sides by water- and connected to land on the 4th side.
Johnny’s bear liked Maple Syrup. He emptied all the McLean’s sap buckets, and drank most of their maple syrup out of their shed. Maple Syrup comes from the sweet sugar sap, which is obtained from the sugar maple. Native Americans are believed to be the first to discover the fact that sap from maple trees could be processed into maple syrup and sugar. New England maple syrup is produced during a short 4 week to 6 week sugaring window from early March into April when the New England nights are cold and the still short days are warming up with the introduction of spring. Warm days and cool nights are an important "Mother Nature" ingredient in the maple sugaring process, because it is this weather condition that encourages maple sap to flow or "run."
The process, called tapping, will not harm the maple trees. The process of "tapping" involves drilling a small 7/16" diameter hole into the tree, at a slight up angle, to a depth of about 2" to 2-1/2". Into this hole is driven a spout with a hook for a bucket. The spouts are formed pieces of stainless steel from which sap can flow from the tree into a sap bucket. The sap is then boiled and water evaporates out of the sap until it’s left with just syrup. It takes on average 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.
Grizzly Bears-
Bears are some of the world’s biggest mammals. In the story, Johnny finds a Grizzly bear cub and brings it home. Grizzly Bears are also called Brown bears. Bears are omnivorous, which means they eat both plants and animals. Bears mostly eat berries, grasses, insects, small mammals, fish and carrion. Brown bears live in forests and mountains in Alaska, Canada, Russia, a few places in Europe, and in a few National Parks (Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Teton National park)and surrounding areas in northwestern United States. In the fall Bears eat as much as they can so they can store up fat for the winter. In the winter bears sleep in dens under rocks, trees or in caves. Brown bears can run very fast. Some can run up to 30 miles an hour.
Bear Species-
Learn to tell the difference between Grizzly Bears and Black Bears. Bears are hard to distinguish by color- because both Black bears and Grizzly (Brown bears) can vary in color from light to dark.
A Grizzly has a dished face profile; short rounded ears and a shoulder hump, and long (2-4 inches) light claws. Is about 3 ˝ feet tall to the shoulder when on all fours.
A Black bear has a flatter nose and profile, longer, more erect and taller ears, no hump, and short (less than 2 inches) dark claws. Is about 3 feet tall to the shoulders on all fours.
For fun- Your older child might like to take a test to see if he can tell the difference. It is a test for hunters to tell whether it’s a grizzly that they can’t shoot- or a black bear that they can shoot- so if that bothers you- don’t take the test.
Here’s another identification test. Just click on the photo to get the answer to which type of bear each one is.
Bears- Extra Research- your older child might enjoy researching what happens to
bears now days that come down into cities and towns or cause problems around
people.
If your child is interested in bears, try our Bears Lapbook.
Miscellaneous
Cooking-
The Bear loves pancakes on Sunday mornings (with Maple sugar!). Make pancakes with your child.