Bear's New Friend By Karma Wilson - Teaching Ideas

Bear hears something in the tree above his head. He thinks it might be his little friend Mouse, but it can't be because Mouse is standing right next to him. Bear and Mouse continue to try to guess who is in the tree, but whoever it is won't answer their cries of, "Who?" Finally whoever is up in the tree comes swooshing out and hides in a hole. Now Bear and more of his friends are trying to figure out "Who?" it is. After some coaxing and persuading they talk the little animal to come out and say hello. Who came out of the hole? Your students will have fun trying to predict Who? it is.

Listed below are the reading skill, strategies and some ideas to help you create a fun lesson to use with this book.

I created a fun little predicting FREEBIE for you if that is something you are teaching or your students need practice with.

Reading level: 1.0

Theme/subject: friendship, new life experiences

Genre: general fiction

Suggested Vocabulary/phrases: an itching to go out and play, scurries, peering, trembling voice, glen, bashful, and scamper

Reading skills and strategies:

• Asking questions - {possible questions before} I wonder who Bear’s new friends is. I wonder if the new friend will be friends with all the other animals. {possible questions during} I wonder who the new friend will be. I wonder why the new friend doesn’t say anything. I wonder if the new friend is scared. {possible questions after} I wonder why the author made the owl go in a hole.   **Remember to have your students answer/reflect their questions.
• Author's point of view – third.  Be sure to find 3 pieces of evidence to support this (he, his).
• Author's purpose - entertain {evidence} the illustrations and animals are very cute. Animals don’t really talk, and the author wrote the story in rhyme. All of these things make this a very entertaining story.
• Beginning, middle, end - {most important event from beginning} Bear heard something up in the tree. {most important event from middle} Bear heard the something swoosh by him. {most important event from end} Bear’s new friend finally came out of the hole and introduced himself.
• Cause and effect – Why does Bear ask who? Because he hears a clatter in the trees above. Why did Raven and Wren fly by? Because they saw all their friends down below.  Why did all the animals scurry away from the hole? Because they heard a rustling noise in the hole. Why did all the animals head to the watering hole? Because it was a hot summer day.
• Character analysis - describe Bear. Describe Owl {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character}
• Classify & categorize – Animals – categorize animals that fly and animals that don’t.
• Compare & contrast – Any of the Bear books by Karma Wilson
• Connections - {possible text-to-self connections} being shy. Not wanting to come out and play like owl. Having friends to play with.  {possible text-to-text connections} Any of the other Bear books by Karma Wilson.
• Main idea & details - {main idea} the story is mostly about Bear and his friends trying to figure out who is hiding in the hole. {details} Bear thinks it is Badger hiding in the hole, but Badger is looking in the hole. Bear and his friends ask the animal in the hole to come out. Bear and the other animals jump and hide when they hear a rustling sound come from inside the hole.
• Predict – What do you think the story will be about? Who do you think Bear’s new friend will be? What do you think Bear hears in the tree? What do you think is hiding in the hole? Will the new friend ever come out of the hole?
• Problem & solution - {problem} Bear’s problem is that he wants to know who is in the tree and in the hole. {solution} Bear follows the noise and finally talks the new friend out of the hole.
• Sequencing – Bear wants to go out and play. Bear hears a noise in the tree. Bear thinks it is his friend Mouse in the tree. Mouse thinks it might be Hare in the tree. Hare comes by and says hello to Bear and Mouse. Something quickly flies by their heads. Hare thinks it is Badger. It is not Badger he is looking in the hole. Badger thinks it is Raven and Wren in the hole. Raven and Wren fly by and say hello to all their friends. Bear talks to the animal in the hole and introduces all his friends. Owl finally jumps out of the hole to meet all the new friends. Bear, Owl and all their friends go to the swimming hole together.
• Story elements - list title, author, characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution.
• Strong thought - owl was very shy and didn't want to come out and meet everyone. What could have been another way for Bear and his friends to make Owl more comfortable?
• Summarize - {someone} Bear {wanted} wanted to know who was there {but} but the little animal would not come out and answer {so} so he kept saying, “Who?”. {then} Then the little animal {finally} finally came out of the hole to say hello.
• Theme – The lesson to be learned could be, don’t be too shy, you might miss meeting a great friend.

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Happy planning!