Beary Beary Idea Page

Beary Good Ideas!

(For Teachers and Parents)

You can use Beary Beary Quite Contrary in many ways in the classroom!

Here are just a few examples:

· As a re-read, do a dramatic reading. Depending on the number of students, choose a different narrator for each page, or pages. Choose one student to read Mother Bear's lines, another student to read Beary Beary's lines, and a third student to read the human's lines.

· Perform the story for another class or classes. Follow the dramatic reading format as described above.

· To correlate with Arts and Crafts, make bear faces from paper plates. Paint or color the faces with black poster paint, markers, or crayons. Cut out eyes. With chalk draw a triangular shape nose, but do not make it pointed. Cut on three sides, leaving top of nose uncut. Draw a mouth with white chalk. Add some white on cheeks and around mouth to give depth and expression.

· Activities for the bear faces could include any of the following:

a. Use them during a dramatic reading,

b. Mount them on a larger piece of construction paper and write descriptions about the bear, eg. happy, curious and trusting; playful, chubby, daring, etc.

c. Use the masks as book covers for a report about the book,

d. Hang the masks around the room as decorations. Space them with a brief composition written by each student about Beary Beary Quite Contrary, or with a composition about how the story could end differently.

· Read through the “Bare Facts”. Compile 8 lists of facts about each of the eight living bear species living throughout the world.

· Read and discuss how global warming is having an effect on polar bears.

· Outline a bear's face as pictured on page 49. Read the Native American descriptions of bears found on page 24. Inside the outline you drew, use your own words to describe bears.

· Discuss the meaning of tall tales. Look for other tall tales and read them.

· Discuss the meaning of legends. A legend is a story based on a fact or facts. There are many legends about Davy Crockett, frontiersman and politician. Those two facts are points from which stories about the man grew. In Beary Beary Quite Contrary, pick out the facts and then describe what became a legend.

· Discuss the meaning of hyperbole. Look for examples of hyperbole on the cover of the book as well as within the text. Make a list of these examples. Write a statement about Beary Beary's appetite using hyperbole. Read aloud to the class.

· Make lists of events from the book by creating three columns with the following headings:
Likely to Happen Unlikely to Happen Perhaps Could Happen

· Read the following verse. Write a poem or verse about Beary Beary Quite Contrary demonstrating that you understand the meaning of contrary.

Beary Beary, just like Mary

chose to do what seems contrary.

He caught a squirrel in his paw,

then set it free from his claw.

He went to a party, so excited,

despite the fact, he wasn't invited.

Beary took along flowers to an old camper,

causing the others to make a scamper.

Yes, Beary does what you don't expect.

Our hero is rather complex.

· Each student will write a couplet about something they remember from the story of Beary Beary. Read the example here. Next use each couplet to create a narrative poem. Create more than one narrative poem if needed.

Beary Beary you're such fun.

Put the campers on the run.

· Make a collage of pictures and words describing food from the story, as well as the bear's dietary appetite.

· Make a collage of pictures and words to describe the humans and their roles in the story.

· Find as many metaphors or similes in the story as you can. Make a list to post in the classroom.

· Write an essay about bears. Use facts from the back section of the book, pages 49-51.

· Research one particular kind of bear and write at least 5 sentences about the particular species.

· Using the diagram on page 49, do research to link the species of bear with the region(s) of habitat.

· Discuss homophones like bear and bare. Make a list of common homophones and post them in the classroom.

· Create a diorama for a particular species of bear, with its habitat, and dietary objects.

· Pretend there is no text to this book. Use each picture and write a caption to tell the story.

· Go to the school library and make a list of fiction and non-fiction books you can find about bears.

· Compose a list of new reading words you learned from the story. See if you can figure out what part of speech it is from its context: noun, verb, adjective.

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