Touching Spirit Bear Novel Study Guide - Digital and Remote Ready Resource

REMOTE READY RESOURCE! Fully Digital for DISTANCE LEARNING! This study guide/student workbook is designed to guide your literary students to becoming literary scholars! It is designed to teach young scholars critical thinking skills as they conduct deep analysis of the text. It guides students through pre-reading research into the environment and ecology of the islands of southeast Alaska, providing invaluable grounding in the setting of the story. KWL and NWL charts help students understand the hardships facing Cole during his banishment. “The Power of Words” vocabulary charts help scholars gain a mastery of new vocabulary. Click here for a video preview!

The depth of knowledge questioning BEGINS at level 3 and takes students to level 4 from the first chapter onwards. Throughout the chapters, your scholars will engage with the characters through “Characters in Profile” pages, complete plot analysis, discuss and determine themes, and connect with the text in meaningful ways.

Objectives: Students will:

1. 8.2: Learn new language and use it when reading and writing;
2. 8.3C: Explain how the values and beliefs of particular characters are affected by historical and cultural settings;
3. 8.6A: Analyze linear plot development to determine if, and how, conflicts are resolved;
4. 8.6B: Analyze how the central characters' qualities influence the theme of a fictional work and resolution of the central conflict;
5. 8.6C: Analyze different forms of point of view, including limited versus omniscient, subjective versus objective;
6. 8.Fig19A: Establish purposes for reading selected texts based upon own or others’ desired outcome to enhance comprehension.
7. 8.Fig19B: Ask literal, interpretive, evaluative, and universal questions of text.
8. 8.Fig19C: Reflect on understanding to monitor comprehension (e.g., summarizing and synthesizing; making textual, personal, and world connections; creating sensory images).
9. 8.Fig19D: Make complex inferences about text and use textual evidence to support understanding.
10. 8.Fig19E: Summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order within a text and across texts.

The objectives listed correlate to the Texas Essential Knowledge Standards (TEKS) currently in use for the 8^th grade (Pre-Fall 2019) and can be adjusted using linear progression for other grade levels.

Teacher Prep Time: Variable depending on school/district resources for printing and binding.

Lesson Duration: Due to this being a novel study, this will vary according to how much time teachers are able to dedicate to reading the novel. If completed as a chapter per day: 25 minutes per day, 30 class periods.

Included in This Product:

Novel Study Guide/Student Work Book containing:

1. Pre-reading research recommendations with KWL/NWL charts
2. Pre-reading and during reading Key Vocabulary charts
3. 24 different chapter “Questions to Consider” sections
4. 9 “Characters in Profile” character analysis sections
5. 1 Creative Writing exercise
6. Plot diagrams for each part of the book
7. Theme discussion webs
8. Doodle art for diverse learners
9. Original copyrighted artwork
10. Sentence stems for differentiation in early sections
11. Teacher notes for implementation
12. Now FULLY DIGITAL! Fillable PDF version allows for complete distance/remote learning!

Aligned to TEKS (in effect Fall 2019): 8.2, B, D, E; 8.3C; 8.6a, B, C; 8.22A, B

Aligned to CCSS: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.9, 8.10; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1B,8.3 (all), 8.4, 8.5, 8.7, 8.8, 8.9

Please note that while our previews, and the PDF, are in color, we have also test printed in black and white, with no loss in usability. So, although color is recommended, if costs for your school or district make this prohibitive, the guide is still fully accessible. Additionally, although we recommend binding the workbook (and using cardstock for the cover and last page), this is also not required for success!

This lesson is appropriate for grades 6-9.

ELA in Middle School

Cover Art: Original Pen and Ink Sketch of Spirit Bear appearing on the cover and on pages 32, 68 and 79 by Jeanne Balsam used by special permission, all rights reserved by the artist. The artwork cannot be reproduced in any other application. If you would like to view other work by her, please visit www.jeannebalsam.com.

LICENSING TERMS: By purchasing this product, you own a license for one teacher only for personal use in your classroom. Licenses are non-transferable, meaning they cannot be passed from one teacher to another. No part of this resource is to be shared with colleagues or used by an entire grade level, school, or district without purchasing the proper number of licenses.

COPYRIGHT TERMS: ©ELA in Middle School. Please note – all material included in this resource belongs to ELA in Middle School, except where indicated. By purchasing, you have a license to use the material, but you do not own the material. This resource, or any portion of this resource, may not be uploaded to the internet in any form, including classroom/personal websites or network drives, unless the site is password protected and can only be accessed by students—no other teachers or anyone else on the internet.