Write a Song

Bear Interview

Pretend you are a black bear.  Answer these (or similar—develop your own) interview questions to create a script and then act out the interview as a Readers’ Theatre:

Interviewer:  Did you have a good winter?

Bear Jeopardy/Concentration

Prepare true statements about black bears.  Following a ‘Jeopardy’ format, have students formulate a question to which the statement is an answer.  The statements could be written on cards and a concentration game could be played matching questions and answers.

Introduce a Bear

You are the master of ceremonies at a program honoring a black bear.  Your job is to introduce the black bear to the audience.  Fill in the information below for your introduction, or create your own.

1. Today I am pleased to introduce ___________________ from _______.
2. First, I’ll describe black bear.  (Age, appearance, personality, interests)
3. Some interesting things that have recently happened to black bear are…
4. Please welcome ___________________!

Bear Acrostic

Write an acrostic about black bears using the letters:

Who What Bear

Write some questions on one side of the paper about black bears.  Use these starters…

On the other side of your paper write the answers.

Bear Dictionary

Create a dictionary of words about black bears.  Write a short definition (or meaning) for each word.  Illustrate your dictionary.

Bear Word Games

• Make a crossword puzzle, game, or maze using ideas from the ABC book.
• List the names of people, places, and things in the ABC book.  Use graph paper and make a WORD SEARCH by hiding your words among other letters.

Bears in the News

Tape a news broadcast about black bears and report on it.  Be sure to tell the important facts such as who, what, when, why, where, and how.

I’m a Bear

• Pretend to be a black bear.
• Who are you?  Where are you?  What are you doing?
• How do you feel when you encounter an unfamiliar human?  What do you do?
• What do you see when you look in the mirrors?  What color eyes do you have?  Describe yourself in an illustration and then in words.
• Write several entries in your diary.

ABC Bear

Pick an alphabet letter from the ‘ABC of Black Bears’ and choose a way to report to the class.

• Three facts I learned
• The most interesting fact I learned
• New vocabulary words I learned, or want to share

It’s a Bear’s Life

Make a timeline showing events in a black bear’s life.

Compare Bears

Compare the black bears presented in the ‘The ABC’s of Black Bears’ with the bears in the story ___________________________.  How are they alike?  How are they different?

[insert link to online ABC book]

Bear Poems

Compare and contrast three poems about bears.  Did the poets write about black bears?  Are the poems true or fictional representations?  Create your own poem about black bears.

Bear Pantomime

Think of some activities that black bears like to do.  Pantomime these for classmates.  Have them guess the activity.

Question the Answer

Give the children an answer.  Have them generate as many questions as possible that relate to bears and might fit that answer.

Create a Game

Make a card game using information from the www.bear.org.  The game could be played like Rummy, Solitaire, Concentration, Fish, Old Maid, or War.  Try it with a friend.  Make any changes needed.

A Day in the Life

Write an account of a day in the life of a black bear or a biologist.

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/basic-bear-facts.html

http://www.bearstudy.org/website/research/current-research.html

Talk it Up

You have been invited to speak at a ‘Career Day’ at your school.  Through your presentation, (including qualifications and job description) you will try to interest young people in becoming a biologist.

http://www.bearstudy.org/website/research/current-research.html

Bear Truth

Compare facts about black bears to myths or inaccurate information in books, magazines, and songs.

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/basic-bear-facts/168-quick-black-bear-facts.html

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/why-we-fear-bears.html

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/myths-a-misconceptions.html

Research Daily Updates

Use the Research Daily Updates to

• Create listening comprehension activities using updates.  Summarize information on a KWL chart (What you Know, Want to Know and have Learned).
• Use updates to model predicting, hypothesizing, and teach nonfiction reading strategies, summarizing, main idea/detail, timelines etc.

Bear Range and Habitat

Utilizing http://earth.google.com, compare and contrast the geographical regions in MN with another state.  Print out a satellite map and circle important features of a black bear’s habitat such as forest, water, open areas, etc.  Is bears habitat fragmented by civilization?  What effect might this have on the bear?

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/basic-bear-facts/37-black-bear-range.html

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/basic-bear-facts/213-problems.html

What Did You See?

Write non-fiction accounts or journal entries based on bear videos watched.

Interview an Official

Interview a local game warden on the topic of black bears.

Data Presentation

Explore the concept of multimedia and related terms (audio, video, streaming, image, text, graphics, etc.) through the examples on www.bear.org.  How effective is each method in presenting information?

Bear Photos

• Sequence pictures of bears to tell a story.
• Create a slide show using pictures of black bears.

Getting the Hang of Grammar

Use verbs and adjectives to describe pictures of bears.

Shared Writing

Observe the bears and write down what you notice.  Answer questions such as, what the bear was doing, how it was behaving, what the weather was like and how that might affect the bear?

What We Think We Know

 Have the children bring in their own teddy bear from home. Hide the bears while the children are out of the classroom. With the discovery of the disappearance of the bears, discuss and record the children’s responses to the following questions under the K on a KWL Chart (What we think we KNOW, What we WANT to Learn, What we’ve LEARNED).  Where do you think most bears live? Where do you think the bears go in the wild? What do you think the bears need in their habitat to live? Where do you think the bears go when they search for food? What foods they think the bears might they be looking for?  Use the graphic organizer to plan additional lessons to verify or correct content misunderstandings.

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/basic-bear-facts.html

Non-Fiction Bear Reports

Have children write, or dictate facts about black bears and illustrate with pictures from www.bear.org

Live Camera Journals/Stories

Have the children keep a journal of activity on a live cam, or write stories based on documented bear activity.

http://bear.org/watch-us-live/live-cams/