Changing Grades: Suggestions for Touching Spirit Bear?

[dvorreyer]

I am moving to 7th grade after 16 years in 8th. I am excited to tackle new curriculum in LA and History. In LA, we are starting with "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelson. I have scoured the Web for ideas and will be relying on my experienced 7th grade colleagues as well, but I was just wondering what other great ideas were out there.

Thanks

[Ryan Goble]

For those of us who don't know what Toching Spirit Bear is about (that would be me) can you edit your discussion above and post a summary or syopsis from Amazon up there. That way we'll have more to work with - maybe also the themes you're looking to explore?

Thanks,

RRG:)

[dvorreyer]

I wrote a quick summary on the pop music thread. But here's Amazon...

Gr 7 Up-Cole Matthews is a violent teen offender convicted of viciously beating a classmate, Peter, causing neurological and psychological problems. Cole elects to participate in Circle Justice, an alternative sentencing program based on traditional Native American practices that results in his being banished to a remote Alaskan Island where he is left to survive for a year. Cynical and street smart, he expects to fake his way through the preliminaries, escape by swimming off the island, and beat the system, again. But his encounter with the Spirit Bear of the title leaves him desperately wounded and gives him six months of hospitalization to reconsider his options. Mikaelsen's portrayal of this angry, manipulative, damaged teen is dead on. Cole's gradual transformation into a human kind of being happens in fits and starts. He realizes he must accept responsibility for what he has done, but his pride, pain, and conditioning continue to interfere. He learns that his anger may never be gone, but that he can learn to control it. The author concedes in a note that the culminating plot element, in which Peter joins Cole on the island so that both can learn to heal, is unlikely. But it sure works well as an adventure story with strong moral underpinnings. Gross details about Cole eating raw worms, a mouse, and worse will appeal to fans of the outdoor adventure/survival genre, while the truth of the Japanese proverb cited in the frontispiece, "Fall seven times, stand up eight" is fully and effectively realized.-Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA

[Sharmon Hansen]

I have been teaching Touching Spirit Bear for a number of years and can honestly say that the students really like this novel.(even the reluctant readers) The first thing I have the students do after a brief KWL about Alaska. is read about Circle Justice. You can go online and find a short article. The following day we have an Inner/Outer circle discussion on Circle Justice vs. Jail. Believe me, these discussions get intense. This gives them background knowledge for reading the novel and many will change their opinions after they get into the story=) Before beginning the novel, you will need to teach Flashback, because it will get confusing of where Cole is, if you do not. Another lively discussion occurred when I had the class read the murder of Kitty Genovese. Although Cole does not kill Peter, the point here is there were witnesses that did not help. These are a few things to get you started. Hope this helps.

[dvorreyer]

Great ideas - thank you! I agree that the kids will be motivated to read the book - my colleagues have said it's one of the most successful selections they've used in a long time. One of the things they do at the end of the novel is create their own totems...I can't wait.