In his napra nautilus awardwinning novel touching spirit bear, author ben. It will also give a glimpse of how well the students internalized and applied the spectrum of instructional strategies used while reading the novel. Never before has an authors narration of his fiction been so. This is a long way of explaining that touching spirit bear is the book i wished i. The native american traditions described within the book are quite unique in terms of their world view and their emphasis on the role of nature. Award winning story, touching spirit bear, a heart felt account of a young. First one, then two, then a third and fourthfour lifeless baby sparrows, scattered in the short grass where they had. Touching spirit bear timeline by delaney mosier on prezi. Touching spirit bear is a pretty simple book to follow in terms of writing style and vocabulary, but it does deal with some very heavy issues.
After severely injuring peter driscal in an empty parking lot, mischiefmaker cole matthews is in major trouble. Over on the listserv for californias librarians, i posted my critique of touching spirit bear. Listen to ghost of spirit bear by ben mikaelsen available from rakuten kobo. Timeline 1st peter turned cole in for breaking in to the school. What is the authors purpose to touching spirit bear answers. Award winning childrens author, ben mikaelsen travels the world speaking and sharing his strong antibullying message. Educators corner lesson plans and teaching activities to support several of mikaelsens books. Touching spirit bear summary and 8 discussion questions.
So while it should be a novel that most readers can get through, the thematic issueslike child abuse, violence, and mortalitymight not. The question and answer section for touching spirit bear is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. It is now weeks later and every once in a while i realize that i am free of fear based ego. Readers learn about coles backstory through flashbacks and memories as the story unfolds. Touching spirit bear study guide contains a biography of ben mikaelsen, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Life changing you come home after school, you open your door and find your mom passed out on the floor with a bottle of beer in her hand, your dad is on the couch watching tv. What is the resolution of touching spirit bear answers. Coles had a change of heart, but now he has to prove to edwin and garvey that hes taking his second chance on the island seriously. A book about mistakes, and anger, healing and forgiveness. In his napra nautilus awardwinning novel touching spirit bear, author ben mikaelson delivers a poignant coming of age story of a boy who must overcome the effects that violence has had on his life.
Touching spirit bear response question beginning what is the authors purpose for using the japanese proverb, fall seven times, stand up eight, at the beginning of the book. In awardwinning author ben mikaelsens riveting sequel to the acclaimed wordofmouth bestseller touching spirit bear, readers will be captivated by what booklist calls a hugely satisfying resolution. She tries to be more present in his lifeeven when hes away on the alaskan island. The main guy is a boy who has anger issues and ends up beating a friend severely. After being mauled by a spirit bear and eating mice, worms, and even his own vomit to survive, cole started to heal. Touching spirit bear ben mikaelsen read online free books. Hes unrepentant and even though he is facing serious jail time, his kindly parole officer, a man named garvey, gets him into this native american justice program called circle justice. Japanese proverb contents epigraph part one touching spirit bear chapter 1. He taught me to be gentle and that i, too, am part of the circle. What follows is a tale of justice and redemption in the wilderness of an island.
The assessment should be taken as an open book test. Authors purpose a to entertain the reader with an amusing moment from coles past b to. Cole s had a change of heart, but now he has to prove to edwin and garvey that he s taking his second chance on the island seriously. Touching spirit bear, published in 2001, is an account of a young boy s experience with violence, forgiveness, and nature as he is banished to a remote alaskan island as punishment for a violent crime. In his napra nautilus awardwinning novel touching spirit bear, author ben mikaelson delivers a poignant comingofage story of a boy who must overcome the effects that violence has had on his life after severely injuring peter driscal in an empty parking lot, mischiefmaker cole matthews is. How is it similar to the traditional justice system. During this time, he is confronted by a rare bear species, the spirit bear, in a way that transforms his perspective on his own life and on the. The plot was amazing and the events were very interesting. Touching spirit bear ben mikaelsen, lee tergesen isbn. Touching spirit bear quotes and analysis gradesaver. Apr 24, 1995 personally, i was not a fan of the book stranded, by ben mikaelsen. After his anger erupts into violence, cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the native american circle justice, and he is sent to a remote alaskan island where an encounter with a huge spirit bear changes his life.
Touching spirit bear was written by ben mikaelsen, and first published in 2001. Cole also continued to explore and look for the spirit bear, but still the bear did not show itself. Each night cole tried without luck to find the feelings to dance the dance of anger. Ben mikaelsen has had an unusual background and some extraordinary life experiences, and this shows in his books. During this time, he is confronted by a rare bear species, the spirit bear, in a way that transforms his perspective on his own life and on the world. Sep 06, 2006 the authors own relationship with bears and his supposed almostcloseenoughtotouch encounter with a threehundredpound male spirit bear notwithstanding, touching spirit bear is a terrible book. Touching spirit bear assessment i teacher answer key the purpose of this assessment is to give the teacher and student a perspective of how well the student understands the vocabulary and comprehension skills taught in part i of touching spirit bear. Rescuers arrive to save coles body, but it is the attack of the spirit bear that may.
Touching spirit bear, published in 2001, is an account of a young boys experience with violence, forgiveness, and nature as he is banished to a remote alaskan island as punishment for a violent crime. But here, he lay exposed, alone, ignored, his life leaking from his body like water from some rusty bucket. Touching spirit bear ben mikaelsen dedication this book is dedicated to buffy, a sevenhundredpound black bear who has become my own spirit bear. In spirit bear cole learns ways to control his emotions when he is by himself. Touching spirit bear chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 summary and. Author ben mikaelsen answers questions about the writing and concept of.
In his napra nautilus awardwinning novel touching spirit bear, author ben mikaelson delivers a poignant comingofage story of a boy who must overcome the. At times, he imagined reaching up and touching the spirit. The moderator said he thought it was getting personal in nature and that the conversation ought to be dropped. All in all, this was an amazing read and i recommend it to all.
Touching spirit bear, harpercollins books for children, 2001 while fulfilling a oneyear punishment on a remote alaskan island, cole deals with his anger issues and encounters a powerful spirit. The authors own relationship with bears and his supposed almostcloseenoughtotouch encounter with a threehundredpound male spirit bear notwithstanding, touching spirit bear is a terrible book. As such, i had to wait until touching spirit bear became a national best seller before writing the sequel. Ben mikaelsons book touching spirit bear was truly magnificent. Weeks passed, but the large blank space he had reserved at the bottom of the totem for his anger carving remained empty. I thought that it did have a few pretty good parts, but in the end, it was disappointing, based on his book touching spirit bear, which was a great book. In his napra nautilus awardwinning novel touching spirit bear, author ben mikaelsen delivers a poignant comingofage story of a boy who. In ben mikaelsen s touching spirit bear, why is the following statement a simile. Ghost of spirit bear author research authorbenmikaelsen. Ben mikaelsen born december 8, 1952 is a bolivian american writer of children s literature.
Touching spirit bear chapter 1 cole matthews knelt defiantly in the bow of the aluminum chapter 2 the heavy load of supplies caused the skiff to wallow chapter 3 cole stared sullenly into the fire, then let his gaze chapter 4 by the time cole paused to catch his breath, he chapter 5 once clear of the bay, cole swam even harder. Touching spirit bear presents a very different culture and way of seeing the world than is common for the typical american audience. Touching spirit bear assessment i teacher answer key. Grade touching spirit bear assessment i teacher answer key.
Readers learn about cole s backstory through flashbacks and memories as the story unfolds. Cole matthews is a teenage delinquent whos in big trouble for beating up a kid named peter driscal. For example, the anger stick is used to represent anger and happiness. Use chapters 1 in touching spirit bear to answer the following questions. My publisher wanted to leave that story for its own book. There is a lot of symbolism used in the book touching spirit bear. Cole matthews, the main character, goes on a journey of selfdiscovery and ends up creating a totem pole to explain what he. Touching spirit bear unfolds nonchronologically, but still aligns to a traditional story structure. Ghost of spirit bear in teens pdf books ghost of spirit bear spirit ghost bear of i also noticed that this bear follows the same general format as the fires of calderon, but to me this makes bead as it is a middle grade book. Newbery awardwinner gary paulsens bestknown book comes to audio in this breathless, heartgripping drama about a boy pitted against the wilderness with only a hatchet and a will to live. Touching spirit bear audiobook ben mikaelsen audible. Who is the publisher of the book touching spirit bear. I just finished ghost and we will read this one to start our new school year. Touching spirit bear is a book that is about a boy named cole that was evil and mean child becoming a nice and helpful child by the spirit bear asked in touching spirit bear what are cause and.
Grade touching spirit bear assessment ii teacher answer key. Now that you have finished your literary journey with cole matthews through ben mikaelson book touching spirit bear it is time to put yourself into the world of cole matthews. Life in the wildernessexiled from civilization as a punishment for his violent behaviorhad its own set of hurdles, but for fifteenyearold cole matthews, its returning home and. Personally, i was not a fan of the book stranded, by ben mikaelsen. The boy is mauled and then healed by the touch of the spirit bear who is perhaps a reflection of the worldspirit or god. Though coles relationship with his father hasnt changed by the end of the book, things have definitely gotten better with his mom. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Response from ben mikaelsen re touching spirit bear. In the meantime, he said hed ask the book s author, ben mikaelsen, about my concerns. I knew from the very beginning that coming back to reality in the big city would be the ultimate test for peter and cole. Cole matthews used to be a violent kid, but a year in exi. It helped students grasp the concepts of restorative justice. In ben mikaelsens touching spirit bear, why is the following statement a simile.
Start a free 30day trial today and get your first audiobook free. Cole mathews used to be a violent kid, but a year in exile on a remote alaskan island has a way of changing your perspective. When i received my package in the mail i was exited to start reading. Stranded, i feel, didnt have enough characters to make the book more interesting, or more exciting parts. So while it should be a novel that most readers can get through, the thematic issueslike child abuse, violence, and mortalitymight not be appropriate for young or sensitive readers.