Bearstone

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

PRESENTATION: “Sacred Animals in Indigenous Communities”

In this Activity, students will research and present the background of a particular sacred animal for Indigenous communities in North America.

In the novel, Cloyd highlights the importance of the bear as a sacred animal to the Ute community. Working in small groups, you will research various animals that are considered important to the Indigenous communities in North America, and select one to share with the class. Be sure to include a background of which Indigenous communities revere this animal and why, along with any particular traditions and holy ceremonies attached to this animal. After compiling both your information as well as relevant videos and visuals for your presentation, share your findings with the class.

Teaching Suggestion: This Activity serves as an opportunity for students to further enhance their research and presentation skills in the context of group work. Overall, students should understand the importance that Indigenous communities place on connecting with the natural world, a motif that Hobbs interweaves into his narrative.

Differentiation Suggestion: For classes that struggle with research and/or group presentations, this Activity may be reframed as an extension to the Short Activity. In this vein, they can give one presentation, where they complete the above prompt on their previously chosen Indigenous community. Be sure to provide a grading rubric so students know how they can prepare for their presentation.

Paired Text Extension:

Compare and contrast the theme The Need for Family between Hobbs’s Bearstone and Farley Mowat’s Owls in the Family. How do both protagonists’ relationships with nature and wildlife shape their coming-of-age experiences? What are some of the major differences between the protagonists of these stories? Explain.

Teaching Suggestion: This Paired Text Extension works well as either a take-home assignment or an in-class discussion. Students should understand that while the protagonists differ in their racial/ethnic backgrounds, ultimately both boys find solace in time spent with animals, as they are able to learn more about themselves and the world.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Cloyd encounters a variety of obstacles in the novel that propel his maturation, one of which is his desire to climb a peak in the San Juan Mountains.

• Why does Cloyd want to climb this peak? (topic sentence)
• How has Ute culture and history influenced his desire to complete his quest? Provide 1-2 examples and explain.
• How does Cloyd’s decision to follow through with this journey link to the larger theme of The Hurt You Get Over: Overcoming Adversity?

2. Consider the relationship between Cloyd and animals in the text.

• When Blueboy stumbles and falls in a bog, what does the horse do that saves Cloyd’s life? (topic sentence)
• What does this tell Cloyd about how horses think, and how does it contrast with Rusty’s belief about those animals?
• How do Cloyd’s experiences with animals speak to the novel’s larger theme of The Need for Family?

3. Cloyd grapples with his Indigenous background throughout the novel.

• How does the character of Rusty bring this struggle to the forefront? (topic sentence)
• Describe two ways in which Rusty symbolizes to Cloyd the oppression that Native Americans have suffered at the hands of white people.
• How do Cloyd’s complex feelings related to his Native American heritage speak to the larger theme of The Native American Identity and Forgiving Oppressors?

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. How does Cloyd become attached to the bears living in the mountains? What actions does he do in order to protect the bears? How does he avenge them?

2. Consider the way in which Walter’s passion for mining could border on an unhealthy obsession. In which ways is Walter’s interest in reopening his gold mine a symptom of a mental health condition? What does Walter do while at the mine to protect Cloyd from the consequences of his obsession? Does this work, and if so, how?

3. Throughout the novel, Cloyd matures into a young man. What does Cloyd do that makes Walter realize the boy has become a man? How does that gesture demonstrate the boy’s maturity? Explain.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. The narrator notes that “[Cloyd’s] housemother didn’t speak, and he was glad. She’d said it all before. How he couldn’t go home for the summer, how she’d had this idea to put him on a ranch with an old man whose wife had died, and how much he was going to like it” (Chapter 2). Which of the following literary terms is used in the above quote?

A) Anaphora

B) Metaphor

C) Personification

D) Simile

2. Which of the following words best describes how Cloyd feels about attending school?

A) Overjoyed

B) Underwhelmed

C) Unhappy

D) Overconcerned

3. Where did Cloyd learn most of the information about his Indigenous ancestry?

A) His mother

B) His father

C) His grandmother

D) His grandfather

4. Why does Cloyd initially feel uncomfortable around Walter?

A) Because Walter is interested in Cloyd’s family past

B) Because Walter tries to force him to work from dawn until dusk

C) Because Walter puts him in charge of the domestic duties

D) Because Walter leaves Cloyd alone

5. Which of the following emotions does Walter struggle with throughout the novel?

A) Anxiety

B) Fear

C) Boredom

D) Grief

6. Which of the following words best describes Cloyd’s work ethic?

A) Austere

B) Determined

C) Apathetic

D) Duplicitous

7. Which of the following phrases best describes how Cloyd views Blueboy?

A) As his confidant

B) As his nemesis

C) As his parental guardian

D) As his acquaintance

8. What idea is Cloyd concerned with throughout the novel?

A) That his mom no longer wants him

B) That other people are judging him

C) That no one will want to marry him

D) That people will only use him

9. In meeting the bear hunter, Cloyd recognizes that the man has “mocking eyes. The eyes said Cloyd was nothing, nothing at all, only an Indian” (Chapter 8). Which of the following literary terms is used in this quote?

A) Anaphora

B) Metaphor

C) Personification

D) Simile

10. How does Cloyd feel about his education level?

A) He is proud that he is the only person in his family who can read.

B) He is indifferent to the fact that he is top of his class.

C) He is scared to pursue his love of literature.

D) He is embarrassed that he is illiterate.

11. Which of the following animals do Rusty and Cloyd disagree on regarding their emotional capacity?

A) Cats

B) Raccoons

C) Snakes

D) Horses

12. How does Cloyd feel about Walter engaging in mining work?

A) Overjoyed

B) Apathetic

C) Concerned

D) Puzzled

13. Which of the following words best describes the work of mining, according to Walter’s description?

A) Effective

B) Dangerous

C) Engaging

D) Dubious

14. How does Cloyd feel when he climbs mountains?

A) Calm

B) Conceited

C) Careless

D) Coddled

15. As Cloyd decides to not tell the game warden the truth of Rusty’s kill, the narrator notes, “You might as well wait for a rock to speak” (Chapter 20). Which of the following literary terms is used in this quote?

A) Anaphora

B) Metaphor

C) Personification

D) Simile

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. Describe the narration style of the story. Who is the narrator, and how does this reveal more information about the characters?

2. Identify 3 examples of similes and metaphors used within the text. Provide a brief explanation of the context, along with an in-text citation.