Cyber Guide

The Sign of the Beaver

Ø     Reading, Writing, Oral Communication and Social Studies

To further study Native Americans, after reading Sign of the Beaver you can research  other tribes, and the types of homes they live in.  Write a report on what you found and read the report to the class.  

Other activities

Write your own survival stories. 

Pick a favorite Native American Folktale, and retell the story to the class.

Native American Homes

http://indy4.fdl.cc.mn.us/~isk/maps/houses/housingmap.html

Native American Tribes

http://www.dickshovel.com/Compacts.html

Ø     ART

View the Native American Art on this page, and search for other similar art pages.  Create a collage of pictures you find.

Native American Art

http://www.mcad.edu/AICT/html/non_west/natnam.html

Ø     FURTHER Reading

After Reading Sign of the Beaver, find other similar survival stories, or different survival stories, and create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the books they choose to read. 

Other Survival Stories

Author:  Matt Christopher

Published:  1974

Author:  Robert Heinlein

Published:  1955

O.T. Nelson

Published:  1975

James A. Houston

Published:  1977

 Ø     Physical Education

 You can research topics on archery and fishing to learn more about it.  Take up archery lessons to discover hands on how Matt used his survival skills.

 Archery

 Archery on the Internet One of the largest list of archery links with descriptions from Norway. (mirrored from Norway)

 Sagittarius Archery Links
WWW sites are rated for usefulness.

 By Outdoor Online. Good general information is included here.

 Fishing

Fish and fishing page from the WWW Virtual Library Scroll down to see Sports links

Oral Communication

After reading the book, watch the Sign of the Beaver video, and then compare the book to the video.  Think about the two and if you know someone else who has read the book, or watched the movie, discuss the differences and similarities with them.  Use your critical thinking skills to discuss the survival techniques from each book, and what it would have been like for the characters.

Science

Research different topics in the book, using the web that were in the book, such as; animals, weather,  the type of land Matt lived in, etc. and report on their findings.

Activity

¨      Find at least two Native American folktales or legends on the Internet from tribes in New England

¨      Read the stories and find out about the Native Americans in New England

¨      Interpret the story

¨      Describe how the story helped you understand the culture of the New England Native American.