Splitting bears

Students will learn sequencing (beginning, middle, end) by using a bear pattern.

A lesson plan for grade 2 English Language Arts and Information Skills

By Kendra Sisk

Learn more

• Jan Brett's Website The book, Berlioz the Bear is written by Jan Brett. Her web site has many follow up activities to use with this book.

Related pages

• Writing with Koala Lou: Sequencing and BME: After reading the story Koala Lou aloud, students practice sequencing the events of the story and identifying the beginning, middle, and end. Upon completing this activity in cooperative groups they write using a teacher given prompt, including proper sequence and beginning, middle, and end. They also share the final product with their cooperative group.
• The very hungry teacher: After reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle students will use the writing process to write their own version of a Very Hungry story. They will use a flow map for pre-writing. Students will write a rough draft that will be revised and edited with a partner and a teacher.
• Exciting narrative endings: This lesson emphasizes the importance of a strong ending for a narrative essay and teaches students specific items to include in their endings.

Related topics

• Learn more about comprehension, language arts, pre-reading skills, read-alouds, sequence, story sense, and writing.

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Learning outcomes

The students will sit and listen to a book about bears then complete a sequencing activity to retell a story.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

40 Minutes

Materials/resources

• Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett (one for the teacher to read and some copies for the students to share)
• A bear pattern that is large enough to split into 3 parts (see Bear Image Example. Obtain a pattern of a bear that is at least 8 inches high if not more. The bear pattern should have a head, a stomach, and legs/feet. These three parts are needed to explain and give examples of the beginning, middle, and end of a story. You will take your bear pattern and glue the left side of it to a piece a lined paper. This will enable the students keep their words organized. Once the bear is glued down, cut the bear into three equal parts (making sure that you only cut the bear and not cut it all the way). The bear should have flaps that lift up to show the beginning, middle, and end.
• stuffed bears to display during the lesson

Pre-activities

The students will review the skill of sequencing by reviewing the story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” The teacher will tell the story of Goldilocks to the students and then ask the following questions:

• Who can remember the beginning of the story?
• Who can tell me the middle of the story?
• Who can tell me the end of the story?

Activities

1. Show the students the book Berlioz the Bear. The students will use prediction skills before the story is read. Ask the question, “Can anyone tell me what the story may be about by looking at the cover?” Write their predictions on the board or on a chart.
2. Read the book Berlioz the Bear to the students. Students will follow along as book is being read aloud.
3. Review predictions and determine if any were correct.
4. Write “Beginning”, “Middle”, and “End” on the board, leaving plenty of space in between each one for examples.
5. Ask students to recall a few things that happened in the beginning of the story. As the students give examples of these concepts, write them on the board under the correct heading. Do the same thing with “middle” and “end”. Once there are two or three examples of each concept on the board, explain to the students that they will now have the opportunity to fill in more detail.
6. Hold up a model of a “split bear” and explain the activity to the class. The bear is split into three sections to show beginning, middle, and end (lift up each flap on the bear to show this to the students). Pass out the bears to the class.
7. While distributing the bears, explain that the students will now have the opportunity to write down the sequence of the story. Under the first flap, they will write about the beginning of the story and so on. Extra copies of the book should be given to students who have trouble recalling detail and information. The students can look at the pictures in the book and determine the beginning, middle, and end of the story. A completed model of the bear should be available for the students to view. Students should have 15 to 20 minutes to complete this task. If some finish early, they can color the bear.
8. Once most of the class has completed the task, ask for volunteers to share their sequencing of events.
9. At the end of the activity, the bears will be collected and displayed on a bulletin board for all to see.

Assessment

The student’s writing will be evaluated for correct story sequencing. Each bear must contain a clear beginning, middle, and end statement using terms from the book. Students who do not meet this criteria will be individually assisted by the teacher to create statements about the beginning, middle, and end.