FrontPage
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Where the Red Fern Grows
Billy Coleman, the main character of Where the Red Fern Grows, works for two years to save enough money to buy two coon dogs. Listening to his grandfather's stories about the behavior of coons and how to train dogs to hunt, Billy and his dogs become the finest hunting team in the area. Old Dan and Little Ann lead Billy to his proudest moment when they win the gold cup in the annual coon hunting contest.
But the joy of Billy's victory is quickly overshadowed by sadness. Old Dan dies in the claws of a savage bobcat, and Little Ann succumbs to grief for her companion. In his efforts to deal with the death of his beloved dogs, Billy digs the graves himself and buries them among the red ferns.
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/where_the_red_fern_grows.pdf - Study Guide
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/Haggrid-16325-Red-Fern-Grows-Author-Ozarks-Overview-Find-Region-Great-Depression-Redbone-Hounds-veronarda-Entertainment-ppt-powerpoint/ - WTRFG Power Point
http://yennadon.sd42.ca/online/langarts/redfern/redfern.html - Book Activities
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312212/index.html - Games, Activities
Pre-Reading Activity
Wilson Rawls' novels are reminiscent of his boyhood days in the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma. Jay Berry Lee's statement, "You know if a fellow can learn something through experience when he's a young boy if he doesn't ever forget it." Ask an adult family member to share with them something that they learned in their youth that they have never forgotten.
Thematic Connections
Determination -- In Where the Red Fern Grows, Billy Coleman's grandfather says that determination and willpower are good for a man to have. More than anything, Billy wants two hound dogs to train for hunting. dreams of buying a rifle and a pony. How does the protagonist go about realizing his dream? What does his determination to achieve his goal say about his character? At what point in each novel would it have been easier to give up? How does setting a goal and working to achieve that goal help a person grow and mature?
Responsibility --List the many ways that Billy Coleman shows responsibility in one column. How does billy's upbringing promote responsible behavior?
Family and Relationships -- Billy Coleman is an only sons in a close-knit family. Ddescribe Billy's family. How are they different? How is Billy's relationship with his father different from his relationship with his mother?
Compare and contrast Billy Coleman's relationship with his three sisters. What role does Billy's family play in helping him realize his dream? How might the Coleman family's values be influenced by the Depression era?
Intergenerational Relationships -- In Where the Red Fern Grows, Billy Coleman says, "I'm sure no one can understand a young boy like his grandfather can." Cite evidence from the novel that indicates this type of understanding.
Contrast Billy's relationship with his grandfather to his relationship with his father. Why might it be easier to be a grandfather than a father? How does Billy's grandfather help him achieve his ultimate goal?
Interdisciplinary Connections
Language Arts -- In Where the Red Fern Grows, Billy Coleman's mother calls him "Daniel Boone." Read about Daniel Boone and explain why Mrs. Coleman makes this comparison.
Compare Billy to Boone.
Social Studies -- Where the Red Fern Grows is set during the Great Depression in the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma. Most of the people in this area made their living by farming or owning small businesses. Find evidence in the novel that the people were faced with financial difficulties. How did the Great Depression create different problems for city dwellers?
Research the government's role in helping people like Billy's familiy come through the Depression.
Social Studies/Science -- Billy Coleman is an excellent hunter. How do both science and social studies apply to hunting?
Find out the hunting and trapping laws in New Jersey. What state agency regulates the hunting laws? Find out about the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Discuss how this law has changed the sport of hunting.
Discuss hunting safety rules. Create a poster that illustrates one of the rules.
Science -- Billy Coleman learns a lot about raccoons from his grandfather. What does Billy learn about the behavioral characteristics of raccoons? Locate further information about raccoons and identify one very unusual fact.
Construct an illustrated booklet entitled "Strange Behaviors of Raccoons." Would a raccoon make a good pet?
Math--Jay Berry Lee wins $100 by capturing the monkeys. Divide the class into small groups and ask them to survey local banks and find out the interest rate on a passbook savings account. Suppose a person deposits $100 in a savings account at the bank that has the best interest rate. Calculate how much money the person would have in the bank after one year. How much money would be in the account after five years?
Billy Coleman works to make enough money to buy two hound dogs. Find out the approximate cost of two hound dogs today. Have the students make a list of the jobs they might do to earn money to purchase the dogs. Suppose they are paid $5.00 per hour for their work. How many hours would they have to work to earn enough money to buy the dogs? C
alculate the approximate cost to care for and feed the dogs for one year. They should include such things as dog food, visits to a veterinarian, etc.
Drama -- Billy Coleman enjoys listening to his grandfather's tall tales about coon hunting. Ask each student to select a favorite hunting episode from Where the Red Fern Grows. Instruct them to tell the story as Billy might have told it to his family. Tell the students to include words and phrases like "sufferin' bullfrogs" that are indicative of the Ozark Mountains/
Art--Divide the class into four groups and assign each group a season of the year. Send them to the library to research the types of trees and flowers that grow in the Ozark Mountains. Ask each group to create a mural that illustrates what they might see if driving through the Ozark Mountains during their assigned season. Allow them to use colored chalk, collage, crayon, marker, or any medium that might best illustrate the beauty of the mountains in their particular season.
Colloquialism - How does language used reflect the time and place of a novel?
Scan Rawls' novels and point out specific colloquialisms. Ask your families about colloquialisms that reflect the area of the country where they grew up. Create a chart listing the various colloquial expressions that each student collects.
Where the Red Fern Grows
FrontPageFrontPageFrontPagehttp://wikischrooney.pbworks.com/Where-the-Red-Fern-Grows
http://www.bookrags.com/Where_the_Red_Fern_Grows - Study Guide/Novel Information
http://www.bookrags.com/Where_the_Red_Fern_Grows - Novel Information
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/dogs/fern/where_the_red_fern_grows.htm - Webquest
http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/ath/library/teachers/ward/fern/default.htm - Webquest
http://www.milforded.org/schools/westshore/mcerino/redfern.html - Webquest
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001379.shtml - Study Guide
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312212/huntingdogs.html - Hunting Dogs
http://www.quia.com/jw/39161.html - Vocabulary Game
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=628&FullBreadCrumb=%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.scholastic.com%2Fbrowse%2Fsearch%2F%3Fquery%3DWhere%2B%2Bthe%2BRed%2BFern%2BGrows%26Ntt%3DWhere%2B%2Bthe%2BRed%2BFern%2BGrows%26Ntk%3DSCHL30_SI%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchallpartial%26y%3D7%26N%3D0%26x%3D37%26_N%3Dfff%22+class%3D%22endecaAll%22%3EAll+Results%3C%2Fa%3E - WTRFG Vocabulary
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1343&FullBreadCrumb=%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.scholastic.com%2Fbrowse%2Fsearch%2F%3Fquery%3DWhere%2Bthe%2BRed%2BFern%2BGrows%26Ntt%3DWhere%2Bthe%2BRed%2BFern%2BGrows%26Ntk%3DSCHL30_SI%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchallpartial%26N%3D0%26_N%3Dfff%22+class%3D%22endecaAll%22%3EAll+Results%3C%2Fa%3E - Study Guide Questions
http://www.bookrags.com/Where_the_Red_Fern_Grows - Book Rags - Where the Red Fern Grows Novel Information
http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1020 - Raccoons
http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/797 - Hound Dogs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOq7gW-aqfg - Redbone Coonhounds
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/oklahoma/ - Oklahoma - Learn more about the state where WTRFG takes place
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/oklahoma/ - Map of Oklahoma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtUjpUW09qc - The Great Depression
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Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls A set of novel activities edited by K. Rajala
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----- While You Read the Book -----
Assignment One - Chapters One to Ten
1. Name each chapter and describe one important event from it. Answer in complete sentence form.
2. Collect information about Billy as your read. See the assignment below.
Assignment Two - Chapters Eleven to End
1. Name each chapter and describe one important event from it. Answer in complete sentence form.
2. Collect information about Billy as you read. See the assignment below.
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Assignment Three - Billy 1. What is Billy like? What kind of a person is he? As you read the chapters, collect information about him under the following categories. Record the page number where you got the information. Your notes could be in the form of words, phrases, or sentences. Complete a chart with three columns just like the one shown below. The more information you collect, the better your mark. Part of the mark will go toward proofreading and presentation.
(work to the left done by Alex)
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- work above done by Mitch
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... after you read the book -->
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After You Read the Book
Assignment Four - Choose from one of the language arts assignments listed below.
Language Arts 1. Hunting vs. Not Hunting - Some people believe that hunting is wrong. Write a report on the pros and cons of hunting. Be prepared to read it out to the class. (300 word minimum)
2. Own Choice - Write a report of your own choosing based on something from the book. Explain how the book made you think of your topic. Be prepared to read it out to the class. (300 word minimum)
3. Write a report on Wilson Rawls (300 word minimum).
Extra Fine Arts Enrichment (optional) Using your chart of information about Billy and doing your own research, create a picture of Billy in his surroundings. Do some research to find out what the book was based on, and what things were like during the time Billy lived.
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Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls A set of novel activities edited by K. Rajala
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http://www.writingfix.com/PDFs/Chapter_Book_Worksheets/Where_Red_Fern_Grows_Pre_Write.pdf - Make 'Em Laugh or Make "Em Cry
http://www.writingfix.com/PDFs/Drafting_Worksheets/Word_Choice_Drafting_Worksheet.pdf - Drafting Word Choice
Intro Vocab Ch. 1 - 6:
1. residential - in an area where people live or reside
2. dormant - in a state of rest or inactivity
3. commontion - a noisy disturbance
4. dumbfounded - astonished; shocked to the point of being speechless
5. depot - a train station
6. amends - to pay something back for a loss or mistake
7. aggressive - vigorously energetic or assertive
8. timid - shy, lacking in confidence
9. sober - in a serious manner
10. painstaking - showing great care or effort
11. allot - to parcel out
12. cur - an inferior or undesirable dog
13. fester - to cause increasing poisoning or irritation
14. grit - unconquerable spirit
15. mull - to think over at length
16. muster - to assemble; to gather
17. wily - full of cunning
Compare and Contrast The Novel to the Movie
Compare and Contrast Prezi - https://prezi.com/ezezjjkzsiui/where-the-red-fern-grows-comparecontrast/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJd-cal9bBc
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