The Sign of The Beaver

Introduction

 

 A literary adventure of the wilderness of Maine's pre-statehood based on the novel "The Sign of the Beaver"  written by Elizabeth George Speare.

INTRODUCTION

    Imagine that you were living in the wilderness of Maine in the year 1768.  Imagine that you and your dad travel into the wilderness to build your new home, and get things ready for the arrival of your mom and sibling. When the cabin was built, you are left behind so that your father travels back to Massachusetts for the rest of your family. A trip that will leave you by yourself for seven weeks. You must tend the corn and keep an eye on the cabin. You expect him back in late August, plenty of time before the long , cold winter sets in.

    In this quest you will travel to another time, imagining that you are the main character, Matt, at the age of 13. Along the way you will connect with a new culture: the tribe of the Penobscot Indians. Could you make it and adapt to your new life in the wilderness? 

Task

TASK 

       You will have several "tasks" to complete before your adventure is complete.

       1.   The first task is to learn about what Maine was like more than 200 years ago. You may have to learn some survival skills before you head out on the adventure. You'll need to visit multiple webpages to answer the questions on your document. 

       2.   Next, you'll need to learn about what the Penobscot Indians life was like. You'll need to visit multiple webpages to answer the questions on your document. 

        3.  The last task will be completed once we are through with the book. At the end of the story, Matt is faced with a choice. When we finish the story, you will write a new ending, where you make a different choice

 

Process

Here are some resources to help you complete your task. Use this to complete the questions in your document.

 

Wilderness Survival: 

Edible plants:  https://mainehuts.org/discover/blog/wild-edibles-what-eat-and-where-forage-woods-maine

 

What to do if you meet a bear:https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/bear-safety-101-what-if-you-see-bear/

 

Life as a colonial settler:

Colonial life:  https://www.ducksters.com/history/colonial_america/food.php

One man makes a log cabin: https://youtu.be/WmYCUljsrDg

 

 

Use the following links to develop knowledge of Penobscot Indians:

http://www.bigorrin.org/penobscot_kids.htm

http://www.nativetech.org/brchbark/bigcanoe.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penobscot_River

 

 

You will complete you final chore after we have finished the book :

Matt has an important decision to make at the end of the story. After hearing how he decides, you are to pretend that you would have chose differently than Matt. Write a different ending where Matt makes a different choice. Here are some research sites to learn about how Native American lived:

Penobscot Indians

http://www.bigorrin.org/penobscot_kids.htm

Eastern Woodland Indians

https://online.kidsdiscover.com/unit/eastern-woodland-indians

Learn about Native Americans

https://www.ducksters.com/history/native_americans.php

 

 

Evaluation

Turn in your completed document for a grade.  All question must be completely answered.

Conclusion

Congratulations

I am proud of you. You have survived living in the Maine Wilderness! I hope that you learned about yourself along the way. I hope you have learned about the Native American Culture. How it is the same yet different from Matt's, and your own life.

Image result for the sign of the beaver

Credits

I followed the webquest written by Stacey Scott (https://www.createwebquest.com/sign-beaver)  and made a few adjustments to make it work for my classroom. 

Teacher Page

A literary adventure following the  book " The Sign of the Beaver" written by Elizabeth George Spear

The Sign of the Beaver WebQuest Document

 

Name & Number:

 

Answer the following questions by using the WebQuest as your source for research:

 

 

  1. If you were alone in the wilderness of Maine, what are 3 edible plants would you eat?
  2. Describe a fiddlehead.
  3. What is the benefit of dandelion?
  4. What is the difference between a black bear and grizzly bear?
  5. What should you do if you see a bear and it has NOT noticed you?
  6. What should you do if you see a bear and it HAS noticed you?
  7. What would a bear do to warn you that you are too close?
  8. What should you do if a bear does attack?
  9. What was the most important crop for the first American colonists?
  10. Where did colonists get most of their meat?
  11. What were the ways that colonists obtained food?
  12. What was the most common utensil used by colonists when eating?
  13. What Native American helped teach early colonists how to grow corn?
  14. Watch the video about making a log cabin. Name 3 things that it takes to make the log cabin. What do you think is amazing about the construction of the cabin?
  15. What does Penobscot mean?
  16. The Penobscot Indians are native to which state?
  17. In the Penobscot language, what means “thank you”
  18. They made wampum. What is it and what did they use it for?
  19. How long were the Penobscot canoes?
  20. How long is the Penobscot River?

 

Matt has an important decision to make at the end of the story. After hearing how he decides, you are to pretend that you would have chosen differently than Matt. Write a different ending where Matt makes a different choice. Make sure that you use details from the website to support your response.