We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Hope Subak-Kaspar ZŠ Angel Storybridge 2012

Our Project: To create our own version of the Bear Hunt story. Learning objectives: To be able to repeat the story rhythmically To be able to describe the settings in the story using 2 adjectives To create own scene To describe own scene using 2 adjectives Other objectives: To have fun reading and repeating an English text To create something new, original and fun using English

1.A and 1.B are going on a bear hunt

Pre-Project Work – becoming familiar with the original text (2 classes) We read the story, and watched a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytc0U2WAz4s We acted out the story We discussed the scenes and described each scene using at least 2 adjectives Procedure for the Project – illustration, description, text (2 classes) Each child selected their own setting We drew pictures for the setting – these were the illustrations for our book We discussed the settings as a group, chose 2 adjectives to describe it and a sound that would represent going through it Each child created the text for his/her page – consisting of the repeating sections from the original story, and the child’s own text We Read the Story The children knew the text and were happy to repeat it over and over again They looked forward to their own pictures and the pictures their friends had made

Step 1: We drew pictures for our story

Step 2: As a group we discussed the settings and came up with 2 adjectives to describe each one

Step 3: We put together the text and pictures to make our book Each child had to put together different sections of text to create the text that went with his or her picture. This child had chosen a dam near his country house.

A zoo – a wild, fun zoo At the end, we put a sound that the children chose for that setting. For the zoo, they chose roar, roar.

A cave Some of the children used the same places as in the original story, but added their own elements, e.g. children from the class.

To finish up: We read the story together. They loved it!

Challenges The text is quite long and if the children do not understand the repeating sections, there is the danger of boredom. Solution. The video by Michael Rosen uses motions to illustrate “over”, “under” and dramatic expressions to liven the text up and convey the meaning nonverbally. After watching the video, we used these motions and expressions ourselves.

What I would do differently In the original story, the bear hunters turn back after encountering the bear, and retreat to the safety of their home. In our class story I did not copy this mirror structure (i.e. retracing our steps and finally ending up at home). I think this was a mistake: when we read the story we were all expecting the moment when the bear would be found (many of the children had drawn bears in their own pictures) and would chase the children home. Next time I would do the work in pairs, with one child doing the picture and text for the trip to the bear and the other child doing them for the trip back home.