Old Yeller and the Bear From Old Yeller By Fred Gipson

Focus Questions What kinds of animals does Arliss encounter on the frontier? How does he get himself into trouble with the bear? Who will rescue Arliss?

Background Information In this selection, Travis’s father is absent. He is on a cattle drive which could mean he would be gone for up to two months. Ranchers would herd their cattle to sell at a “cow town.” After the Civil War, life in Texas was hard. The state had fought for the Confederacy and was now poor. Many of the people who lived there were rugged, hardworking, and courageous, but like could be dangerous. As we read, make a chart of things in the frontier life that you think might be fun and those which would be difficult.

Vocabulary When Mama yelled, Travis became spooked. That spooked me. Up until now, I was ready to fight the bear on my own. Now I was scared out of my wits again. Spooked: scared

Vocabulary Generally, it would be a tangled-up mess of grasshoppers and worms and praying bugs and little rusty tree lizards. The playful kitten left a ball of yarn tangled-up on the floor. Tangled-up: mixed up and stuck together

Vocabulary She said that if he ever told a bigger whooper than the ones I’d told, she’d yet to hear it. We listened as Travis told a whopper of a tale about catching a two-foot long catfish with is bare hands. We all laughed. Whopper: an exaggerated tale

Vocabulary Little Arliss’s second scream, when it came, was louder and shriller and more frantic-sounding that the first. The woman was frantic when she lost her purse. She ran up and down every aisle in the store, looking for it. Frantic: very worried and afraid

Vocabulary I think Mama let him tell so many big yarns about his catching live game that he’d begun to believe them himself. My dad likes to tell yarns about when he was a boy, but we know most of them aren’t true. Yarns: made up stories

Extra Vocabulary spasms chaparral sulled windies marrow lunge rowdy horned toad

Word Knowledge hurt harm little small slim thin scared afraid What do these pairs of words have in common? synonyms Can you choose a pair to use in a sentence where you can easily use either word?

Word Knowledge wedged dislodged charge general allegiance What sound and spellings do these words have in common? /j/ sound spelled dge and g Can you think of any other words that fit the pattern?

Word Knowledge copperhead first louder further What sound do these words have in common? How is it spelled? /er/ spelled er, ir,ur Can you think of any other words that fit the pattern?

Word Knowledge captured catching ached poured scrambling What endings do these words have in common? What are the base/root words? How does the suffix change the root?

Sentences The nurse said that it will only hurt at first. Identify the words that have the /er/ sound.

Sentences The gem was wedged between two little rocks. Identify the 2 words that have the /j/ sound. How is the sound spelled?

Sentences I knew danger was near because the scary noise got louder. Identify the word that has the /j/ sound and the /er/ sound. Find a word in the sentence that has a synonym and reread the sentence using that synonym.

Sentences The boat workers’ arms and shoulders ached after a day of catching shrimp in nets. Identify the words with –ed and-ing.