COURSE PLAN WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS

Transcription

1 COURSE PLAN WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS COURSE PLAN METHODOLOGY: Where the Red Fern Grows is represented by the abbreviation WRFG. E Each weekly assignment is summarized in the first lines of the week s daily course plan. The specific daily assignments are outlined in the following lines indicated by the MON, TUES, and THUR abbreviations. The chapter study questions, chapter vocabulary and glossary are located in the Literature Study Question booklets available for purchase from. Answers should be given in complete written or oral sentences. We suggest reading the weekly written assignment to the student at the beginning of the week. The student should write the assignment down on a note card (to be used as a bookmark) so that he can think about the assignment as he reads. The written assignments are suggested to be started on Thursday after the reading is done and completed by the following Monday. As the teacher, be sure to review the final exam now to ensure all concepts are covered with your student as he reads the book. All the Final Exam questions will be taken from the notes listed in these course plans and the Study Questions in the Literature Study Question booklet. The vocabulary in this book is not difficult, but the story is enjoyable for young and old alike. Most weeks include a memory gem. If the student repeats the phrase a couple of times a day each week, he will improve his memory skills and increase his repertoire of phraseology. Encourage the student to pay attention as he reads the quotation in the text, so he understands the context. Where the Red Fern Grows is a powerful, touching story about the love of a poor boy for his two hunting dogs. It eloquently captures the innocence and desires of youth through a boy who is poor, respectful, kind, and strong. Geographical Locations: Ozark Mountains, Missouri, Oklahoma; Snake River Valley, Idaho; Tetons; Illinois River; Tahlequah WEEK 1 Memory Gem: I saw the hurt in his eyes. It made me feel like someone was squeezing water out of my heart. Chapters 1-5. Have the student look up all the vocabulary words for Chapters 1-5 in the glossary prior to reading and use each in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. Written Assignment: Have you ever been given something you wanted? Perhaps it was a bicycle WRFG or maybe it was a pet. Billy Coleman, in this story, works very, very hard to be able to buy his dogs. How do you think he will treat his dogs now that he has worked so hard to get them? How might he have treated them differently if someone just bought them for him? Use your own experiences as well as examples from the story to write your response. Read Chapter 1 and 2 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 1. Leaving his office one night, a man witnesses a dogfight between a red hound dog and a gang of local canines. He is moved to intervene and brings the hound home with him to care for that night. This triggers memories of the MON man s boyhood days in which red hound dogs figured largely. Chapter 2. The man recalls the time when he was 10-year-old Billy Colman, growing up on a farm in the Ozarks. With the countryside spreading wide around him and surrounded by his parents and younger sisters, young Where the Red Fern Grows CC1

2 COURSE PLAN TUES THUR Billy wants just one thing: a hunting dog, but the type too expensive for his parents to afford. Young Billy practices hunting, but pines for a hound to join him. Read Chapter 3 and 4 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 3. Billy finds a sportsman s magazine advertising just the kind of puppies he wants, for considerably less money than is locally asked. The boy makes it his goal to earn the required amount himself. Over the next two years he manages it, and then enlists the help of his sympathetic grandfather in ordering them. Chapter 4. Finally, the news comes that the puppies have arrived. Impatient, Billy sets off on foot to pick them up at the train station without his parents knowledge or consent. He takes the long, arduous, and dangerous walk through the wilderness in stride, but his first experience of an actual town turns out to be a challenge. Read Chapter 5 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 5. Delighted and overwhelmed, Billy puts his puppies in a gunny sack and starts for home, but gets in a scrape with some local boys on the way. Carrying the dogs turns out to be a tall order, but Billy perseveres. Overnight, he and his dogs spend the night in a cave where they hear the chilling scream of a mountain lion. Luckily, it does not come into their cave. Complete the written assignment (see above) in a minimum of 1 paragraph, due Monday. WEEK 2 Memory Gem: I thought of the prayer I had said when I asked God to help me get two hound pups. I knew he had surely helped, for he had given me the heart, courage, and determination. Chapters 6-9. Have the student look up all the vocabulary words for Chapters 6-9 in the glossary prior to reading and use each in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. WRFG Written Assignment: Young Billy wants a dog, but his family cannot afford to buy him the type he has his heart set on. Who helps Billy reach his cherished goal, and why? What inner resources does he have to draw on? When difficulties set in, does he ever regret the course of action he has chosen? Why or why not? Read Chapter 6 and 7 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 6. Billy completes the journey home and decides on names for the pups: Old Dan and Little Ann. He has to face his parents, but his grandfather has helped him by informing his parents about the entire situation. The dogs and MON Billy s behavior are accepted, and the family discusses future plans for moving into town. Chapter 7. Because he needs a skin to train the dogs, Billy s next task is to catch a raccoon without them. With the assistance once again of his knowledgeable grandfather, Billy succeeds. Then he concentrates on getting Old Dan and Little Ann ready for hunting season. Read Chapter 8 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 8. Doing his best to assuage his mother s fears, Billy sets out with his dogs for his first night of real coon hunting. The canine team does well, treeing the quarry despite various setbacks. The problem is that the coon has decided to take TUES refuge in the largest tree in the entire area, a sycamore, which Billy now needs to cut down. He sets about this task at once, and wears himself out. When his father comes to find him in the morning he realizes his son s predicament and enlists grandpa s help. Where the Red Fern Grows CC2

3 COURSE PLAN THUR Read Chapter 9 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 9. Billy again reaches a point of exhaustion in his effort to fell the giant sycamore tree. Just as he is about to give up, his grandfather arrives with advice and support. He shows Billy how to construct a scarecrow that will trick the raccoon into staying high in the branches while the human beings go home to rest and eat. The next day, Billy is able to finish chopping down the tree. The coon tries to escape but to no avail; the dogs get him. Billy is convinced that prayer is actually what made the difference for him. Complete the written assignment (see above) in a minimum of 1 paragraph, due Monday. WEEK 3 Memory Gem: It was a beautiful night, still and frosty. A big grinning Ozark moon had the countryside bathed in a yellow glow. The starlit heaven reminded me of a large blue umbrella, outspread with the handle broken off. Chapters Have the student look up all the vocabulary words for Chapters in the glossary prior to reading and use each in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. Written Assignment: Someone once said that there is nothing new on the face of the Earth, that it is not the story that is new, but it is in the telling of the story that we find the new, the intrigue. Where WRFG the Red Fern Grows is an excellent example of a well-told story. It is a simple story about a boy and his dogs, and yet each chapter details intrigue and surprise. This week, think of a simple story and write it, focusing on making it interesting and intriguing. If you have difficulty doing this, reread and reconsider Chapter 11 and its summary below. What did the author do to keep you hanging on the edge of your seat? What memorable descriptions and details did he use to bring the story to life? Work at imitating what the author has done in your own story. Read Chapter 10 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 10. Billy and the dogs settle into a routine MON of coon hunting nightly, meeting with considerable success, yet encountering their share of scrapes along the way. Read Chapter 11 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 11. After a winter storm, Little Ann almost TUES loses her life trapped on the frozen river. Billy risks his own life to save her. He again attributes the good outcome to the intervention of God. Read Chapter 12 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 12. At his grandfather s store, Billy encounters the difficult Pritchard boys, Rubin and Ranie. They challenge him and his dogs to go after the elusive ghost coon, that no hunter or team of dogs has been able to catch. Grandfather bets on Billy, and the hunt begins. THUR Complete the written assignment (see above) in a minimum of 1 paragraph, due Monday. Where the Red Fern Grows CC3

4 COURSE PLAN WEEK 4 Memory Gem: If a man's word is no good, he's no good himself. Chapters Have the student look up all the vocabulary words for Chapters in the glossary prior to reading and use each in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. WRFG Written Assignment: In most stories that contain the death of an antagonist, people celebrate the elimination of a bad guy or at least seem relieved that the death has solved a problem. In this story, however, the response to the antagonist's death is more true to life. As a reader, how do you feel about the death of Rubin Pritchard? Read Chapter 13 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 13. The ghost coon is captured, but before it can be killed, a horrible accident occurs. Rubin Pritchard trips and falls on Billy s hunting axe. MON Ranie and Billy are traumatized and go for help, but it is no use. Rubin dies and is buried, and Billy puts flowers on his grave. Read Chapter 14 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 14. Billy s grandfather enters Billy and his TUES dogs in a championship coon hunt, planning to go along himself. They convince Billy s father to come, too. Preparations are made. The trio and the dogs depart. Read Chapter 15 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 15. Billy feels like a real grown-up when his father and grandfather permit him to have a cup of coffee with them. Before the hunting begins, a contest for the best-looking hound is held, and Little Ann wins. The rules of the hunt are then explained and everything is set. THUR Complete the written assignment (see above) in a minimum of 1 paragraph, due Monday. WRFG MON TUES WEEK 5 Chapters Have the student look up all the vocabulary words for Chapters in the glossary prior to reading and use each in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. Written Assignment: What virtues has Billy used in order to accomplish his goals? Give examples from the story to support your answer. Read Chapter 16 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 16. The hunt is on! Billy, his dogs, his father, his grandfather, and a judge chase raccoons on a beautiful night in the Ozarks. The team catches three, equaling the total of the leaders in the contest. When the last night of the tournament arrives, Billy s dogs and two other teams are left to compete for the cup. Old Dan and Little Ann have some trouble getting their first coon that night, but they get him and go on. Read Chapter 17 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 17. A storm comes up and Billy s grandfather gets left behind. Little Ann finds him unconscious, and with a twisted ankle. After taking care of him, Billy and the others turn their attention back to the hunt. Read Chapter 18 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 18. In the morning, the storm subsides. A search party finds Billy and the others, and relays the all-important information that Billy s dogs need only one more raccoon to win the day. Old Dan and Little Ann, ice-encrusted but determined, get one more. Once the contest is over, Billy tries to understand the behavior and reaction of his Where the Red Fern Grows CC4

5 COURSE PLAN THUR parents. Complete the written assignment (see above) in a minimum of 1 paragraph, due Monday. WEEK 6 Memory Gem: I know this seems terrible and I know how it hurts, but at one tie or another, everyone suffers. Even the Good Lord suffered while he was here on earth. Chapters Have the student look up all the vocabulary words for Chapters in the glossary prior to reading and use each in a sentence. Study questions may be completed as the student reads or at the end of the week when reading has been completed. WRFG Written Assignment: After all they have been through together, how does Billy come to terms with the loss of his beloved dogs? Why do their deaths constitute a crisis of faith for him? How does his father s perspective on events help? Read Chapter 19 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 19. A few weeks later, Billy s hounds tree a mountain lion instead of a raccoon. The cougar is killed, but Old Dan is mortally wounded as well. He dies. Little Ann, grieving, dies a few days later. Billy tries to understand why God would MON let such a thing happen. He then learns that because of the money he and the dogs earned through hunting and winning the contest his family is moving to town as his mother has always prayed and hoped for. Read Chapter 20 and answer Study Questions. Chapter 20. In the spring, moving day comes. Billy visits the grave of his dogs as a final farewell, and finds a red fern growing there. He and his TUES family recall an Indian legend about that kind of plant being sacred. Billy has never returned to that spot again, but has never forgotten his two red hound dogs, either. Complete the written assignment (see above) in a minimum of 1 paragraph, due Monday. WRFG MON to THUR FRI WEEK 7 Written assignment: Congratulations! You have finished reading Where the Red Fern Grows. Now you need to write a nice book report on the story. Written Assignment. Work on your book report. Review your paper to make sure everything you have written supports your thesis statement, and the entire paper has a gentle flow from one supported idea to the next. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Rewrite the paper neatly if you are writing it in long hand. Study for the Final Exam. Review all your Study Questions, the vocabulary, the geographical locations, and the characters. Final Exam. Where the Red Fern Grows CC5

6 ASSIGNMENT ANSWER KEY WEEK 1: Written Assignment: Have you ever been given something you wanted? Perhaps it was a bicycle or maybe it was a pet. Billy Coleman, in the story, works very, very hard to be able to buy his dogs. How do you think he will treat his dogs now that he has worked so hard to get them? How might he have treated them differently if someone just bought them for him? Use your own experiences as well as examples from the story as you write your response. The student should point out that Billy will appreciate and value his dogs very highly because he has put so much effort into obtaining them. He will treat them as well as he is able. If he had just been given the dogs, he would not have prized them as highly. Children who are given everything they want are typically more careless with their possessions. WEEK 2 Written Assignment: Young Billy wants a dog, but his family cannot afford to buy him the type he has his heart set on. Who helps Billy reach his cherished goal, and why? What inner resources does he have to draw on? When difficulties set in, does he ever regret the course of action he has chosen? Why or why not? Answers will vary, but some points to look for include: Divine providence helps Billy obtain the puppies by guiding him to the sportsman s magazine containing the critical advertisement. Billy s grandfather provides the critical link to the adult world which Billy needs to complete the transaction, and which the reader reasonably suspects his parents would have refused to provide. Billy himself must persevere in the task of earning money for the expensive, purebred dogs. In this lengthy task he demonstrates the diligence of an adult, not the distractedness of a child. WEEK 3 Written Assignment: Someone once said that there is nothing new on the face of the Earth, that it is not the story that is new, but it is in the telling of the story that we find the new, the intrigue. Where the Red Fern Grows is an excellent example of a well-told story. It is a simple story about a boy and his dogs, and yet each chapter details intrigue and surprise. This week, think of a simple story and write it, focusing on making it interesting and intriguing. If you have difficulty doing this, re-read and reconsider Chapter 11 and its summary below. What did the author do to keep you hanging on the edge of your seat? What memorable descriptions and details did he use to bring the story to life? Work at imitating what the author has done in your own story. Answers will vary WEEK 4 Written Assignment: In most stories that contain the death of an antagonist, people celebrate the elimination of a bad guy or at least seem relieved that the death has solved a problem. In this story, however, the response to the antagonist's death is more true to life. As a reader, how do you feel about the death of Rubin Pritchard? Answers will vary. WEEK 5 Written Assignment: What virtues has Billy used in order to accomplish his goals? Give examples from the story to support your answer. Perseverance: he persevered in obtaining the dogs, in training the dogs, in saving Little Ann, in hunting, etc. Where the Red Fern Grows CC6

7 ASSIGNMENT ANSWER KEY Respect: he respected his parents and grandfather (so they supported his efforts), he respected his dogs (so they loved, trusted, and respected him) Temperance: he did not spoil the dogs, he did not squander his savings, he did not push the dogs harder than was necessary Love: he loved the dogs, which often dictated his action with the dogs WEEK 6 Written Assignment: After all they have been through together, how does Billy come to terms with the loss of his beloved dogs? Why do their deaths constitute a crisis of faith for him? How does his father s perspective on events help? Answers will vary, but some points to look for include: In the end, Billy is able to accept the loss of Old Dan and Little Ann, and this acceptance signals his final step into the adult world. After becoming so convinced that God was looking after him and his dogs, Billy has trouble understanding how God could now have taken them away. His father comes to his aid by helping him see how even the loss of the dogs could fit into God s overall plans for Billy and the family. By getting the big picture, which Billy realizes comes from the Bible, he is able to reconcile himself to the deaths of his dogs and to go ahead with the life that God has planned for him. Where the Red Fern Grows CC7

8 FINAL EXAM Part I. Identify. Give a description and brief character analysis of each of the characters. (3 points each) 1. Billy Colman 2. Old Dan 3. Little Ann 4. Billy s grandfather 5. Billy s father 6. Billy s mother 7. Billy s sisters 8. Rubin Pritchard 9. The hunting tournament judge 10. the mountain lion Part II. Short Answer. Answer in complete sentences giving as much detail as possible. Omit one or do all for extra credit. (4 points each) 1. Where the Red Fern Grows is narrated in the first person. Who is the narrator, and how is the narrator related to the main character? Why do you think Wilson Rawls chose this style? 2. When it is time to name his dogs, Billy gives the matter careful consideration. Yet when it comes to his own sisters, he never uses their first names. What does this tell us about his priorities as a young boy? 3. How does Billy s mother feel about his hunting, and how does this make Billy feel? 4. Why does Little Ann die? What does this mean? 5. From what circumstance does the book derive its title? What is the relationship between the title and the theme of the story? Answer the following questions about this quote: It wasn t just the wind, I said. It was the way it blew. It didn t touch another tree in the bottoms. I know because I looked around. The big tree was the only one touched by the wind. Do you think God heard my prayer? Do you think he helped me? 1. Why does Billy feel he needs to cut down the giant sycamore tree in the first place? 2. What part do his dogs play in the process? 3. What assistance does his grandfather and immediate family offer? 4. What does Billy himself have to contribute to the effort? 5. What does Billy conclude about whether or not God was helping him? 6. Is this the only time he reaches this conclusion? Give examples to support your answer. Part III. Essay. This should be a minimum of one paragraph with examples or quotes from the text to support your answer. (30 points) When the memories which form the story of WRFG begin, Billy Colman is a boy. By the time the book reaches its conclusion, he has made the transition into manhood. How do his hounds help him to do this? His grandfather? His immediate family? God? Where the Red Fern Grows CC

9 FINAL EXAM ANSWER KEY Part I. Identify. Give a description and character analysis of each of the characters. (3 points each) 1. Billy Colman is the main character of the story. We first meet him as an adult, and then are introduced to the memories of his own youth, which form the core of the story. 2. Old Dan is the leader of Billy s pair of redbone hunting hounds. Brave, faithful, and fearless, Old Dan in the end gives his very life for Billy. 3. Little Ann is Old Dan s sister and hunting partner. She supplies the brainpower of the canine team. 4. Billy s grandfather is a storeowner and former coonhunter himself. He serves as Billy s guide and mentor in an undertaking his parents do not entirely understand or support. 5. Billy s father is primarily concerned with trying to support his family by means of his struggling farm. While he loves Billy and helps out with the hunting when he can, he has little leisure time and less attention to squander on such an endeavor. 6. Billy s mother is also absorbed with raising her family. Billy experiences her concern for his safety as an embarrassment and an obstacle. 7. Billy s sisters form a shadowy backdrop to his own story. The girls care about the dogs as pets, while Billy considers them partners--even peers. 8. Rubin Pritchard forms a small but significant part of Billy s story. His accidental death while hunting demonstrates that Billy s confidence may actually be overconfidence. 9. The hunting tournament judge serves as a foil to the devotion that Billy has for his hounds, and his grandfather has for Billy. The judge s reaction to the storm, while the rational one, is in sharp contrast to theirs. 10. The mountain lion looms like a dark shadow over the entire story of Billy and the dogs, from his initial scream heard in the cave to the fatal cut he slashes into Old Dan s belly. The devil cat is the dark side of country life and of all of life, which young Billy eventually has to come face-to-face with. Part II. Short Answer. Answer in complete sentences, giving as much detail as possible. Omit one or do all for extra credit. (4 points each) 1. WRFG is narrated by Billy Colman, the protagonist. He is the main character. We first encounter him as an adult and then get to know him when he was a boy. 2. Billy as a boy lives the world of coon hunting. His dogs deserve meaningful names, while his sisters names are not even noted. Part of what his dogs help him to do is to expand his horizons to the point where coon hunting is a part of life and not the entirety of it. This transition is represented by his move to town, where coon hunting does not play a significant role. 3. Billy s mother frets about the potential danger her growing son encounters while hunting, and the reader realizes that her fears are far from unjustified. Billy, however, feels she is treating him in ways that are more appropriate for a child. This perspective, too, has some justification. 4. Little Ann dies of grief over the death of Old Dan. Although she emerges basically unharmed from the encounter with the mountain lion, she does not survive. This underscores the mutual devotion which is the real substance of Billy s story. 5. The phrase where the red fern grows refers to an Indian legend about red ferns. The Native Americans believed that this plant marks a sacred spot. The title indicates that the bond uniting Billy and his dogs is something which even death cannot overcome. Where the Red Fern Grows CC

10 FINAL EXAM ANSWER KEY Answer the following questions about this quote: It wasn t just the wind, I said. It was the way it blew. I didn t touch another tree in the bottoms. I know because I looked around. The big tree was the only one touched by the wind. Do you think God heard my prayer? Do you think He helped me? 1. The dogs have treed their first real coon in the largest tree in the vicinity. In order to capture the coon and complete the hunt, the tree must be felled. Billy considers cutting it down to be an act of fidelity towards his dogs and the project they have undertaken together. 2. Old Dan and Little Ann meet fidelity with fidelity. Billy discovers that they refuse to stop patrolling the tree, even to the extent of sleeping at the foot of it. 3. As always, Billy s grandfather is there to guide and assist him. He offers advice on both the practical and moral planes: he understands coons and knows what to do about capturing them, but he is no less wise when it comes to character development, either. 4. Billy s immediate family members, despite their general detachment from the activity of coon hunting, offer emotional and practical support by helping him and the dogs recover from their ordeal and go on. 5. Billy needs physical strength, firmness of purpose, and pure pluck to complete this formidable task. 6. The young boy is firmly convinced that God has helped him bring the sycamore tree down, despite the fact that his father, to whom the question is posed, takes a more agnostic stance. In fact, Billy often senses divine assistance in his project concerning the dogs. Examples include Billy s conversation with his mother about obtaining the puppies in the first place, and the rescue of Little Ann from the frozen river. Part III. Essay When the recollections which make up our story begin, Billy Colman is a boy. By the time the story ends, he has made the transition into manhood. How have his dogs assisted him in the task of growing up? (Hints: How does Billy get his dogs in the first place? How do they help him learn to rely on God, himself, and people other than his parents? What sacrifice do they make so that he can go on living at all?) Answers will vary, but some points to look for include: His initiative in earning money to buy the puppies separates him from childlike dependence on his parents. His parents are not directly involved with his coon hunting, so his grandfather, other hunters at the store, his own instincts and devotion to his dogs, and divine intervention must guide him more and more. His parents are not there to assist him in solving the problems the coons present, in facing the dangers posed by weather and by other people (like the boys in town and the Pritchards), and at last, in dealing with the mountain lion itself. Old Dan and by implication, Little Ann also, give their lives to shield Billy from the mountain lion and all it represents. He owes not only his growth into adulthood, but in a literal sense his adulthood itself, to the dogs he loved so much. Where the Red Fern Grows CC