The+Sign+of+the+Beaver

Jessica Magalhaes Author: Elizabeth George Speare __Bibliographic Data:__ Reading Level: 10 & up Paperback: 144 pages Publisher: Yearling (July 1, 1984) ISBN: 978-0-440-47900-0
 * The Sign of the Beaver**

__Summary:__ As a twelve-year-old boy, Matt and his father venture to Maine to build a log house so his family can settle on their new bought property. After the completion of their home, Matt is quickly left alone in the wilderness to fend for himself while Matt’s father returns to Massachusetts to get his mother, sister, and newborn baby who they have yet to meet. The trip should only last approximately seven weeks. As a young boy, Matt heard horrid claims of Native Americans beating and murdering any settler they pass by. While trying to gain access to a beehive to subdue his cravings for honey, Matt is severely attacked by bees, being stung in numerous places and nearly drowning in an attempt to get away from the bees. A Native American leader, Saknis, and his young grandson, Attean, quickly retrieve the boy from the water, saving him and taking out the poisonous stingers. Throughout the novel, Matt and Attean learn to not only be civil, but friends. However, Matt had a tremendous choice to make; should he stay and wait for his family or move west with Attean and his tribe? Matt chooses to stay behind, unaware if he will see his family. At the end, his mother, father and sister return and Matt explains how he met his new brother, Attean.

__Review:__ If used in a classroom, students can make connections to the main characters, Matt and Attean. Many children try very hard to get the approval of their parents by making the right choices and decisions based on the ways that their families raised them. Many children don’t steal because they wouldn’t want to make their parents upset by doing the wrong thing. One excellent skill that Speare uses, and teachers can teach their students by using this book, is making text-to-self connections. However, based upon the reader’s age, some parts of the book can be difficult to read. Speare uses different dialects of English. Attean and Saknis barely know English, so they use choppy, short sentences that the reader may sometimes have to reread. There is also some tough vocabulary that students need to be aware of. Since the book is set in 1769, Speare uses some vocabulary words that may not be used so frequently today. For instance, in one part of the book Matt is trying to find a way to teach Attean how to read and refers to a primer. Many students may not know what a primer is since they aren’t used as frequently today.

__Analysis of Literary Element:__ Teachers can use the developing theme of friendship as a literary element to promote unlikely friendships in his or her classroom. When Attean first meets Matt, they are uncivil and some can say enemies. When Saknis tells Matt he will teach Attean how to read, Attean quickly shows his hatred for the treaty as he says, " '//Nda!'// The furious word exploded, the first word Matt had ever heard him speak. Half under his breath he muttered a string of incomprehensible words. his grandfather's stern face did not change. He was undisturbed by the boy's defiance" (31). However, as the boys spent more time together, in the lonely forest of Maine, they made a connection that would last a lifetime. Before Attean leaves with his tribe, he presents Matt with a present, his beloved dog. Attean says, " 'No good for hunt,' Attean said. 'Walk slow now. God for stay here with //medabe//-with white brother' " (117). Even though each boy is culturally biased, they still see one another as family. Connecting to the classroom, each student has a different culture than the next, so teaching a lesson on friendship and cooperation is imperative to show students that they can still make connections even if they were raised differently, look differently, and speak differently.

__Author Biography:__ Elizabeth George Speare was born on November 21, 1908 and passed on November 15, 1994. Growing up mostly in New England, she made New England the setting in many of her stories. Later in life, she married Alden Speare and gave birth to two children. Since Elizabeth George Speare had a tight schedule being a wife and working mother, she found seldom time to write until her children were in junior high school. Her first published works were in a magazine about a skiing trip with her family. Later, she focused on historical fiction novels, in which she won two Newbery Medals for //The Witch of Blackbird Pond// and //The Bronze Bow//. //The Sign of the Beaver// gained a Newbery Honor citation. Many of her novels are used in classroom curriculums across America.

__Related Links:__ http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/sign-beaver-lesson-plan http://www.proteacher.org/a/17384_The_Sign_of_the_Beaver.html http://www.proteacher.org/c/400_Novel_Unit_-_Sign_of_the_Beaver.html

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