Touching Spirit Bear Novel Study

Touching Spirit Bear is one of those books that gets even your most checked-out middle schoolers talking. Cole is angry, defiant, and honestly hard to like at the start. Watching him slowly change on that island is what hooks kids. This novel study keeps the focus right there, on Cole’s choices and what they reveal, instead of burying kids in a list of chapter questions.

Each day is one trifold panel with one comprehension skill and one vocabulary word. That’s it. Teachers tell me their students see the trifolds as “less work,” but every prompt asks kids to go back into the text and explain their thinking.

What’s included

• 25 days of lessons covering all 28 chapters (five weeks)
• 5 weekly comprehension trifolds, in color and blackline
• 5 vocabulary flip books with a text-based word of the day (defiantly, vengeance, skepticism, ingenuity and more)
• Answer keys for every trifold
• Cut & paste reading journal prompts, as a class set and an individual student version, for kids who write big or need more space
• A teacher guide with a pacing chart showing the chapters, skill focus, key academic vocabulary and word of the day for every lesson
• Two lesson outlines, for 45–60 minute and 75–90 minute ELA blocks

Skills your students will practice
Characterization, comparing viewpoints, cause and effect, internal and external conflict, character motivation, turning points, evaluating an argument, figurative language, symbolism, theme, and analyzing the ending. Character development runs through all five weeks (it’s the heart of this book).

Ways to use it
Whole class novel studies, literature circles and book clubs, small group or intervention, homeschool, or independent reading. Lots of teachers print the trifolds one-sided and cut them apart into daily bookmarks.

A note on content
The novel includes descriptions of violence, child abuse, trauma, suicidal behavior, and serious physical injury. Please preview the book and check your school or family guidelines before you start.

Format: Printable PDF, instant digital download.