Some of the main themes are to treat others with respect, you always have redemption for your mistakes, and that you cant change the circle of life. Touching spirit bear by ben mikaelsen 24,993 ratings, 3. The first time cole goes through the circle justice experience, he doesnt trust it because he feels like its just a way for the world to get rid of him. This video is about my book report about this book. Get an answer for what is the major theme in touching spirit bear. This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. Cole matthews is a teenager with a troubled childhood.
Describe coles first encounter with the spirit bear. Cole matthews is a teenage delinquent whos in big trouble for beating up a kid named peter driscal. Touching spirit bear book report by tyler miller on prezi. Touching spirit bear written by ben mikaelsen was about cole matthews who had nothing inside of him but anger, rage, and hate. Response from ben mikaelsen re touching spirit bear.
Prepare to start reading touching spirit bear by answering the following questions and making some predictions about what the book will be about. Honestly i chose the book because it sounded inkteresting but it was him on the ground half the book and. When i received my package in the mail i was exited to start reading. In the first chapter of touching spirit bear it describes the life of the boy and what he did to deserve being sentenced to the island that has the spirit bear. Touching spirit bear a poem by punkgirl12893 all poetry. His mother witnesses the abuse but generally does nothing to stop it, leading cole to believe that no one cares for him. Will the attack of the spirit bear destroy coles life or save his soul.
The spirit bear approached cole with a slow lazy stride. Whatever you do to the animals, you do to yourself. In his napra nautilus awardwinning novel touching spirit bear, author ben mikaelson delivers a poignant comingofage story of a boy who must overcome the. Ben mikaelsen considered buffy a 750pound member of my family. Listen to touching spirit bear by ben mikaelsen at. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 289 pages and is available in paperback format. After i read this book i really just wanted to read more. Now, peter may have permanent brain damageand cole is in the biggest trouble of his. He is routinely abused by his father and the abuse leads to a deep, constant anger that cole cant control. The moderator said he thought it was getting personal in nature and that the conversation ought to be dropped. You walk into the bookstore looking for the novel touching spirit bear by ben. All in all, this was an amazing read and i recommend it to all. After severely injuring peter driscal in an empty parking lot, mischiefmaker cole matthews is in major trouble. To introduce book, i read the summary and the first chapter about cole beating up another kid.
Entitled the fourth character, it helps students organize story facts that show how the island where cole was banished took on the role of a fourth main character, and along with garvey, edwin, and cole himself, how it was influential in coles. Cole is prone to having outburst which inevitably leads to his fate. The professor assigned him a tutor so mikaelsen could learn english grammar, and he spent an hour with the tutor every day for his entire first year of college. Booksource is the premier trade book distributor to k12 school classrooms across the country. At the beginning of the song warriors, he talked about how the other person plotted what thing he would do next. He has been writing fulltime since 1984 and lives in anacortes, washington with his wife, connie.
One day while at school cole viscously beats peter. This time he caught peter driscal in the parking lot and smashed his head against the sidewalk. Pdf touching spirit bear book by ben mikaelsen free. This really got the students interested and wanting to read more but i stopped there to get them more motivated for the next chapter. Wrote opening sentence to grab readers attention 2 pts wrote 56 sentences about protecting bears up to 12 pts wrote concluding sentence to bring paragraph to a satisfying end 2 pts mechanics for paragraph total up to 4 pts correct grammar correct punctuation correct capitalization correct spelling lesson total 73 pts lesson 5. Cole is at first resistant, but he eventually learns much about himself and his. Touching spirit bear by ben mikaelsen librarything. When i first read mikaelsens book a few years ago, i. Hes unrepentant and even though he is facing serious jail time, his kindly parole officer, a man named garvey, gets him into this native american justice program called circle justice. But instead of jail time, cole is given another option.
Touching spirit bear songs warriorsimagine dragons you found methe fray animals maroon 5 believemumford and sons somewhere only we know warriors. Dont grab it or hundreds of tiny thistles will infect your hands and make them swell up like sausages. He has written a few books inspired by his bear, such as touching spirit bear and the sequel ghost of spirit bear. Touching spirit bear alaska digital library overdrive. He doesnt believe that theyre actually trying to help him. Touching spirit bear songs by ella grundeen strehlow on prezi. This is a comprehensive list of all possible symbols in touching spirit bear as well as 140 accompanying quotes and page numbers.
It focuses on a teenager named cole matthews, who severely injures another boy, peter driscal, in a parkinglot altercation. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of touching spirit bear by ben mikaelsen. Touching spirit bear essay essays largest database of quality sample essays and research papers on touching spirit bear. Cole has been in trouble for years but now he is in the worse ever afte. Touching spirit bear tells the story of cole matthews a troubled youth whom struggles with anger. The plot was amazing and the events were very interesting. I went through the book, page by page, to compile these quotes as a textual evidence reference for students. Buy a cheap copy of touching spirit bear book by ben mikaelsen. Ben mikaelsons book touching spirit bear was truly magnificent. Listen to touching spirit bear audiobook by ben mikaelsen. This can be seen as the turning point as coles parents refuse to. This free graphic organizer is from my touching spirit bear novel teaching pack. The novel touching spirit bear by ben mikalsen is an excellent resource for teaching various literary elements. When was the book touching spirit bear by ben mikaelsen.
The first edition of the novel was published in june 25th 1997, and was written by ben mikaelsen. Theme touching spirit bear book report there are many themes to this book. Cole convinces himself that a year on an alaskan island alone will be simple. On the same day rob has two astonishing encounters. Because cole treated peter with respect towards the. Because the first time spirit bear attacked him cole was a threat, later in the book, cole understands that for spirit bear to trust him he cant threaten spirit bear. The book was first ed in 1662 under the licensing act and later under the statute of anne.
At times, he imagined reaching up and touching the spirit bear. Touching spirit bear is the title and it is by ben mikaelsen this is not a copy of the book it is a poem off the title for the contest. Ben mikaelsen born december 8, 1952 is a bolivian american writer of childrens literature. I hope that youll consider it and the other essays on this site about touching spirit. Garvey and edwin guide him on the first steps toward healing but as the year nears its end, cole. In his napra nautilus awardwinning novel touching spirit bear, author ben mikaelson delivers a poignant comingofage story of a boy who must overcome the effects that violence has had on his life. The author of touching spirit bear is ben mikaelsen. Touching spirit bear chapter 1 cole matthews knelt defiantly in the bow of the aluminum chapter 2 the heavy load of supplies caused the skiff to wallow chapter 3 cole stared sullenly into the fire, then let his gaze chapter 4 by the time cole paused to catch his breath, he chapter 5 once clear of the bay, cole swam even harder. A bear within all of us, we all get angry sometimes, the bear comes out.
This document asks students to define the element, and apply their knowledge by giving an example from the book. Touching spirit bear is a comingofage novel by bolivianamerican author ben mikaelson. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. The author of toucing spirit bear is ben mikaelsen. Response from ben mikaelsen re touching spirit bear over on the listserv for californias librarians, i posted my critique of touching spirit bear. Touching spirit bear study guide contains a biography of ben mikaelsen, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.