Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikelson
Short Story Synopsis: Cole Matthews is a fifteen year old boy who had a rough childhood. He has an abusive father, and a dismissive alcoholic mother. Because of this, he has been acting out in school and causing lots of problems. Most recently, the story picks up after Cole beats up a boy named Peter Driscal after telling on Cole for robbing a store. Peter's face was pounded into cement and he suffers life-long injuries from this, including a speech impediment. Due to Cole's belligerent behavior, he is forced to either go to prison, or spend a year on a remote Alaskan island on his own while attending Circle Justice meetings to better his character and improve his life as well as the ones he has hurt. It is certainly a struggle for Cole, but readers are surprised to see the significant progress he makes over the two books that tell his tale about life on the island, the lessons he learns about life, and the strides he makes in attempt to make things right with those he hurt.
Common Core Standards
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Goals and ObjectivesStudents will...
1. Read and comprehend the text. 2. Make educated inferences using characterization techniques based on textual evidence. 3. Compose a written essay based on previously listed arguments and properly cite evidence, as well as use appropriate transitions words where necessary. |
Materials and Resources |