Big Hungry Bear

On October 5, I did my first read aloud in a first grade classroom. The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear is about a mouse who picks a fresh ripe strawberry from a tree. As he is picking the strawberry, an unknown narrator begins introducing the mouse to the story of the Big Hungry Bear. The narrator goes on to say that the Big Hungry Bear can smell the strawberry from a long distance, can recognize it anywhere and can even find the strawberry if it is hidden. Of course, the mouse is frightened. He is afraid of the thought of a bear preying on his only strawberry. At the end, the narrator says there is only one way to keep the strawberry safe. He instructs the mouse to cut the strawberry in half and share half with him (the narrator). The mouse complies and both are full from the strawberry. During the story, the narrator’s identity is kept a secret. Anyone reading this book can say the narrator was the bear, a friend of the bear or just a …show more content…
We did turn and talk and I called on a boy and girl to state their predictions. I went over three vocabulary words: guarding, ripe and disguise. The students actually were able to tell me all the definitions. So, I had them use the words in a sentence as vocabulary review. I also had the words written big and colorful on paper for the students to visually see.
During the book, I made sure to review the three vocabulary words again. I also asked questions that probed critical thinking. As I asked these questions, I did turn and talk and called on three people to share their thought. The questions were: Why do you think the mouse looks so scared? What do you think the mouse is doing with that ladder? Why is the narrator so curious? Why is the narrator telling the mouse the story about the bear? How would you feel if the Big Hungry Bear was after your