Old Yeller and the BearFrom Old YellerBy Fred Gipson

Focus Questions

•What kinds of animals does Arliss encounter on the frontier? • How does he get himself into

trouble with the bear?•Who will rescue Arliss?

Background Information• In this selection, Travis’s father is absent. He is

on a cattle drive which could mean he would be gone for up to two months.

• Ranchers would herd their cattle to sell at a “cow town.”

• After the Civil War, life in Texas was hard. The state had fought for the Confederacy and was now poor. Many of the people who lived there were rugged, hardworking, and courageous, but like could be dangerous.

• As we read, make a chart of things in the frontier life that you think might be fun and those which would be difficult.

Vocabulary

When Mama yelled, Travis became spooked.That spooked me. Up until now, I was ready to

fight the bear on my own. Now I was scared out of my wits again.

Spooked:scared

Vocabulary

Generally, it would be a tangled-up mess of grasshoppers and worms and praying bugsand little rusty tree lizards.

The playful kitten left a ball of yarn tangled-up on the floor.

Tangled-up:mixed up and stuck together

Vocabulary

She said that if he ever told a bigger whooper than the ones I’d told, she’d yet to hear it.

We listened as Travis told a whopper of a tale about catching a two-foot long catfish with is bare hands. We all laughed.

Whopper:an exaggerated tale

Vocabulary

Little Arliss’s second scream, when it came, was louder and shriller and more frantic-sounding that the first.

The woman was frantic when she lost her purse. She ran up and down every aisle in the store, looking for it.

Frantic:very worried and afraid

Vocabulary

I think Mama let him tell so many big yarns about his catching live game that he’d begun to believe them himself.

My dad likes to tell yarns about when he was a boy, but we know most of them aren’t true.

Yarns:made up stories

Extra Vocabulary

spasmschaparralsulledwindiesmarrowlungerowdyhorned toad

Word Knowledge

hurt harmlittle small

slim thinscared afraid

What do these pairs of words have in common?synonyms

Can you choose a pair to use in a sentence where you can easily use either word?

Word Knowledge

wedgeddislodged

chargegeneral

allegianceWhat sound and spellings do these words have in

common?/j/ sound spelled dge and gCan you think of any other words that fit the

pattern?

Word Knowledge

copperheadfirst

louderfurther

What sound do these words have in common?How is it spelled?/er/ spelled er, ir ,urCan you think of any other words that fit the

pattern?

Word Knowledge

capturedcatching

achedpoured

scramblingWhat endings do these words have in common?What are the base/root words?How does the suffix change the root?

Sentences

The nurse said that it will only hurt at first.

Identify the words that have the /er/ sound.

Sentences

The gem was wedged between two little rocks.

Identify the 2 words that have the /j/ sound. How is the sound spelled?

Sentences

I knew danger was near because the scary noise got louder.

Identify the word that has the /j/ sound and the /er/ sound.

Find a word in the sentence that has a synonym and reread the sentence using that synonym.

Sentences

The boat workers’ arms and shoulders ached after a day of catching shrimp in nets.

Identify the words with –ed and-ing.