BERTOYosemite’s

Rock-Lovin’ Bear

Story Activities & Teacher’s Guide

 Berto,  Yosemite’s  Rock-­‐Lovin’  Bear  Teacher’s  Guide                                      Copyright  ©

 2016  American  N

ature  Tale                                            www.Am

ericanNatureTale.com

   

Teacher’s Guide Berto, Yosem

ite’s Rock-Lovin’ Bear A

uthor: Marian Parks

Illustrator: Christine Karron

Publisher: Nature Tale Books, Inc.

Theme: Courage builds confidence

Subjects: Bullying | Rocks | Yosem

ite N.P.

Sum

mary

Yosem

ite bears are brave mountaineers - all except B

erto, who's terrified

of heights. He's also afraid of a bully nam

ed Buck, w

ho torments him

and m

akes fun of his rock collection. Berto's problem

s only get worse until

finally he learns that, just like the rocks, he has strength of his own.

Children w

ill delight in Berto's rom

p through Yosem

ite's meadow

s, rivers, and forest. A

long the way, they'll discover that they, too, have strengths

of their own.

Prior to Reading •

Tell students that the story takes place in Yosemite, a fam

ous A

merican N

ational Park in California. Ask if students have

visited Yosemite, and if so, to share their m

emories.

• Show

the map on pages 2-3, so students w

ill be familiar w

ith the story location. Introduce the iconic landform

s mentioned in the

story: El Capitan, Yosemite Fall, N

orth Dom

e, Half D

ome,

Glacier Point, Sentinel Rock, N

evada Fall, Merced River.

•

Directed Listening: Berto is afraid of heights, and he’s also afraid

of a bully named Buck. W

hile listening to the story, try to find out if Berto overcom

es his fears. D

iscussion Questions

RL.2.1 Why did Berto hide in his cave?

(Buck hit him w

ith a rock and he ran home to be safe.)

RL.2.3 How

did Berto respond when he returned hom

e and found his rocks strew

n about his cave? What w

ould you have done? (H

e was upset and cried out in anger.)

RL.2.5 Describe how

the story began and ended. (It began w

ith Berto in the valley feeling fearful and ended with him

high above the valley feeling proud and confident) RL.2.2 W

hat is the story’s message?

(When w

e’re courageous and successful, we gain confidence.)

Topics for the Reading Journal W

.2.3 Like Berto, most people have fears. D

escribe one of your fears, and w

hat you do to overcome it.

W.2.3 Berto loves rocks and Yosem

ite Valley. D

escribe a favorite place, sport, or hobby that you love. Include details about w

hat makes it

special. W

.2.3 Yosemite N

ational Park has spectacular sights. Describe w

hat you w

ould like to see when you visit Yosem

ite. W

riting Opinion Topic

W.2.1 Berto confronted the bully in the story. W

hat would you advise

a friend to do if he or she had a bullying problem. G

ive a reason for each suggestion. Story Extensions •

Sketch the Yosemite V

alley. Use w

atercolors to illustrate the soaring valley cliffs.

• Share rocks from

personal collections and discuss attributes.

Berto  Yosemite’s  Rock-­‐Lovin’  Bear  

   Mini-­‐Book  

Retell  the  story.  Direc/ons:  

1.  Cut  along  the  do8ed  lines.    Arrange  the  pages  in  order  and  staple  them  together  on  the  le<  side.  

2.  Write  your  name  on  the  cover.  

3.  On  page  one,  describe  the  story’s  seEng  and  the  main  character.  

4.  On  page  two,  write  about  the  first  important  event.  

5.  On  page  three  and  four,  write  about  the  important  events  that  happened  next.  

6.  On  page  five,  write  about  the  ending  of  the  story.  

Berto Yosemite’s Rock-Lovin’ Bear

 Mini-Book

by

Page  1  

Page  5  Page  4  

Page  3  Page  2  

Common  Core:  W.2.4                              www.AmericanNatureTale.com                                    Copyright  ©2015  American  Nature  Tale  

Name _____________________________________ Date________________________

Reading Journal

Berto, Yosemite’s Rock-Lovin’ Bear

Berto is terrified of heights and a bully. Many people are afraid of spiders, speaking in front of a group, or trying something new.

Write a paragraph describing what scares you. Illustrate your paragraph in the space below.

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Copyright © 2016 American Nature Tale Berto Reading Journal 1 AmericanNatureTale.com

 

Copyright  ©  2016  American  Nature  Tale                        Answers:  1.True      2.  True      3.False      4.True      5.True      6.False      7.  True      8.  True      9.  True      10.  True  

TRUE  OR  FALSE  

1.  There  are  eight  bear  species,  but  only  the  American  black  bear  lives  in  California.    

T   F  

2.  Black  bears  may  have  black,  brown,  cinnamon,  or  blond  fur.     T   F  

3.  Black  bears  lose  most  of  their  weight  before  winter.   T   F  

4.  The  diet  of  American  black  bears  consists  mostly  of  berries,  grasses,  acorns,  and  insects.  

T   F  

5.    Due  to  a  shortage  of  food,  black  bears  hibernate  in  winter.   T   F  

6.  During  hibernation,  black  bears  will  never  emerge  until  spring.  

T   F  

7.    The  black  bear’s  heart  rate,  respiration,  and  body  temperature  will  all  be  reduced  during  hibernation.  

T   F  

8.  Black  bear  cubs  are  born  during  hibernation.   T   F  

9.  Black  bear  cubs  will  stay  with  their  mother  for  16-­‐17  months.  

T   F  

10.  Black  bears  are  able  to  climb  the  steep  cliffs  of  Yosemite.   T   F  

Berto is a black bear character, but there are real black bears living in Yosemite National Park. Use the Internet to determine if each statement is true or false.

Berto  Yosemite’s  Rock-­‐Lovin’  Bear                  American  Nature  Tale                    www.NatureTaleBooks.com  

Berto Yosemite’s Rock-Lovin’ Bear Copyright © 2016 American Nature Tale Watch illustrator, Christine Karron, color this page at www.AmericanNatureTale.com

El Capitan

Half D

ome

Glacier

Point

Cathedral

Falls

Cathedral Rocks

Bridalveil Fall

Merced River