Brown Bear 

For Parents and Teachers

These online “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” picture book lessons and activities are usually meant for young children learning to read. However, the repetition and colorful illustrations in this classic book by author Bill Martin Jr. and illutrator Eric Carle truly make it a favorite for "children" of all ages. "Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?  I see a red bird looking at me..."; rhyming and predictable text makes this a delight for pre-readers, early readers and ESL students with pre-functional or very basic English skills. The pattern is repeated until the pre- or early reader can join in with the reader, easily predicting the next lines. This unit incorporates pre-reading, during-reading, and after-reading literacy activities: animal vocabulary, color vocabulary, letter and sound fluency, oral blending, syllables, noun-adjective agreement, the use of object pronouns, appreciating patterns, noticing rhythms, making predictions, sequencing, and writing. It also offers cross-curricular suggestions and activities for art and math.  Once students have mastered the above activities, they will be ready to collaborate and create their own online "Brown Bear" book.  Individuals will choose their own animals and colors to illustrate and caption, and each student will make one animal page. When each student has contributed their ideas the class will have a complete story to share that has been rewritten by each of their classmates.!