Where+the+Red+Fern+Grows

=﻿﻿﻿Where the Red Fern Grows = =  = =By Wilson Rawls =

=Author = =[|Wilson Rawls] = Woodrow Wilson Rawls was born in Scraper, Oklahoma in 1913. His family was extremely poor. The area where he lived had no schools. Wilson's mother taught him how to read at home. He remained uninterested in books until his mother brought home a copy of Jack London's [|The Call of the Wild]. From this time on Wilson wanted to write his own book.Wilson began writing in his youth. Due to his lack of schooling, Wilson's work had poor spelling, grammar, and punctuation. He was ashamed of this so he kept his works to himself. Wilson's family moved from place to place during [|The Great Depression]. Wilson continued to write. The writings were rejected by publishers due to the spelling and grammar. Right before Wilson was to get married in 1958, he burned all his writings, so his new wife Sophia would not know of his failures. Finally Wilson told his wife of his dream. She encouraged him to rewrite his story of his boyhood. She loved the book and helped him with the spelling and grammar. The book was accepted and published in a three-part serial called "The Hounds of Youth" by The Saturday Evening Post in 1961. It was published later that year as a novel by Doubleday as Where the Red Fern Grows. Wilson continued his writing with a second book called [|Summer of the Monkeys]. It was published in 1976. Both books have received numerous awards. Wilson died in December of 1984.

=Book Review =

Where the Red Fern Grows is a simply but beautifully written novel, with a depth that is far greater than might be gleaned upon a superficial read. It’s a coming of age story, of course, but one that deals thoughtfully with notions of alienation, morality, otherness, responsibility, and fate, and I’m not surprised that it has become such a treasured modern American classic.

[|Read in a Single Sitting]

[|Good Reads]

Age Appropriateness []

=[|Characters] =



//“Mama was the best helper a boy ever had.” -Billy // //﻿ //

 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Where the Red Fern Grows has three main characters: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Billy Colman and his two hunting dogs, Old Dan and LittleAnn.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The other characters are listed below.

· Billy Colman ten-year-old narrator · Papa Colman Billy’s father (a farmer) · Mama Colman Billy’s mother · “The girls” Billy’s three younger sisters (never named) · Grandpa Billy’s grandfather (a storekeeper) · Grandma Billy’s grandmother · Little Ann Billy’s female hunting hound · Old Dan Billy’s male hunting hound · mountain lion (fierce creature who attacks Billy) · ghost coon sneaky old raccoon · Samie the Colmans’ cat · Rainie Pritchard ten-year-old neighbor boy · Rubin Pritchard twelve-year-old neighbor boy · Mrs. Pritchard Rainie and Rubin’s mother · Mr. Pritchard Rainie and Rubin’s father · Mr. Benson (one of the hunters) · Mr. Kyle (one of the hunters) · the marshal sheriff of Tahlequah · the stationmaster (stationmaster of Tahlequah depot)
 * The Colmans **
 * Animals **
 * Other Characters **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Billy is not only the novel’s main character but is also its narrator. Everything we learn from the book is told through Billy’s eyes. Ten year old Billy is strong, brave, and hardworking. He says, “I had the wind of a deer, the muscles of a country boy, a heart full of dog love, and a strong determination. I wasn’t scared of the darkness, or the mountains, for I was raised in those mountains.” Billy loves his parents and sisters, but he loves his dogs and raccoon hunting more than anything else. “I was a hunter from the time I could walk,” he says. “I caught lizards on the rail fences, rats in the corncrib, and frogs in the little creek that ran through the fields.” Right from the very beginning of the book, we can see that Billy is kind and generous to all. When Grandpa gives Billy a bag of candy, Billy takes a few of the pieces and saves the rest for his sisters. “Arriving home,” Billy says, “I dumped the sack of candy out on the bed. Six little hands helped themselves. I was well repaid by the love and adoration I saw in the wide blue eyes of my three little sisters.” Later in the novel, Billy gives his three hundred dollar contest winnings to his parents. Billy is also a deeply religious boy. For example, he believes that his two hunting dogs had been sent to him personally from God in heaven.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Billy Colman: [[image:statue6.jpg align="right"]] **

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Setting =

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Papa Said, 'I intend to butcher a hog. We're about out of meat.' Looking at me, he said, 'Shell a sack of corn. Take one of the mules and go to the mill for your mother.' -Billy //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The novel takes place during the Great Depression in the Ozarks of Oklahoma, USA. This is a highland region located primarily in northwest Arkansas. It is an area of astonishing beauty. Deep valleys contrast with low mountains and are cut by the waters of numerous winding rivers. The region’s natural resources—thick forests of oak, maple, hickory, and pine; mountain streams; deep caves; and a vast array of plants and animals—make it a fascinating place to explore. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">This novel depicts life of the 1920's as it was for so many rural families. Daily lie on an Ozark farm was difficult. Most residents made do without running water and electricity. School was too far for a daily commute. Some parents taught their children to read and write, but other parents weren’t able to do these things themselves, and therefore could not teach their children. Other than an occasional trip into town, families had little contact with outsiders. Their social contact was limited to their closest neighbors.

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Plot =

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">“I suppose there’s a time in practically every young boy’s life when he’s affected by that wonderful ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">disease of puppy love.” —Billy //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Billy Coleman is a young boy who wants a coon hunting dog of his own more than anything in the world. He works very hard doing all kinds of odd jobs, saving his money for two years. When he saved up the $50.00 he makes a difficult journey and buys himself two hound pups. He spends an entire summer training them for coon hunting, all the while encountering several misadventures. He enters the coon hunting competition and finally has the chance to try out his hunting skills.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">• How does Billy finally get his puppies? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">• Why are the dogs so important to Billy? to his family? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">• What part of the story did you find the most exciting? Why?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Thinking about the plot **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Themes
//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">“Two beautiful cups gleamed from the mantel. I held the match up so I could ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">get a better look. There they were, sitting side by side. . . .There was a story in those cups—a story that went back more than a half century.” //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">—Billy

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Themes that are undertaken in this book include those of: determination, responsibility, family, relationships, patience, God and/or spirituality, sacrifice and a love beyond loyalty!

=
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">[|**Thematic Connections for the Classroom**] ====== <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Determination:** In Where the Red Fern Grows, Billy Coleman's grandfather says that determination and willpower are good for a man to have. More than anything, Billy wants two hound dogs to train for hunting. Jay Berry Lee in Summer of the Monkeys dreams of buying a rifle and a pony. How does each boy go about realizing his dream? What does each boy's determination to achieve his goal say about his character? At what point in each novel would it have been easier to give up? How does setting a goal and working to achieve that goal help a person grow and mature?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Responsibility:** Ask the class to make a two column chart. List the many ways that Billy Coleman shows responsibility in one column. In the other column, list how Jay Berry Lee displays responsibility. How does each boy's upbringing promote responsible behavior?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Family and Relationships:** Billy Coleman and Jay Berry Lee are both only sons in a close-knit family. Ask students to describe each boy's family. How are they similar? How are they different? How is each boy's relationship with his father different from his relationship with his mother? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Ask students to compare and contrast Billy Coleman's relationship with his three sisters to Jay Berry Lee's relationship to his little sister. What role does each boy's family play in helping him realize his dream? How might the Coleman and Lee family values be influenced by the Depression era?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Intergenerational Relationships:** In Where the Red Fern Grows, Billy Coleman says, "I'm sure no one can understand a young boy like his grandfather can." Ask students to cite evidence from the novel that indicates this type of understanding. Encourage the class to contrast Billy's relationship with his grandfather to his relationship with his father. Why might it be easier to be a grandfather than a father? How does Billy's grandfather help him achieve his ultimate goal?

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Genre =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Where the Red Fern Grows could qualify as Fiction, Adventure or Realistic fiction.


 * == Issues for Young Adults == || == Where the Red Fern Grows == ||
 * Compassion ||= Yes ||
 * Dating norms ||= No ||
 * Death ||= Yes ||
 * Divorce ||= No ||
 * Financial responsibility ||= Yes ||
 * Forgiveness ||= Yes ||
 * Friendship ||= Yes ||
 * Homosexuality ||= No ||
 * Premarital sex ||= No ||
 * Racial tension ||= No ||
 * Responsibility ||= Yes ||
 * Smoking ||= No ||
 * Truancy ||= No ||
 * Under age drinking ||= No ||
 * Violence ||= No ||
 * Appropriate Age ||= 9+ ||

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Awards = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Literary Guild selection <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Made into a motion picture by Doty-Dayton Productions and released in <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">March 1974 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">1987 Massachusetts Children's Book Award <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">6/95 Earphone Award for Audio Version <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">1989 Great Stone Face Award <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">1981 North Dakota Children's Book Award

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Links = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Lessons for Teachers to use <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Teaching Activities and Information] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 1: Sentences] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 2: Four Types of Sentences] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 3: Punctuating Sentences] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 4: Subject/Verb Agreement - Singular Nouns and Pronouns He, She, It] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 5: Subject/Verb Agreement - Plural Nouns and Pronouns I, We, You, They] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 6: Subject/Verb Agreement - Irregular Verbs - Forms of Be] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 7: Subject/Verb Agreement - Irregular Verbs] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 8: Troublesome Verbs] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 9: Understanding Sentence Problems] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 10: Choppy Sentences] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 11: Choppy Sentences] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 12: Choppy Sentences] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 13: Run-On Sentences] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Lesson 14: Run-On Sentences - More Practice]

=

 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">[|A Guide to Actively Reading //Where the Red Fern Grows//] **======

=
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">This study guide is perfect for teaching active reading in the third, fourth, or fifth grade classroom while reading //Where the Red Fern Grows//. It begins with a brief "Meet the Author" section then introduces the Novel. It adds a quick "Did You Know" insert giving students interesting facts about the Redbone hound. The guide continues with some helpful "Before You Read" activities including: focus activities, background knowledge checks, and a vocabulary preview. It divides the book into three sections: chapters 1-7, chapters 8-14, and chapters 15-20. ======

=
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The guide then delves into the active reading process with a graphic organizer to help the reader better understand Billy, the main character. The reader will look at direct and indirect characterization while reading the first 7 chapters to fill out this graphic. This first section concludes with guide to responding to the first 7 chapters, complete with a personal reflection, analyzation, and writing activity. ======

=
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The second section has a similar "Before You Read" focus activity, background knowledge check, and vocabulary preview. Chapters 8-14 will be the basis for the Venn diagram active reading activity on Little Ann and Old Dan. Guiding questions are given for a reader response, analyzation, and writing activity. ====== <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The final section follows the same "Before You Read" format with new focus activities, background knowledge checks, and a vocabulary review. The active reading section includes a graphic organizer to help the reader keep track of the problems the characters encounter and the outcomes to those problems. There is also a guide to personal reflection, analysis, and a related writing activity for these final chapters. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">This study guide concludes with an overall reader response which poses a few questions as essay prompts. It also offers a few reader response guides to go along with similar stories that can be compared and contrasted with //Where the Red Fern Grows//.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">[|Where the Red Fern Grows Movie Trailer] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Based on the children's book by Wilson Rawls, this family drama set in the Ozark Mountains centers on 12-year-old Billy Coleman (Joseph Ashton), who sets his sights on a goal and succeeds in saving enough money to buy two hunting dogs. He works tirelessly, training them until he can finally enter them into the Fall Hunting Competition. Dabney Coleman, Renee Faia, Dave Matthews, Ned Beatty, Kris Kristofferson and Mac Davis also star.