Activity 1 - Rooting with Words

All

To explore ways in which bears have entered our vocabulary and popular culture

• Roots of Bear Words sheet
• Art making supplies (optional)
• Pencil and paper

Wordplay

1. Name stories, songs, cartoons etc. about bears.

a) What roles do the bears play: are they “good” or “bad” characters? What purpose do they serve: do they teach us a lesson, make us laugh, or scare us?

b) Why do you think there are so many bears in our stories and popular culture? In what ways are these bear characters similar to humans?

2. What are your personal memories of, or associations with bears?

a) What experiences have you had that involve bears or bear stories? For example, your first teddy bear, seeing one in the wild or at a zoo, a favourite childhood story.

b) What thoughts, feelings, or impressions were you left with?

c) Discuss, write a story, or draw a picture about this experience.

3. We use phrases and expressions that involve bears in our language everyday. Make a list of all the phrases or expressions you can think of. Here are a few examples:  

• Bear hug
• Going for bear
• Like a mother bear
• I had a bear of a day
• Get a licking (see Roots of Bear Words sheet )
• Going berserk (see Roots of Bear Words sheet )

a) What images do these phrases conjure up for you?

b) What do they really mean? What does this have to do with real bears?

c) Choose a bear phrase and investigate its origin through research.

d) Invent a story or draw a picture about what that phrase means, how it came to be, or how it might be misinterpreted.

• Inventive use of language and imagery
• Ability to relate qualities of real bears to common expressions

Language Learning, Visual Art

Introduction – Activities – Glossary – Guided Program
Whyte Museum – Bears: 2000 and Beyond Teacher's Guide