for

Name_________________________
_________________________
Name________________
 About the Author

Ben Mikaelsen was born in La Paz, Bolivia, in 1952.

He currently lives outside Bozeman, Montana. He likes
adventure, travel, and odd pets. He and his wife adopted a
700-pound black bear named Buffy from a research facility
because it had been declawed and could no longer survive
in the wild.

Mikaelsen has loved writing since he was ten. He

has won the International Reading Association Award and
the Western Writers of America Spur Award. Touching Spirit Bear has been
nominated for several state awards and won the Napra Nautilus Award for
Young Adult Literature in 2002, the North Dakota Flicker Tale Award, the
California Young Reader Medal, and the Nevada Young Reader Award.
Mikaelsen’s official web site is www.benmikaelsen.com.

aN interview

Did you like reading and writing as a student?

When I was young, my parents didn't encourage it, but I wished they had. I
did like writing, however. I remember taking a piece of paper to bed with me
and writing down any ideas I had then.

Which of the books you have written was your favorite to write?

That's a hard question! It's almost like asking a parent who his/her favorite
child is. The book I'm currently writing is always my favorite at the time, as
the characters are in my head. I feel extra close to Petey because that story is
mostly true about a real man I adopted as my grandfather.

What made you become an author (as a career choice)?

I never wanted to become an author, but I liked capturing ideas on paper and
always wanted to do things differently. In college, one of my teachers liked
my writing and encouraged me.

How many years have you been writing books?

I started in 1984 full time. It took me almost 6 years and 127 rejections
before "Rescue Josh McGuire" was published.
(from www.benmikaelsen.com)

2
 What is your story?

Many times authors like Ben

Mikaelsen get ideas for stories from their
own experiences. Some of Ben’s many
adventures are swimming with dolphins,
flying over the North Pole, and spending
four months in South America.. Ben’s
experiences many times develop into
novels as he has undergone conditions
and emotions similar to what his
characters would have in their situations.

Directions: Make a list of possible story ideas from your own experiences.

Story Ideas from Your Experiences

Story Idea #1 Story Idea #2

Story Idea #3 Story Idea #4

3
 Getting Familiar with the
Novel

Directions: Prepare for reading by answering the following questions.

1. Who is the author?

__________________________________

2. What does the title suggest to you about the book?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. When was the book first copyrighted?

___________________________________

4. Thumb through the book. Read three pages-one from near the
beginning, one from near the middle, and one from near the end. What
predictions can you make about the book?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5. What does the cover suggest to you about the book?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

4
 Setting
Setting

Ketchikan is well known as the salmon capital of the world

and a paradise for sport fishermen and naturalists alike.
During the summer months, our town bustles with visitors
from all over the world. While the rustic boardwalk on
Creek Street preserves a distinct historic feel, the town
hums with new construction to keep up with the ever-
expanding wave of tourism.

Ketchikan has a population of 14,500 and is built along a

steep hillside, with sections of the town built right over the
water on pilings. An outstanding collection of totem poles
make a visit to Ketchikan essential for anyone interested
in Native art. Ketchikan's name supposedly comes from the
native term "Katch Kanna", which roughly translates:
"spread wings of a thundering eagle" and rightly named,
for you only need to look along the water line and you're
likely to see many bald eagles on waterside perches.

Our beautiful town is located on the western coast of Revillagigedo Island, near the
southernmost boundary of Alaska. It is 679 miles north of Seattle and 235 miles south of
Juneau. The 2.2 million acre Misty Fjords National Monument lies 22 air miles east of
Ketchikan. Ketchikan is the first Alaska port of call for northbound cruise ships and State
ferries. It lies at approximately 55° 20' N Latitude, 131° 38' W Longitude. The area
encompasses 3 sq. miles of land and 1 sq. miles of water. The area lies in the maritime
climate zone noted for its warm winters, cool summers, and heavy precipitation. Summer
temperatures range from 51 to 65; winter temperatures range from 29 to 39. Ketchikan
averages 162 inches (13.5 feet) of precipitation annually, including 32 inches of snowfall.

Established originally as a fishing camp, Ketchikan today bustles with activity. Ketchikan
almost seems today like it had been built for its many visitors. The Ketchikan Airport is
located on its own island, Garvina Island. From Ketchikan's airport it is a short ferry ride
across Tongass Narrows to the city of Ketchikan. We also welcome one or more Alaska State
Ferries nearly everyday and cruise ships grace our harbor from May through September. On
a busy day, we could have as many as 6 large cruise ships at a time in our harbor.

1. Cole was sent to a remote island off the coast of Ketchikan, Alaska.
What type of climate does Ketchikan have?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. Explain how Ketchikan received its name.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5
 Predicting

Directions: Think about the ideas listed below and freewrite on each of the
ideas. Be prepared to discuss your thoughts with other students and the
class. Can you predict what is going to happen in the novel?

1. bully

2. abused child

3. Spirit Bear

4. Tlingit Indians

5. totem poles

6. forgiveness

7. circle of life

6
 characters

Directions: Describe the following characters as you read about them in the
book.

Cole Matthews:________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Peter Driscal:__________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Garvey:________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Edwin:_________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

William Matthews:______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Cindy Matthews:________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Rosey:__________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

7
 Study guide

Directions: Write a brief answer to each study question as you read the
novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class
discussion.

Chapters 1-
1-2, pp. 3-
3-25

1. How long will Cole be in Southeast Alaska?

2. What kind of Native American is Garvey?

3. How old is Cole?

4. Why is Cole in trouble this time?

5. In the past, how did Cole act when he got in trouble?

6. What is Cole’s plan to avoid jail?

7. What plant does Edwin say will cause infected hands?

8. Why isn’t Cole’s shelter closer to the stream?

9. What does the Spirit Bear possess?

10. What is an at.oow?

11. How long is Cole held in detention?

12. Who trashes Cole’s room at the detention center and bloodies his
knuckles?

13. What does Cole do as soon as the skiff is out of sight?

8
 Story Map

Directions: Begin the story map and continue to add to it as you read the
novel.

Title

Setting, Characters, Problems, Solution

Series of Events

9
 Study guide

Directions: Write a brief answer to each study question as you read the
novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class
discussion.

Chapters 3-
3-5, pp. 26-
26-46

1. What does Garvey bring to Cole’s cell?

2. What does Cole do with the ingredients?

3. How does Cole plan to escape from the island?

4. What does Garvey call Cole instead of Champ, the name he usually

calls him?

5. Where do Cole’s parents sit at Circle Justice?

6. How many of Cole’s classmates show up for Circle Justice?

7. What two obligations must speakers fulfill at the Circle?

8. What does the Circle want to believe about Cole?

9. Why can’t Cole swim away from the island?

10. What scares Cole after he makes it back to shore?

11. What presence does Cole see?

12. What does Cole find near the ashes of the shelter?

10
Understanding Circle Justice

On the Mille Lacs Reservation in Minnesota some

criminal offenders are offered an alternative to doing time in a
way that integrates North American Indian spirituality and the
United States' justice system. With the cooperation of
traditional municipal and criminal courts, criminals who plead
guilty to certain types of crimes are allowed by the court to
sign an agreement accepting responsibility for their
wrongdoing and committing themselves to working through a
spiritually based process to change their behavior and make
restitution to the victims and their community. This
alternative approach to dealing with criminals is called "circle
sentencing" and comes from a Native American practice called
"talking circles".

Directions: Write a scenario for a Justice Circle. Decide on an offender and

his offense, his victim, and list others who would attend the circle.

Who?_________________________________________________________________

What was the offense?__________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Victim?________________________________________________________________

List those who would attend the circle.

_______________________________ _________________________________

_______________________________ _________________________________

_______________________________ _________________________________

_______________________________ _________________________________

_______________________________ _________________________________

11
 Study guide

Directions: Write a brief answer to each study question as you read the
novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class
discussion.

Chapters 6-
6-8, pp. 47-
47-73

1. Who does Cole argue with at the Circle?

2. At the Circle Garvey says Cole has will and courage, but what does he

also have?

3. What does Peter feel will make things better?

4. When will the tide come in?

5. Who does Cole blame for his banishment on the island?

6. At the end of one year’s banishment, who will decide what happens to

Cole?

7. What does Cole make to fight the bear?

8. What does Cole find to eat?

9. What does Cole grab to help him pull away from the bear?

10. What does Cole kill while he’s lying hurt, barely breathing?

11. Where does Cole wish he were?

12
 Spirit Bear Facts
• The Kermode or Spirit Bear is a black bear that has white fur due to a rare genetic trait. The bear is
not albino, as it typically has a brown nose and eyes.
• It is named after Frank Kermode, former director of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria.
• The greatest concentration of Spirit Bears are found on the Central Coast and North Coast of
British Columbia, Canada, but have been documented in northeast British Columbia and as far
east in North America as Minnesota.
• It is illegal to hunt the Spirit Bear in B.C.
• In British Columbia, the greatest number of Spirit Bears are found on Princess Royal Island,
where as many as one-tenth of the black bears born are white.
• The Spirit Bear, like most black bears, weighs about half a pound when born and generally
between 150-300 pounds when fully grown.
• The bear’s body length, measured from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, averages between
four and six feet. Its height, measured from the bottom of the paw flat on the ground to the highest
part of the shoulders, is between two-and-a-half and three feet.
• Spirit Bears, like most black bears, are omnivores. They eat berries, nuts, fruits, roots, grasses and
other plants, insects, deer and moose fawns, carrion and – during the salmon season from late
summer through fall – spawning salmon.
• They are usually solitary, except females with offspring. Males keep large home ranges
overlapping with smaller ranges of several females.
• Females reach sexual maturity at three to four years of age. Mating takes place during the summer
months, with gestation taking about 220 days. Cubs are born in their mother’s winter den in
January or February, and are weaned at about eight months, but may remain with their mother for
up to a year-and-a-half, when she is ready to mate again.
• Spirit Bears can live for more than 25 years in the wild. They can go without food for up to seven
months during hibernation in northern areas.

Directions: Sketch a picture of how you envision the spirit bear in the novel.

13
 Study guide

Directions: Write a brief answer to each study question as you read the
novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class
discussion.

Chapters 9-
9-12, pp. 74-
74-102

1. What does Cole watch in the spruce tree?

2. What does Cole imagine is covering him?

3. After the storm passes, what reminds Cole of the circle Garvey spoke

of?

4. What does Cole understand as the circle of life and death?

5. What does Cole decide is the real power?

6. What is the first thing Cole eats after the mauling?

7. What other things does Cole eat while he is unable to walk?

8. After Cole spits at the bear, what does the bear do?

9. What does Cole imagine he is in his dream?

10. How does Cole see the world after the spirit bear disappears?

11. Who rescues Cole?

12. How is Cole taken from the island?

14
 How well do you know Cole?

Directions: Within each box, record evidence about Cole from the book.

Cole’s Statements
Statements Cole’s Behavior Cole’s Fears

Cole

Cole’s Thoughts How Cole Looks

Looks Others’ Actions
Toward Cole

15
 Study guide

Directions: Write a brief answer to each study question as you read the
novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class
discussion.

Chapters 13-
13-15, pp. 103-
103-133

1. Who is Rosey?

2. What do the people in Cole’s nightmare call him?

3. What does Cole do with the white hair he pulled from the bear?

4. Who escorts Cole to the detention center?

5. Why does Cole think the bear attacked him?

6. In what way has Cole’s mother changed?

7. What happened to Cole’s dad when he was a child?

8. Who is the surprise visitor to Circle Justice?

9. Who told Edwin he saw a white bear on the island where Cole was

banished?

10. Who will finance Cole’s banishment this time?

11. What is the new sentence imposed on Cole?

16
 Conflict

The conflict of a story is the struggle between two people or two forces. There
are four main types of conflict: person vs. person, person vs. nature, person
vs. society, or person vs. self.

Directions: In the space provided, list four conflicts Cole experiences and
justify why you identify it with that particular type pf conflict. Then explain
how each conflict is resolved in the story.

Person vs. Person

Conflict Resolution

Person vs. Nature

Conflict Resolution

Person vs. Society

Conflict Resolution

Person vs. Self

Conflict Resolution

17
 Character Feelings chart

Directions: In the boxes across from each of the feelings, describe an incident
or time in the novel when each of the listed characters experienced that
feeling.

Cole Peter Edwin Garvey

Frustration

Anger

Fear

Humiliation

Relief

18
 Study guide

Directions: Write a brief answer to each study question as you read the
novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class
discussion.

Chapters 16-
16-18, pp. 134-
134-157

1. How long does it take to get from Drake to the island in the skiff?

2. How does Edwin disable the skiff engine?

3. What should Cole celebrate during his time on the island?

4. How does Cole feel toward Peter now?

5. Where does Edwin take Cole before sunrise?

6. Once Cole breaks off the left end of the stick, what does he still have?

7. What does Cole see for the first time in the bay?

8. What type of dance does Cole perform?

9. What does Cole carry up the hill that symbolizes his ancestors?

19
 Anger Management

Directions: Cole has some anger management issues throughout the book.
He also has to deal with the consequences because of his actions. Write about
a time when you were angry.

Why were you angry? What did you do?_____________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Were there any consequences because of your actions?_____________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

20
 Study guide

Directions: Write a brief answer to each study question as you read the
novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class
discussion.

Chapters 19-
19-21, pp. 158-
158-184

1. What does Cole mistake for a coyote?

2. Why does Garvey tell Cole he’s taking him back to Minneapolis?

3. What does Cole learn from the wolf dance?

4. What does Cole think about when he stumbles while carrying the

ancestor rock up the hill?

5. Cole’s not afraid of the bear, but what is he afraid of on the island?

6. When all three go to the pool, who leads the way?

7. What does Garvey give Cole before he leaves the island?

8. What does Cole first decide to make out of the huge log?

9. Who does Cole wish he could help?

21
 Cole’s Letter

Directions: Write a letter from Cole to Peter showing his true feelings and
thoughts after reading the previous chapters.

Dear Peter,
______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Sincerely,

Cole Matthews
Matthews

22
 Study guide

Directions: Write a brief answer to each study question as you read the
novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class
discussion.

Chapters 22-
22-25, pp. 185-
185-214

1. What does Cole do to his skin to make himself invisible?

2. How does Cole betray the beaver’s trust?

3. What does Cole discover he has to do to make himself invisible?

4. What does Cole address as if it’s a person from his past during his

dance of anger?

5. Who has Cole forgiven by the end of the dance of anger?

6. Why hasn’t Cole been able to carve anything in the empty space of the

totem to show forgiveness?

7. How does Cole celebrate Christmas?

8. What has Peter tried to do?

9. What is Cole’s plan to help Peter?

10. Who will stay with the boys on the island?

23
 Deep Thought

Directions: Write a well-developed paragraph with your thoughts about the

following question and Cole’s progress with his own thoughts about Peter.

How would the novel have changed if Peter had succeeded in his
suicide attempt? Would Cole have ever found peace?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

24
 Study guide

Directions: Write a brief answer to each study question as you read the
novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class
discussion.

Chapters 26-
26-28, pp. 215-
215-240

1. What is Cole’s favorite meal on the island?

2. What does Mr. Driscal tell Cole will happen if he hurts Peter again?

3. In one of his first overtures to Peter, what does Cole give him?

4. Who has filed for custody of Cole?

5. What is Peter’s first aggressive act toward Cole?

6. Who tells Cole he can come inside the cabin?

7. Who destroys Cole’s totem pole carving of the bear?

8. What is Peter’s first dance?

9. In the past, why did Cole have to prove things?

10. After Cole hugs Peter, what do the boys see?

11. What do the boys carve in the empty space of Cole’s totem pole?

25
 Totem Pole ideas

Directions: Make a list of animals in our area that could be

carved into totems or have dances named for them, along with
their characteristics.

Animal Characteristics

26
 Your Letter

Directions: Write a letter of apology to someone you have hurt. Be sincere

and show that you have grown as a result of this thought process.

Dear _________________,
______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Sincerely,
_________________________

27
 Vocabulary – Chapters 1-5

Directions: Write the part of speech, definition, and your own sentence for
each.

defiantly (3):

omen (3):

banishment (3):

juvenile (4):

smirk (5):

grudgingly (15):

shrouded (16):

venomous (24):

sullenly (26):

scoffed (33):

collapsed (42):

wavered (44):

28
 Vocabulary – Chapters 6-10

Directions: Write the part of speech, definition, and your own sentence for
each.

taunted (47):

unflinching (49):

persistent (52):

turbulent (60):

charred (61):

cavity (62):

eternity (67):

haphazard (75):

relentlessly (76):

torrents (77):

solitary (82):

suffocating (85):

29
 Vocabulary – Chapters 11-21

Directions: Write the part of speech, definition, and your own sentence for
each.

dredged (92):

parched (99):

surged (100):

delirium (101):

creased (103):

vengeance (108):

reverently (124):

scouring (136):

galvanized (159):

quizzically (170):

hypnotic (172):

talons (180):

30
 Vocabulary – Chapters 22-28

Directions: Write the part of speech, definition, and your own sentence for
each.

hectic (189):

writhed (193):

treacherous (198):

assaulted (217):

withdrawn (223):

incident (223):

incredible (232):

massive (238):

31
 buffy

I was stopped once for speeding in my pickup truck.

As the highway patrol officer wrote me a ticket, our
pet, Buffy, poked his head out the open window,
grabbed the ticket pad from the officer's hand and
ate it.

The officer stared, speechless, then drove away and

totally forgot my citation.

You would too. Buffy is a 7-foot, 700-pound black

bear!

32