Creative Teaching Resources for
by Walt Morey (1965)
LitWits Activities, Takeaway Topics, Learning Links, and Prop Ideas
In pre-statehood Alaska, 13-year-old Mark, feeling family loss, makes friends with a captive bear. When the friendship is discovered, Mark's dad buys Ben on the condition that Mark must take full responsibility for him. When Ben's former owner provokes the bear and is injured as a result, the fearful townspeople want Ben shot. As Mark and his father seek solutions (and salmon!), Mark learns what to let go of, what to hang on to, and what it really means to be a man.
ACTIVITIES ON THIS PAGE:
Paint a salmon and teach Ben to fish
Grab a bite and chat with Ben
Write a father-son fishing conversation
Design a can label...if you can
Analyze some standout similes and awful alternatives
Meet the author
Get your BEARings
Review plot points on the narrative arc
Wrap it up with a travel sticker!
ON THIS PAGE:
Printables: preview of worksheets and activity printables for sale
Takeaway Topics: teaching points made meaningful through activities
Prop Ideas: story objects that make abstract ideas more memorable
Learning Links: curated external links for lesson prep or tangential learning
Terms of Use: how you may use LitWits® resources
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Creative Teaching Idea #1
Bears cannot live on bread alone—they must learn to fish! If not for Mark and his mom teaching Ben to catch salmon, Ben wouldn't have had the skills to live in the wild. And if not for Mark and his dad spending time together salmon fishing, Mark might not have learned what it takes to be a man.
Salmon are SO important in this story! And they're beautiful, too, which begs a fun, sciencey art project. In this activity, kids watercolor a "paint-by-answer" salmon according to a funny quiz that teaches them salmon facts.
Then, salmon in hand just like Mark, they get to teach Ben to fish!
Our printables set includes the paint-by-number fish and the bear template.
Per child:
black cardstock (2)
glue
scissors
cup of water
napkin for blotting
In our printables set:
fish template
bear template
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SET THE MOOD
Show the kids this awesome video of Alaskan bears catching salmon:
INTRO
Don't all the leaping fish and hungry bears in this story make you want to teach your own bear to fish?
Well, first you have to catch a salmon. Clearwater had to use his belt, but you can use a paintbrush instead!
We’re going to paint the salmon by number, but this isn’t just any paint-by-number. We'll take a little salmon-facts quiz to figure out the right color for each number, one at a time.
READY? HERE WE GO!
Paint your salmon by number as we test our fish-smarts!
Creative Teaching Idea #2
BookBites
In the opening scene, an unknown beast rips the paper bag from Mark's hand—and then we find out that it's his gentle friend Ben. He's as hungry as a bear, and he knows there's a snack for him in that bag! Since Mark later earns money to buy bread and pastries for Ben, a bear claw pastry in a paper bag gives kids "a bite of Gentle Ben," so to speak.
In this activity, kids "grab a bite" and have a two-way chat with the great brown bear himself! A giant cardboard bear and a hidden speaker go a lot farther than you'd think in getting kids to "buy in" to their back-and-forth with Ben.
Click the Directions tab below to learn how to pull this off! Our printables set includes the Q&A audio files you'll need to get Ben talking, along with answers to his trickier questions.
Set includes all worksheets and activity printables.
Included with our printables set:
Q&A audio files (playlist)
Answers to Ben's tricker questions
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SETUP
Fill the brown paper bags with bearclaw pastries, one per child, and roll them up. Place them on a surface or in a bowl.
Set up Ben where kids can approach him one by one during the activity (or two by two if they're nervous!). Put the speaker behind him, or wedge it into his prop-up panel. Place him in a corner or against a wall where the kids won't walk around him. Of course they'll see him when they arrive, but won't have any idea he can TALK!
INTRO
Discuss the opening scene, focusing on Walt Morey's ability to create tension. Remind the kids of Ben's "grab-bag" approach, and the author's skill in revealing that the secret beast was a bear.
Show them your stash of stuffed brown bags, and say "Ben's happy to share what he found in that bag, but he'd like to get acquainted before you eat together." Pretend you don't have a lesson planned for this. "Hmmm, how can we get to know more about brown bears? Shall we head to the library, or the zoo, or use Google to learn a few facts?"
As they're responding, at the perfect moment of your choosing, push a button that makes the giant cardboard Ben say "HI THERE!" in his booming voice —and watch your kids' eyes! 👀
Act as if this voice-from-nowhere startles you too. (Trust us, the kids are soooo willing to suspend disbelief!). Then have volunteers go face to face with Ben, who (as you choose questions from the playlist) will ask them their names, and some questions about bears and the story.
When they answer him correctly, make him say "Good answer!" or "You got it!" or "That's right!" or "Good for you!" Somehow, this is always hilarious.
Then (or at any time, up to you) they can pick up their own brown bag and enjoy. . . a bear claw pastry. Do point out that this isn't just a punny pastry, but one that symbolizes all Mark's hard work to buy bread and pastries for his beloved bear—and also his mom's willingness to bake cakes for Ben. It's a symbol of responsibility and care.
OPTION: You can have your kids "learn to earn" facts to earn (faux) coins to buy the pastries from you, displayed on a table, as in a store, and put into a brown bag after purchase. This provides a chance to talk about Mark's ability to step up, take responsibility, negotiate a deal, do hard work, and earn money to buy bread and pastries for Ben.
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Creative Teaching Idea #3
Mark and his dad were at sea for almost a month, but the author doesn't often let us in on their conversations. In this activity, kids create some father-son dialogue, using boating and fishing terms from the story.
Walt Morey struggled to learn punctuation in his youth, so we make it a point to add some punctuation tips in our creative writing and vocabulary worksheet.
Creative Teaching Idea #4
At the end of this story, Mark's dad and Peter King are about to start a salmon canning factory. They'll be needing a branded label, so let's wrap up this Alaskan adventure with a label design.
Salmon labeling of this era is an art form all to itself. It seems as if the canneries were competing for the most colorful labels, happiest looking fish, most stunning settings, and most adventsuresome fishermen. Sometimes the fish look like they can’t WAIT to jump out of the pristine waters of Alaska or Canada or Oregon, and straight into the can.
The project template in our printables set is based on a sample from the White Star Brand.
For each child:
14.5 oz or 1-pint can (you can use a full can of whatever, or you can use empty cans the kids can use as treasure stashes, pencil cups, or dog/cat/bear treat containers.)
glue stick
our printable templates OR a piece of paper - trimmed for either for a 16 oz (pint) can (3 7/8” x 10.5”) or for a 14.75 oz can (9 1/4” x 4“)
Included with our printables set:
model and template (includes two options, for 14.5 oz can and for 1 pt can)
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INTRO
In the Falling Action, the narrator tells us that Mark's dad and Peter King are going to start a canning factory. That's how Walt Morey lets us walk away knowing the Andersens don't have to worry about money anymore!
DIRECTIONS
Draw pictures in the open spaces on the paper or template. The illustrations could be of Mark and his dad fishing, or a beautiful Alaskan scene—even a picture of Ben catching a giant delicious salmon straight from the river.
Don't forget the name of the company, a catchy slogan, and any other details that might help your can stand out in the grocery store's canned fish aisle.
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Creative Teaching Idea #5
Some similes work and some just . . . don't. In this activity, you'll review some of Walt Morey's best similes, and talk about why they work so well. Then your kids can come up with some awful alternatives to prove your point.
Or you can use our creative writing worksheet, which provides some of Walt's best similes alongside some inferior alternatives to analyze, and asks kids to write better options.
Creative Teaching Idea #6
Without the author, we wouldn't have this marvelous story! We think it's important to know where your books have come from. So introduce your kids to the widely-lived Walt Morey through our short video, which shares kid-friendly, interesting aspects of his interesting life.
Our printables set includes a worksheet for author note-taking and conversation-starting.
Creative Teaching Idea #7
You can't read this book and not want to live in Alaska—or not be glad you already do! Find Alaska on a map to help your kids get their bearings 🐻 so they can see how big it is, and where it is in relation to other countries.
The exact place and time of Gentle Ben aren't given; we're only told that Orca City could have been "any one of a dozen fishing villages along the coast," and that the story takes place before statehood.
Our geography worksheet shows Alaska in context. It also helps kids use story clues to narrow down the time period, which boosts their "figuring out" skills.
Creative Teaching Idea #8
Help kids learn the important concept of story order (useful for all communications!) and see how Walt Morley arranged Gentle Ben. You can discuss the narrative arc in any of these three ways:
At the end of your activities, introduce the concept of the narrative arc, then help kids figure out where the different parts of this story fit on it.
OR introduce the concept and complete the worksheet before the activities, so kids have a review of the story fresh in their heads first, and you can remind them "where we are" on the arc as you go.
OR introduce the concept up front, but save the story's scenes to discuss as you go, pausing to "do what the characters did" in fun hands-on ways, while weaving in discussions and other worksheets.
Our narrative arc worksheet summarizes the story by plot point, and has them symbolize each point.
Creative Teaching Idea #9
You've just taken your kids on a field trip through this great book! Don't you think they'd love a sticker to prove they've "been there and back again"? (Or, as one of our kids said, "I've BEN there!")
Reward everyone with a souvenir travel sticker, included in our printables set. Kids like to collect our stickers to decorate a reading kit, like an old briefcase or suitcase that can hold a book, bookmark, glasses, snack, blanket, journal, pen, and whatever!
You're off to share the best of this great book in fun, hands-on ways!
It's helpful to know this book's big teaching points ahead of time, and explore some fascinating links to add to your lessons. Read through these Takeaway Topics, then explore the supportive Prop Ideas and Learning Links below them. Make notes as you go, so you’ll remember what you want to share, and when.
Our worksheets and activity printables connect to these key ideas.
To keep Ben, Mark Andersen learns to step up and do some hard things—scythe grass, negotiate a job with the irascible Mr. Kelly, work hard to earn money, and go to sea with his dad for a month. But the hardest thing he has to learn to do is let go of someone you love. Mark lets go of his dream of being with Ben forever and gives him his freedom— but perhaps that's not all he releases. Maybe he's also vicariously letting go of another loss, the dream of sharing life with Jamie, the brother who died. Yet, as the ending shows us, those we love are never too far off.
There's a lot to learn about Alaskan wildlife in this story, historically and biologically, though it takes some outside research. We've done that for you though; see our Learning Links and activities for fascinating bear and salmon facts. Do you know grizzly bears and brown bears are the same species, but are differentiated by their habitats? Do you know which two trout are in the same genus as salmon, but spawn more than once? Neither did we. We thought Rainbow and Cutthroat sounded more like a hippie girl and her biker boyfriend. 😂
Salmon fishing dominates this book, from Ben's face-first, one-fish catch to the Far North's capture of thousands of salmon in seine nets, to the fish traps that caught millions (and were outlawed in 1959). There are lots of learning opportunities on this subject in our Learning Links. (Governor Egan's comments on page 3 of this 2006 report by Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the data on that page, are especially salient.) Our creative writing and vocabulary activity and our can label project help kids get their hands on some industry terms.
Scroll for more, or browse other titles.
A table of props pulled “straight from the story” can lead to all sorts of wonderful discussions and wide-eyed, “aha!” moments. Props that are unique to the setting, help kids understand “what that was like,” and props that are symbolic of takeaway topics make big ideas visual and tangible.
As you read, keep an eye out for items from the book you might like to collect and share, and ask your kids to do the same. You’d be surprised how many things might be hiding in plain sight. Grandparents, garages, attics, and junk drawers sometimes yield the greatest treasures.
Here are a few prop ideas for this book:
cans wrapped in vintage salmon can labels
grasses (if not tundra!)
boulder (ideally with grubs underneath)
thick chain
fishing net
If you have a gentle brown (or black) dog, you can add a bear to your classroom.
Gentle Darcy, 2005-2020
Explore these links to supplement your reading experience, research points of interest, and prompt tangential learning opportunities.
About the Book & Author
VIDEO: Our short kid-friendly biography of Walt Morey
All about Walt Morey - Walt Morey Library
Our blog post: "Gentle Men in Gentle Ben"
Reviews - Amazon (affiliate link)
Free online edition of Gentle Ben - Internet Archive
Other books by Walt Morey, free online - Internet Archive
Story Supplements
Alaska
Hinchinbrook Island (Ben's new home) - Alaska.guide
Valdez (nearest city to Hinchinbrook Island) - Alaska.guide
Video: Why Alaska Has a Panhandle - Geo All Day
Scything
Video: How to Scythe - Simple Ground
Bears
Video: Alaskan grizzly bears catching salmon - BBC
Video: How Do Brown Bears Hunt for Salmon - Wild Alaska Live, BBC
Salmon
Life cycle of the salmon - Pacific Salmon Foundation
Alaska's Wild Salmon - Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game
Chinook salmon facts - Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game
Sockeye salmon facts - Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game
Fishing
PDF: "The Commercial Salmon Fishery in Alaska" (2006) - Alaska Fish & Game
Chronicles: History of Alaska's Salmon Traps - AlaskaPublic.org
SLIDESHOW: All about Fish Traps in Alaska Before and After Statehood - by Robynn Schroeder
PDF: The history of fish traps in Alaska - Alaska Department of Fish & Gameska
PDF: "Salmon fish traps in Alaska" - paper by Steve Colt, 1999
Canneries
Alaska's Historic Canneries - Alaska Historical Society
History of Cook Inlet Canneries - Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game
Beyond the Book
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LitWits teaching ideas and materials for Gentle Ben by Walt Morey
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