Elizabeth George Speare
Greetings. The following materials are intended to provide an introduction to Elizabeth George Speare. They were assembled from the World Wide Web, ERIC Database, and a variety of other bibliographic resources. Instructions for acquiring the full text of the ERIC records are presented at the end of this file.
Mei-Yu Lu
Literacy Specialist
Alphabetically arranged listing of bibliographies
Categorically arranged listing of bibliographies
Internet Sites
Elizabeth George Speare (Educational Paperback Association)
Signs in Speare's "The Sign of the Beaver"
The Bronze Bow (lesson plan 1)
The Bronze Bow (lesson plan 2)
The Sign of the Beaver (lesson plan 1)
The Sign of the Beaver (lesson plan 2)
The Sign of the Beaver (lesson plan 3)
The Sign of the Beaver (lesson plan 4)
The Sign of the Beaver (lesson plan 5)
The Sign of the BeaveróFact of Fiction: An Analysis of Historical Fiction Literature by Elizabeth George Speare)
The Sign of the Beaver Project
The Witch of Blackbird pond (lesson plan 1)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (lesson plan 2)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (lesson plan 3)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (lesson plan 4)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond Resources
Newberys and Net: The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Readers Theatre Script)
Online Discussion Groups/Listservs
Book Discussion Groups for Kids
Mailing Lists Related to Children's Literature
Citations from the ERIC Database
AN: EJ506341
AU: Moseley,-Ann
TI: Signs in Speare's "The Sign of the Beaver."
PY: 1995
SO: ALAN-Review; v22 n3 p19-21 Spr 1995
DE: *Adolescent-Literature; *Language-Role; *Literature-Appreciation; *Novels-
DE: American-Indians; Cultural-Context; Nonverbal-Communication; Secondary-Education; Semiotics-
AB: Describes the use of signs in Elizabeth George Speare's "The Sign of the Beaver," in which a settler youth and a young Indian learn to communicate by signs, and how the signs reveal much about each character's culture. Summarizes the plot elements of the book, including characters who are not as sympathetic to the Indian point of view. (PA)
AN: ED414222
AU: Kelly,-Joanne
TI: Newbery Authors of the Eastern Seaboard: Integrating Social Studies and Literature, Grades 5-8.
PY: 1994
AV: Teacher Ideas Press, P.O. Box 6633, Englewood, CO 80155-6633.
NT: Photographs by Charles Kelly; drawings and maps by Pat Martin.
PR: Document Not Available from EDRS.
DE: *Authors-; *Childrens-Literature; *Geography-; *Integrated-Activities; *Locational-Skills-Social-Studies; *Map-Skills
DE: Interdisciplinary-Approach; Intermediate-Grades; Junior-High-Schools; Language-Arts; Maps-; Social-Studies
AB: This guide, designed for use in upper elementary and junior high classrooms focuses on literary works by authors Cynthia Voigt, Elizabeth George Spear, Katherine Paterson, and Marguerite Henry, as a means of developing map skills and exploring the roads, towns, homes, landscapes, and eras of the authors. The geographic setting of each story is described and relevant activities are given. These activities encourage interdisciplinary learning in social studies, history, literature, and geography. Eastern seaboard locations inclu
DE: Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, Virginia; Wethersfield, Connecticut; Crisfield, Maryland; and Smith and Tangier Islands in the Chesapeake Bay. Photographs, maps, drawings, book summaries, information about the featured authors, discussion questions, and reading lists are included. (MM)
AN: EJ489189
AU: Sullivan,-Emilie-P.
TI: Three Good Juvenile Books with Literacy Models.
PY: 1994 SO: Journal-of-Reading; v38 n1 p55 Sep 1994
DE: *Adolescent-Literature; *Literacy-; *Reading-Attitudes; *Reading-Difficulties
DE: Bibliotherapy-; Junior-High-Schools; Novels-
AB: Discusses three Newbery Award-winning books that can be used to stimulate discussion of reading attitudes and difficulties: "Maniac Magee" (Jerry Spinelli, 1990); "Sign of the Beaver" (Elizabeth Speare, 1983); and "Dicey's Song" (Cynthia Voigt, 1982). (RS)
AN: EJ486250
AU: Tighe,-Mary-Ann; Avinger,-Charles
TI: Teaching Tomorrow's Classics.
PY: 1994 SO: ALAN-Review; v21 n3 p9-13 Spr 1994
DE: *Adolescent-Literature; *English-Instruction; *Novels-
DE: Childrens-Literature; English-Curriculum; Fiction-; Secondary-Education
AB: Describes young adult novels that may prove to be classics of the genre. Discusses "The "Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier, "The Outsiders" by S. E. Hinton, "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare, and "On Fortune's Wheel" by Cynthia Voight. (HB)
AN: EJ367225
AU: Speare,-Elizabeth-George
TI: The Survival Story.
PY: 1988 SO: Horn-Book-Magazine; v64 n2 p163-72 Mar-Apr 1988
DE: *Childrens-Literature; *Creative-Writing; *Literature-Appreciation; *Writing-Processes
DE: Authors-; Literary-Genres; Personal-Narratives; Psychological-Needs; Writing-Composition; Writing-for-Publication; Writing-Improvement
AB: An author traces the development of a survival story, "The Sign of the Beaver," and examines the elements basic to the genre in some other well-known stories. (SD)
AN: EJ323433
AU: Thuente,-Mary-Helen
TI: Beyond Historical Fiction: Speare's "The Witch of Blackbird Pond."
PY: 1985 SO: English-Journal; v74 n6 p50-55 Oct 1985
DE: *Adolescent-Literature; *English-Instruction; *Literature-Appreciation
DE: Folk-Culture; Literary-Criticism; Novels-; Secondary-Education
AB: Reviews "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by E. Speare to show how the full narrative power of the novel derives from the author's successful integration of two separate narrative genres: historical fiction and the folktale. (EL)
AN: ED249536
AU: Kinman,-Judith-R.; Henderson,-Darwin-L.
TI: A Guide to Newbery Medal Winners and Honor Books, 1977-1984.
PY: 1984
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC02 Plus Postage.
DE: *Awards-; *Childrens-Literature; *Reading-Material-Selection; *Sex-Bias; *Sex-Role; *Sex-Stereotypes
DE: Books-; Content-Analysis; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Evaluation-Criteria; Females-; Guidelines-; Males-; Parent-Role; Teacher-Role
AB: Intended for use by teachers, librarians, and parents, this guide analyzes Newbery Award Medal and honor winning books (1977 through 1984) for sexism. Following a statement of criteria, established by the American Library Association concerning the type of book that should receive the medal and honor citations, and the guidelines used to determine sexism in the books, the guide analyzes the following 27 books: (1) "Roll of Thunder, Hear Me Cry," by M. Taylor; (2) "Abel's Island," by W. Stieg; (3) "A String in the Harp," by N. Bond; (4) "Bridge to Terabithia," by K. Paterson; (5) "Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey," by J. Highwater; (6) "Ramona and Her Father," by B. Cleary; (7) "The Westing Game," by E. Raskin; (8) "The Great Gilly Hopkins," by K. Paterson; (9) "A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32," by J. Blos; (10) "The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl," by D. Kherdian; (11) "Jacob I Have Loved," by K. Paterson; (12) "The Fledgling," by J. Langton; (13) "A Ring of Endless Light," by M. L'Engle; (14) "A Visit to William Blake's Inn," by N. Willard; (15) "Ramona Quimby, Age 8," by B. Cleary; (16) "Upon the Head of a Goat," by A. Siegal; (17) "Dicey's Song," by C. Voight; (18) "Dr. Desoto," by W. Steig; (19) "Graven Images," by P. Fleischman; (20) "Homesick: My Own Story," by J. Fritz; (21) "Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush," by V. Hamilton; (22) "The Blue Sword," by R. McKinley; (23) "Dear Mr. Henshaw," by B. Cleary; (24) "Sugaring Time," by K. Lasky; (25) "A Solitary Blue," by C. Voight; (26) "The Sign of the Beaver," by E. G. Speare; and (27) "The Wish Giver," by B. Brittain. (FL)
AN: ED248541
AU: Bailey,-Dale-S.
TI: The Young Adult Novel in the Curriculum: Three Books That Might Work.
PY: 1984
NT: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English Spring Conference (Columbus, OH, April 12-14, 1984).
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
DE: *Adolescent-Literature; *English-Curriculum; *Literature-Appreciation; *Reading-Material-Selection
DE: Elementary-Secondary-Education; English-Instruction; Instructional-Materials; Student-Attitudes
AB: Three young adult novels published in 1983 or 1984 that are worthy of a place in the literature curriculum are discussed. These books have a special appeal to adolescents, deal with problems students might encounter growing up, expand their self-awareness and their experiences, and are teachable. They contain balanced, recognizable, and discernible themes, a challenging but not formidable vocabulary, and literary devices for discussion such as symbol, paradox, point of view, and style. The first book is "The Sign of Beaver," by Elizabeth George Speare, the story of a young boy's survival alone and his relationship with the Indians in eighteenth century Maine. The second is "The Callender Papers," by Cynthia Voigt. This is a mystery suspense story about a young girl who is employed to sort through the Callender family papers and who discovers a suspicious death, a kidnapping, and an altered will. The final book is Robert Cormier's "The Bumblebee Flies Anyway," about a boy in an experimental hospital ward for terminally ill boys. While a fine book, it may pose problems for the public, and teachers will likely have to point out to students that the patients are in the facility willingly. However, dealing with the story's paradoxes and symbols will be a rewarding and uplifting challenge. (HTH)
AN: ED239213
AU: Blair-Broeker,-Lynn
TI: The Years Alone: A Reading Comprehension Unit (7-9).
CS: Area Education Agency 7, Cedar Falls, IA.
PY: 1980
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.
DE: *Cognitive-Processes; *Critical-Reading; *Loneliness-; *Reading-Comprehension; *Thematic-Approach
DE: Childrens-Literature; Convergent-Thinking; Junior-High-Schools; Learning-Activities; Logical-Thinking; Social-Isolation; Units-of-Study; Vocabulary-Development; Word-Lists
AB: Based on Bloom's Taxonomy of thought, this thematic reading comprehension unit on "loneliness" is intended for teachers of grades 7-9. The thinking process is broken into six categories: (1) recall; (2) inference; (3) application; (4) analysis; (5) synthesis; and (6) evaluation. A short description is given for each of these processes. Students are introduced to this unit by reading a short story entitled "Orphan Pup" by Mitchell Jayne. After reading and discussing this short story, the students are asked to select one of the following five novels: "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell; "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Spears; "Light in the Forest" by Conrad Richter; "Summer of My German Soldier" by Betty Greene; and "Slake's Limbo" by Felice Holman. A synopsis of each book is given followed by study material organized chapter by chapter for each book. The study material consists of vocabulary lists, questions which cover the first three thinking processes (question one covers recall, question two covers inference, and question three covers application), and activities which cover the three higher levels of thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation). This document is part of a collection of materials from the Iowa Education Agency 7 Teacher Center project. (EM)
 Learning Together |
Other resources from Doucette Index: K-12 Literature-Based Teaching Ideas (materials available via libraries or bookstores)
Speare, Elizabeth George
The sign of the beaver
See pp.137-146:
Kruise, Carol Sue
Those bloomin' books: a handbook for extending thinking skills (Littleton, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1987)
Speare, Elizabeth George
The bronze bow
See pp.155-162:
Beetz, Kirk H.
Beacham's guide to literature for young adults, Vol. 1 (Washington, D.C: Beacham Publishing, 1989)
Speare, Elizabeth George
The sign of the beaver
See pp.1213-1217:
Beetz, Kirk H.
Beacham's guide to literature for young adults, Vol. 3 (Washington, D.C: Beacham Publishing, 1990)
Speare, Elizabeth George
The witch of Blackbird Pond
See pp.1485-1491:
Beetz, Kirk H.
Beacham's guide to literature for young adults, Vol. 3 (Washington, D.C: Beacham Publishing, 1990)
Speare, Elizabeth George
The sign of the beaver
See pp.112-117:
Ammon, Bette D.
Handbook for the Newbery Medal and Honor books, 1980-1989 (Hagerstown, Maryland: Alleyside Press, 1991)
Speare, Elizabeth George
The sign of the beaver
See p.152:
Hurst, Carol Otis
Long ago and far away...: an encyclopedia for successfully using literature with intermediate readers (Allen, Texas: DLM, 1991)
Doucette Library Call Number: R 028.5 HuL 1991
Speare, Elizabeth George
The witch of Blackbird Pond
See pp.95-96:
Rozakis, Laurie
Read it! Write it!: ideas to integrate writing and literature (: Troll Associates, 1992)
Speare, Elizabeth George
The sign of the beaver
See pp.198-200:
Polette, Nancy J.
Gifted books, gifted readers: literature activities to excite young minds (Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 2000)
Resources from Academic Search Premier (materials available via libraries or bookstores)
Title: Elizabeth George Speare 1908-1994.
Source: Biography Today, Sep95, Vol. 4 Issue 3, p102, 9p, 3bw
Abstract: Presents a biography of Elizabeth George Speare, an American writer of historical fiction for children. Birth; Youth; Early memories; Education; Career highlights; Marriage and family; Hobbies and other interests; Honors and awards.
Resources from OCLCís WorldCat (materials available via libraries or bookstores)
Title: The sign of the beaver by Elizabeth George Speare: teacher guide Author(s): Troy, Anne.
Publication: San Antonio, TX: Novel Units, Inc.
Year: 1998
ISBN: 1561372420
Abstract: Describes suggested activities for seventh and eigth graders to complete when reading of The sign of the beaver.
Title: The sign of the beaver (audiovisual material)
Author(s): Carradine, Keith,; 1951- ; act; O'Toole, Annette,; 1953- ; act; Speare, Elizabeth George. ; Sign of the beaver.
Publication: Chicago, IL:; Distributed by Questar, Inc.
Year: 1997 ISBN: 1568552661; 156855267X Abstract: Left alone to guard the family's wilderness home in eighteenth-century Maine, a boy is hard-pressed to survive until local Indians teach him their skills.
Title: The bronze bow by Elizabeth George Speare: teacher guide
Author(s): Troy, Anne. ; Speare, Elizabeth George. ; Bronze bow.
Publication: Palatine, IL: Novel Units, Inc.
Year: 1996 ISBN: 1561377260 (pbk.) Abstract: "Novel units provide teachers with new ways to teach reading, thinking, writing, and the love of literature."
Title: The sign of the beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare: reproducibles and teacher guide.
Publication: Logan, Iowa: Perfection Learning Corporation
Year: 1994
ISBN: 156312307X
Title:The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare. Teacher guide
Author(s): Troy, Anne. ; Speare, Elizabeth George. ; Witch of Blackbird Pond. Publication: Palatine, IL: Novel Units, Edition: [Rev.]
ISBN: 1561372463 (pbk.)
Abstract: Describes suggested activities to accompany the reading of The witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare.
Title: Elizabeth George Speare
Author(s): Apseloff, Marilyn. Publication: New York: Twayne ; Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; New York: Maxwell Macmillan International
Year: 1991
ISBN: 0805776362 (acid-free paper)
Title: Sign of the beaver by Elizabeth George Speare: a novel study
Author(s): Dodds, Terry. ; Goodfellow, Fay.
Publication: Chicago: Science Research Associates
Year: 1990
ISBN: 0574102418
Title: Using the sign of the beaver in the classroom.
Publication: Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Year: 1990
ISBN: 0395525411
Title: Using The bronze bow in the classroom.
Publication: Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Year: 1990
ISBN: 0395525489
Title: A literature guide to The witch of Blackbird Pond: by Elizabeth George Speare
Author(s): Flender, Molly ; Speare, Elizabeth George. ; The witch of Blackbird Pond.; Landes, Sonia,; 1925-
Publication: Cambridge, MA: Book Wise
Year: 1990
ISBN: 0943069165
Title: Elizabeth George Speare (audio material)
Author(s): Nickelson, George.
Publication: Holmes, PA:; The Trumpet Club
Year: 1990
ISBN: 0440853796
Title: The Sign of the beaver: activities and ideas
Author(s): Rhodes, Lynn Knebel. ; Speare, Elizabeth George. ; The Sign of the beaver.; Mason, Mark, ; ill.
Publication: Lakewood, Colo.: LINK
Year: 1989
Abstract: Teaching ideas to use with the reading of the book by Elizabeth George Speare.
Title: A visit with Elizabeth George Speare (audiovisual material)
Author(s): Speare, Elizabeth George.
Publication: [Boston]:; Houghton Mifflin
Year: 1986
Abstract: Presents an interview with children's author Elizabeth Speare in which she talks about her background, research, and writing technique.
Title: The Witch of Blackbird Pond (audiovisual material)
Author(s): Speare, Elizabeth George.
Publication: Lincoln, NE:; Great Plains National Instructional Television Library
Year: 1980
Abstract: Tells how the seventeenth-century puritanism of New England provided disastrous circumstances for a high-spirited girl from the Carribbean who is accused of being a witch.
Title: The Bronze bow. (audiovisual material)
Author(s): Speare, Elizabeth George. ; Bronze bow.
Publication: New York:; Miller-Brody Productions
Year: 1978
Abstract: When the Romans brutally kill Daniel bar Jamin's father, the young Palestinian searches for a leader to drive them out, but comes to realize that love may be a more powerful weapon than hate.
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