Think about the roles of hunters and squaws in Elizabeth George Speare's The Sign of the Beaver. Whose work is more important? Young writers compare Attean and Matt's reaction to each gender's role, as well as arguing their opinion about which role helps the tribe more.

Additional Tags

english language arts

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• Have kids consider the question before reading the novel, and then writing the essay with the information they have learned about each person's role in the tribe
• Use the essay in conjunction with a discussion about gender roles
• Prompt kids to extend their essays to include a discussion on modern day gender roles

Classroom Considerations

• Writing prompt is a little long; consider summarizing for readers who need the instructions to be easier to understand

Common Core

W.4.1.a W.5.1.a W.6.1.a W.7.1.a