EWAS Programs
Surprise at Little Bear Lake
Surprise at Little Bear Lake follows naturally from where The Reading Express left off, both in terms of the storyline and by continuing with EWAS's unique methodology in teaching young pupils to read English. We continue to color code vowels and we practice reading the words, phrasing and sentences that appear in the storybook in multiple settings: the storybook itself; the songbook, the wordbook; activity book exercises and more.
Synopsis of Surprise at Little Bear Lake
Surprise at Little Bear Lake tells the story of a camping weekend the five friends from The Reading Express spend at Little Bear Lake. In Surprise at Little Bear Lake, the friends' parents, Bob and Annie Green and Ted and Jane Lee are introduced. The Lees' dog, Prince, also appears in this story.
In the first chapter, the two families meet at the Greens' home. When the five friends see each other, Michael, Bill and Cindy tell Sammy and Sue that their parents had mentioned a surprise was awaiting them at Little Bear Lake. But their parents wouldn't say what the surprise was. Sammy and Sue say their parents had said the same thing to them. Bill joins Sue and her parents in their car and Sammy joins the Greens for the drive to Little Bear Lake. Sue and Bill plan to tell ghost stories by the campfire that evening.
At the beginning of the second chapter, the families arrive at Little Bear Lake. They set up camp, have a picnic lunch and clean up. The fathers retire for an afternoon nap, the mothers play a board game, and the five friends try to figure out what the surprise could be.
The friends go to the beach in Chapter 3. They sunbathe, play ball in the water and swim and dive. They also paddle out to Turtle Island in two canoes and a kayak. In Chapter 4, they explore Turtle Island where they discover James White's long abandoned cabin in the woods. They get caught in a thunderstorm in the old shack before they make their way safely back to the campsite.
The families share a barbecue dinner and then sing songs and tell jokes and ghost stories around the campfire in the fifth chapter. The chapter ends with Michael saying he doesn't think any of the younger children will get any sleep after hearing the scary ghost stories.
The sixth chapter begins with the families waking up to the second day of their camping weekend. They prepare pancakes for breakfast according to a real recipe, eat breakfast and then make plans for the day. The fathers decide to go fishing, the mothers opt for a hike in the woods and the children set off for a bike ride beginning at the ranger station. But first they ask their parents what the surprise is. Annie Green tells them that it is not yet time to reveal the secret.
The following chapters are full of adventure. The friends go on a mountain bike ride with Ranger Joe in the seventh chapter and the two families climb down a cliff and go rafting on Fox River in the next two chapters. In the tenth chapter, the children finally find out what the surprise is. Their parents have arranged for them to fly in a yellow seaplane over Little Bear Lake and Fox River. Michael, whose dream it is to be the pilot of a seaplane, even gets to wear earphones and steer the plane!
As in all the EWAS programs, the story of Surprise at Little Bear Lake presents pupils with settings and situations familiar to them. The interactions among the children and also between the children and their parents are sure to remind individual pupils of their own experiences. As in the earlier programs, pupils identify with the characters and their adventures. This easy identification enhances the pupils' learning experience.
Topics
The ride in the two-family cars to the lake; setting up camp; the picnic lunch; the beach, swimming and diving; paddling to the island; exploring the island; thinking about the hermit, James White; a thunderstorm in the woods; a barbecue dinner and a campfire with singing and storytelling; a mountain bike ride and observing wild animals; cliff climbing; rafting; a ride in a seaplane.
Language & Grammar
NOTE: We do not teach grammar descriptively. We teach and practice the grammar of everyday speech, including informal speech patterns common among native speakers as they speak and listen to each other. We continue with the grammar points practiced in our earlier programs. And we teach and practice the next level of reading suitable for children who began reading with The Reading Express program. As in the The Reading Express we do this in a most special way, incorporating color-coded vowels, EWAS reading strips and many and varied fun-to-do reading games and exercises. All EWAS reading activities are designed to refine and enhance the pupils' reading skills and to build their confidence in their own ability to read English.
