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Get Busy, Beaver
Thelonious Beaver is a day-dreamer. While his family is busy building a new dam, Thelonious creates something else. What is it, you ask? Well, you’ll just have to buy the book now, won’t you? (At this point I think you’ll all agree that it’s a darn good thing I don’t write book jacket blurbs.) My friend Janie Bynum illustrated this. I had her illustrations in mind as I wrote the story, so I was extremely happy when she said she could do it. Thelonious is by far the cutest creature on the face of the planet.
“Carolyn Crimi’s beaver fable is a standout reminder thatdifferent people ‘work’ in different ways with different approaches…The perfect book for the little dreamer in your family who perhaps isn’t as industrious as his peers.” —The Trades
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Activities
Pre-reading Activity:
What kind of chores do have to do around your house? Do you do any of them as a family? (rake leaves, plant flowers, clean the house?) Do some people help more than others?
Comprehension Check:
Knowledge:
Describe Thelonious.
What are they working on?
Comprehension:
What kinds of things does Thelonious like to look at?
What makes them work even harder on their dam?
Application:
Predict what Thelonious’ next work might look like.
Create a picture of it.
Analyze:
Does this story remind you of anything? What?
Compare Thelonious and Babs. Who is the better beaver? Why do you think so?
Synthesize:
How would you feel if you were Thelonious? Babs? Pa Beaver?
What would happen in your family if you didn’t help out with a chore?
Evaluation:
What does Thelonious teach his family and neighbors?
How are you like Thelonious? How are you different?
Projects
Language Arts:
Pretend you are a journalist for the local Beaver News. Write interview questions for Thelonious about his creation, and then answer them how you think he would. You can add a “photograph” (a picture of your own making) to go with your article. Don’t forget to set it up like a real newspaper piece with a title, byline and your neatest printing.
Mathematics:
Busy Beaver Word Problems:
- If it takes 100 trees to make a terrific dam, and the family can cut 20 trees each day, how many days will it be before the dam is completed?
- If Pa, Ma, Babs and Thelonious each can cut two trees in an hour, how many hours will it take to cut 16 trees? How many more hours if Thelonious doesn’t help?
- Pa and Ma Beaver cut 25 trees. Unfortunately 11 of them are rotten and won’t be able to be used. How many trees are ready for the dam?
- Thelonious needs 100 daisies, 50 roses, and 75 tulips for his newest design. How many flowers will he need in all?
- Both beaver families decide to make a giant project together. It calls for 600 trees. With six people working equally how many trees will each of them have to cut?
Art:
Using materials from your own backyard, create a sculpture that Thelonious would be excited to see! You can use any materials you like to hold it together, and be sure to put it in a box or other safe container for transport.
Music:
Sing this song to “Wheels on the Bus”
The beavers on the dam say go go go
go go go
repeat
Up and down the river.
The beavers on the dam say now, now now…
The beavers on the dam say fast, fast, fast…
Science:
Teacher’s guide created by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer