Bear and Chook.pdf

Bear and Chook 

By Lisa Shanahan, Illustrated by Emma Quay. 

‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Chook asked Bear. As Bear tries out a 

variety of occupations they all end up disastrously. So Bear decides he just wants to 

be an Old Bear when he grows up – that is, until tomorrow’s adventures start! 

Introducing the Book 

Ask the children what they want to be when they grow up. Show the 

children the front cover of Bear and Chook by Lisa Shanahan and 

Emma Quay. What do you think this book is going to be about? What 

type of bear can you see on the cover? Where would you usually find 

this bear? Could a bear and a chook live in the same place? 

Show the children the title page. Why do you think the illustrator has drawn Bear and 

Chook without their heads on this page? Do you think it is a good idea? 

Read to the end of the first double page spread - ‘… 

builder’. What does a builder do? What does a builder 

wear? What tools does he/she use? Do you know the 

names of any famous builders? Could being a builder be 

dangerous? How? Record the children’s responses 

under the heading ‘builder’. 

Read to ‘By a wing,’ shivered Chook. Do you think Bear would make a good builder? 

Why not? Read to - ‘I wouldn’t mind being an explorer, though.’ What does an 

explorer do? What does an explorer wear? What tools does he/she use? Where does 

an explorer explore? Do you know the names of any famous explorers? Could being an 

explorer be dangerous? How? Record the children’s responses. 

Read to the end of ‘By a tail feather,’ shivered Chook. Do you think Bear would make a 

good explorer? Why not? Read to ‘I wouldn’t mind being an sea captain, though.’ What 

does a sea captain do? What does a sea captain wear? What type of boat could a sea 

captain use? Where could a sea captain sail? Do you know the names of any famous 

sea captains? Could being a sea captain be dangerous? Record the children’s 

responses. Do you think Bear will make a good sea captain? Why or why not? What do 

you think is going to happen next to Bear and Chook? What do you think Bear will 

choose to be next? 

!D.Russell-Bowie and J.Thistleton-Martin, 2003 1

Read to the end of ‘I wouldn’t mind being a pilot, though’. Using the same questioning 

pattern as above (for the previous professions), record the children’s responses. 

Continue the same pattern until the end of the book. 

Visual Arts: 2D drawing 

Read the list of professions and their characteristics from the board. 

Ask the children to choose one. The children draw themselves as this 

person. For example, an explorer. 

They write a caption underneath about some aspect of the life they 

have chosen. For example, I would like to explore _______________. Display 

artworks and sentences around the room. 

Getting Into the Book 

Read Bear and Chook. When you get to the sound effect words ask 

the children to read them with you. For example, Crickety-Crock 

Splodge, Hisssssss, peeeeee-OOOOW!Ask the children to supply 

other ‘sound effect’ words. For example, Eeeeeeeek! Aaaahhhh! 

Clickety Click, Clickety Clack. 

You might like to read sound effect extracts from other books. 

For example: 

Whistle Up the Chimney by Nan Hunt 

Going on a Bear Hunt by Alan Ahlberg 

Bertie and the Bear by Pamela Allen 

Crocodile Beat by Gail Jorgensen and Patricia Mullins. 

Make a separate list of the responses. Ask the children to identify who or what might 

make these sounds. 

Visual Arts: 2D Drawings / Digital Forms 

The children are each given an A4 or A3 sized piece of paper which 

they fold in half. 

They then choose two different pairs of sound effect words, one from 

Bear and Chook and one from their suggestions. 

They write their words in the most interesting and decorative way they can. Some 

children could experiment with different font styles and sizes on the computer. 

Read and display. 


Drama: Reader’s Theatre 

The text of Bear and Chook is ideal for Reader’s Theatre as it is 

primarily dialogue. For example, groups of children could take on the 

following roles: Narrator, Bear 1, Bear 2 , Chook 1, Chook 2 

Narrator: One morning Bear and Chook sat by the pond, watching the 

dragonflies skim and buzz. 

Bear 1: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ 

Chook1: ‘An old chook’. 

Bear 2: ‘Oh’. (wrinkles his nose) 

Chook 2: ‘What about you, Bear?’ 

Bear 1: ‘I think that I’d like to be a builder’. 

All: CRICKETY – CROCK SPLODGE 

Music: Duration, Structure 

Learn to sing the song When You Grow Up and Get a Job, from The 

Essential Arts Handbook, by Deirdre Russell-Bowie et al, Karibuni 

Press, 1993. Teach the song line by line, clapping the beat as the song 

is sung through. When children know the song and can sing it 

confidently, have them look at the third line of each verse. This line tells the 

occupation and what one does in the occupation. 

Read through the book and together note down all the occupations that Bear wants to 

try when he grows up. Using this list, make up new verses by adding a third line to 

each verse, based on Bear’s occupations, eg. 

1. When you grow up and get a job, what will you be? 

I’ll be a builder building castles, That’s what I’ll be! 


I’ll be an explorer in the forest, That’s what I’ll be! 


I’ll be a captain sailing big ships, That’s what I’ll be! 


I’ll be a pilot flying aeroplanes, That’s what I’ll be! 


I’ll be a dancer on the stage, That’s what I’ll be! 



I’ll be an old Bear with my friend Chook, That’s what I’ll be! 

Music: Structure 

Alternatively, if the school does not have access to The Essential 

Arts Handbook, a song could be created to the tune of Are You 

Sleeping?, based on the above occupations, 

eg. 

1. When you grow up, when you grow up, 

What will you be? What will you be? 

A builder building castles, a builder building castles, 

That’s what I’ll be! That’s what I’ll be! 



An explorer in the forest, an explorer in the forest, 




A captain sailing big ships, a captain sailing big ship, 




A pilot flying aeroplane, a pilot flying aeroplanes, 




A belly-dancer on the stage, a belly-dancer on the stage, 




An old Bear with my friend Chook, an old Bear with my fried Chook, 



Music: Tone Colour 

Add appropriate instruments to represent the different occupations 

mentioned in either or both of the above songs. 

Play these in the third line of each verse as the song is sung through. 

Music: Dynamics 

Experiment with each line of the above songs being sung a different 

dynamic level, ie. 

Question part of song: Soft, getting louder 

Occupation: Loud 

That’s what I’ll be: Medium 

Sing the song through using these dynamic levels; discuss how effective they were. 

Experiment with other combinations of dynamic levels in the song. 

Extension: Have the teacher, or a child, conduct the dynamic levels, ie. they hold 

their hands wide apart for loud singing, medium apart for medium singing, and close 

together for soft singing. 

Music: Pitch 

Have children show with their hands the highs and lows of the song 

(pitch contour). 

With the Are You Sleeping? song, the music starts low, the second 

line is higher, the third line goes up then goes down, and the fourth 

line goes up, down then up. Identify the highest and the lowest note in the song. 

Dance: Student compositions 

In groups, have children create their own dance to the song they have 

made up and learned in the above activities. 

They may like to start with a simple circle dance, 

eg. 

Line 1: Step to the right eight beats 

Line 2: Step to the left eight beats 

Line 3: Make the action of the occupation for four beats, repeat 

Line 4: Hold hands and walk to centre of circle for four beats, walk 

back to circle for four beats. 


Share the dances as the rest of the class sing the song. Discuss the effectiveness 

of the dances and the elements identified in each dance. 

Extension: For older children, suggest that they create a dance based on the song, or 

on a range of occupations, using a variety of levels, relationships, space, action, time 

and dynamics. 

Visual Arts: 3D artworks 

Divide class into six groups, one for each occupation that Bear tries. 

Have them create a 3D artwork showing Bear and Chook involved in 

this occupation. 

Children may sculpt the animals and props from plasticine, playdough or clay and put 

them on a flat horizontal board, then surround them with appropriate objects and 

vegetation, etc. 

Alternatively they could create a 3D mural, with the backdrop painted or collaged on, 

depicting the different scenes from the book. 

Bear and Chook are then glued on in different places throughout the mural, dressed 

in suitable clothing for the different occupations they are representing. 

Have children write a short paragraph about their particular section of the artwork 

and display this near the completed artwork. 

Going Beyond the Book 

Find and read other books by written Lisa Shanahan. For example, 

Gordon’s Got a Snookie. 

Find and read other books illustrated by Emma Quay.

Bear and Chook.pdf

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