This is part of my 15 minute focus series. It is based around the book Bear Snores On by Wilson, illus by Chapman. (Preview video.) To prepare for class, make copies of approximately 8 pages, showing key elements in the storyline.

Read the book. Tell them to pay close attention to the order of the story, so that later they can tell you what happened first, then second and so on.

Shuffle the copies of the pages of the book. Put one out. Then draw a second one – does this come before or after that one? Continue till they are all sorted into the right order.

You may choose to then shuffle them back together and give them the whole stack to sort again.

Song: (tune) – start sing normal volume and get very quiet by the end.
A grizzly bear, a grizzly bear is sleeping in a cave.
A grizzly bear, a grizzly bear is sleeping in a cave.
Please be very quiet, very very quiet.
For if you wake him, if you shake him, he’ll get very mad.

Or, to the tune of Frere Jacques – on the first verse get quieter and quieter. On the second, get louder and louder.
Are you sleepy, are you sleepy,  little bear, little bear.
Wintertime is coming, wintertime is coming.
Go to sleep, go to sleep.
Time to wake up, time to wake up, little bear, little bear.
Springtime is coming, springtime is coming.
Wake up now, wake up now!

Note: I had some free time after this activity, so we did a counting bear activity. We took turns rolling a die, and taking that many bears, and then comparing – who has the most bears and other math-noticing… “he rolled a 2 – who else rolled a 2?” “Oh last time he rolled a 6 so he was way ahead of everyone, but this time he rolled a 1 so you may all catch up!”