BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is a beautiful Picturebook genre children's book written by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by famous children's author Eric Carle. This book, with its colorful and textured illustrations, really jumps off the page to gain the young reader's attention. The simple text of this book, full of childlike inquiry, takes the reader on a journey as they spy different colored animals and people.  It's a great book that helps them learn to the strategies of observation and recall as they read through this fun and adventurous picturebook. This book is great addition to any PreK - 2nd grade classroom with its vibrant imagery and simplified, inquisitive text. It is a perfect blend of illustration and text that can spur an emergent reader's love of and desire for reading. 

Here's a wonderful lyrical singing version of the book that would be great for enrichment!

Discussion Questions:

- Just looking at the cover of this book, what do you think this book is about?  

- Do you see something, in the classroom, that is the color of Brown Bear?

- Is someone wearing the color of Red Bird?

- What else do you know that is the color of Yellow Duck?

- What color animal do you predict that Blue Horse will see?

- What color was the cat? Have you ever seen a cat that color?

- What do you predict will be looking at the teacher?

- What were all the things that the children did see?

Motivational Activity:

Each student will be given a pack of m&ms and a Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? black and white sorting mat. Teacher will have the students help her fill in the sorting mat by having them recall what color each animal was in the story and then coloring that animal on their mat along with the teacher modeling.  Then break the students into small groups and have them sort their m&ms on their sorting mats.  For older students you can then give them a blank graph and have them count the number of m&ms for each color animal and graph them. This a fun and inventive way to connect a simple literary picturebook to the Math content.

If you like this Picturebook, here are some other titles you might enjoy:

*The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1987) : Grades PK-2

*Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) : Grades PK-2

Resource:

Martin, B, Jr. (1970).  Brown bear, brown bear what do you see? New York, NY:

Henry Holt and Company