Owls in the Family

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Owls in the Family Collage”

In this activity, students will create a collage of the species mentioned in Mowat’s novel.

Mowat references a variety of different animal species in his novel, many of which represent wildlife in the Saskatchewan region.

• Working in small groups, create a collage of the various species that Mowat references in his book.
• Your collage may include photos and images from various publications as well as your own artistic representations.
• For each species, cite a quotation and page number from the text where Mowat references this species.

After creating your collage, reflect upon the variety of species represented. Discuss with your small group the ways in which humans’ interactions with these species in the novel help to develop one of the themes: The Relationship Between People and Animals, The Payoff of Hard Work and Determination, or The Meaning of Family.

Teaching Suggestion: This Activity invites students to apply creativity and reading comprehension during group work. Students might help to draft additional guidelines or the rubric for this project, depending on availability of technology, resources, and time.

Differentiation Suggestion: For more advanced classes, the above Activity may be amended to the following question: Using Mowat’s novel, draft a new adventure for Billy and his friends. Write one scene that includes action and dialogue, create an artistic representation to accompany the scene, and be able to explain how the scene connects to at least one of the novel’s themes. Share your scene with the class in a presentation.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Bullying appears in both apparent and subtle ways in the narrative.

• What message does the author convey on how to best deal with bullies and bullying? (topic sentence)
• Identify 2-3 examples of bullying in the story; analyze and discuss the ways in which characters deal with the bullies, the overall outcome of the bullying conflict, and what is learned by the characters involved.
• In your concluding sentences, briefly assess the effectiveness of the author’s attempt to communicate a message about bullying. To what extent is his message helpful to modern readers?

2. Wol and Weeps have different traits and personalities.

• How might the two owls be symbolic of two different human approaches to life? (topic sentence)
• Compare Wol’s traits with Weeps’s. Analyze and discuss a variety of examples from the text to support your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentences, briefly explain how Wol’s and Weeps’s presence in the novel connects with the theme The Payoff of Hard Work and Determination.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Humor is featured throughout the narrative; for example, Billy overhears his mother saying, “Until a woman had tried to bake a cake, with two horned owls looking over her shoulders, she hadn’t really lived at all” (Chapter 9). How does humor contribute to the overall tone of the narrative? What do characters and readers gain from the novel’s varied humorous situations? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze and discuss the role of humor in the novel. Offer at least 3 examples to support your ideas.

2. Billy has a complex relationship with the natural world in that he is sometimes a caring steward of animals, but other times shows disregard or callousness for them. In a 3-paragraph essay, evaluate Billy’s level of concern for animals by the end of the story. What events or circumstances are most impactful in his changing relationship to the natural world and overall coming of age? What is the overall effect of each of these events or circumstances? Use examples and textual details to support your evaluation.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Regarding a distant bluff, Billy remarks, “There must have been a million crows around it. It looked as if the bluff was on fire and filling the sky with black smoke—that’s how many crows there were.” Which of the following literary terms is exemplified in this description?

A) Imagery

B) Irony

C) Allusion

D) Personification

2. Which of the following reasons best describes why Billy’s father says “Oh NO! Not owls too!”

A) Because he strongly dislikes animals

B) Because he knows Billy is allergic

C) Because he believes that Billy already has too many pets

D) Because he is tired of wild animals invading the house

3. How do Billy’s pet gophers initially react to Wol?

A) With fear

B) With compassion

C) With disinterest

D) With embarrassment

4. How do Billy’s friends respond to him when he carries Wol and Weeps on his shoulders?

A) They keep their distance from Billy.

B) They like to pet the owls.

C) They try to hit the trio.

D) They believe the owls are bad luck.

5. Why does everyone avoid Wol after he brought home the skunk?

A) Because he was disobedient

B) Because he chose to stay with his new friend

C) Because he also avoided them

D)Because he had an unpleasant odor

6. Which of the following ideas best describes how Wol views himself?

A) Like a person

B) Like a dog

C) Like a cat

D) Like a gopher

7. Which of the following words best describes how Wol reacts to being mistreated?

A) Indifference

B) Anger

C) Cowardice

D) Shame

8. Which type of animal frequently antagonizes the owls throughout the novel?

A) Gophers

B) Crows

C) Leopards

D) Cats

9. How does Billy react to the news of his family’s move?

A) With excitement

B) With apathy

C) With love

D) With sadness

10. Which of the following words best describes Billy’s character?

A) Protagonist

B) Antagonist

C) Tragic Hero

D) Antihero

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. Owls are often associated with wisdom. How do Wol and Weeps show their own brand of intelligence throughout the story? In what ways do their traits serve to teach human characters?

2. Discuss Bruce’s role in the story. What narrative purpose does he serve, and how do his character traits help to develop the themes and tone?