Wolf Song

Suggested ages:  5–10

Summary:  
All summer Nell has been looking forward to an evening of howling for wolves with her Uncle Walter.  She’s a little anxious, but the starry sky soon soothes her fears, and the evening unfolds with all the satisfaction of a wonder-full wilderness experience as Nell learns to howl “just like one of the pack.”

Tips for Reading:   

• As you read each page compare what Nell is experiencing to what the wolves are doing.
• After you have read the story and the non-fiction section, reread the story focusing on the wolf pack and what they are doing.

Questions before reading:

• What wolf stories have you heard?
• Have you ever been in the woods at night?
• What did you see?
• How did you feel?

Introduction to story:
In this story, Nell is visiting her grandmother at the cabin.  She has heard about calling for wolves and has practiced all summer.  Tonight is the night her Uncle Walter has promised to take her on a howl.  Nell is very excited to begin the adventure.

Questions after reading:  

• How did Nell feel about going on the howl?
• How did she feel once they got to the woods?
• Uncle Walter mentions that there weren’t many wolves when he used to visit this place, why do you think there may not have been many wolves and now there are? 
• Why did she think the fox and dog were wolves?
• What other animals did she see?
• What other sounds did she hear?
• Would you like to go on a wolf how?  Why? 

RELATED ACTIVITIES

Art:   

• Draw or make a collage with nighttime animals you might find in the woods near you. Use a field guide to help find animals you may not know of.
• Make a drawing of Nell on a Winter howling adventure. What other animals might be in the picture and how might the landscape look different?
• Draw a map of the summer sky at night with the constellations you would see.

Culture:   

• Find out what other countries have wolves and how they are different or similar to the wolves found in your area.

Dramatization:   

• Practice howling for wolves.
• Have students act out wolf behavior and have the other students guess what they are ‘saying.’

Music:     

• Make up a wolf song that might include a solo with the rest of the pack howling in the background.

Science:   

• Use the internet and books to find out more about wolves found in North America. Create a map showing where they used to be found and where they live today and figure out why their range has changed.

Writing:   

• Write the story from one of the wolves' point of view. Read the story of "Little Red Riding Hood" from the wolf's perspective to give the students an example. 

Related Books:

• Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
• Once a Wolf  by Stephen R. Swinburne
• Great Wolf and the Good Woodsman by Helen Hoover
• Wolf: Legend, Enemy, Icon by Rebecca L. Grambo
• Growing up Wild: Wolves by Sandra Markle
• North American Wolves by Barbara Keevil Parker
• Watchful Wolves by Ruth Berman
• Wolves  by Nancy Gibson
• The Way of the Wolf by L. David Mech
• Wolves: Our Wild World Series by Laura Evert (Northword Press, 2000)
• The Wonder of Wolves by Sandra Shisholm Robinson (Denver Museum of Natural History, 1989)
• Wolves for Kids by Tom Wolpert (Northword Press, 1990)
• There’s a Wolf in the Classroom by Bruce Weide and Patricia Tucker (Carolrhoda Books, Inc. 1995)