If you’re looking for Where the Red Fern Grows teaching ideas, Wilson Rawls’ classic coming‑of‑age novel is a great choice for exploring perseverance, loyalty, and the bond between humans and animals. Students connect deeply with Billy Colman’s determination as he works tirelessly to achieve his dream of owning two coonhounds. This post includes activities and ideas to help you build a meaningful and memorable novel
Reading Level
Lexile 700L
Interest Level
Grades 5-8
Length
304 pages
Award
Great Stone Face Book Award (Winner)
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⭐ About the Book
Where the Red Fern Grows tells the story of Billy Colman, a young boy growing up in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression. Billy dreams of owning a pair of coonhounds, and he works for two years, saving every nickel and dime, to earn enough money to buy them. When the pups arrive at the depot, Billy sneaks away to retrieve them, afraid his parents won’t allow him to make the travel alone. His trip home is filled with adventure and foreshadowing, including a tense night spent in a cave while mountain lions howl nearby.
Once home, Billy trains Old Dan and Little Ann using a raccoon hide and a special trap. The three become inseparable, and the novel follows their many adventures as they hunt raccoons throughout the rugged mountains. Billy’s dogs show incredible bravery, intelligence, and devotion, and together they become one of the best hunting teams in the region.
⭐ Book Details
| Publication Date | 1961 |
| Reading Level | Lexile 700L • Scholastic Guided Reading Level X |
| Interest Level | Grades 5–8 (Age Range 8–12) |
| Major Awards | Top 100 Children’s Novels (#34, School Library Journal) • 1988 Great Stone Face Book Award (Winner) |
| Length | 304 pages (approx. 75,945 words) |
| Estimated Reading Time | About 5 hours and 3 minutes (at 250 words per minute) |
| Audiobook Length | 6 hours, 56 minutes |
| Genre | Coming of age • Adventure • Young adult |
| Setting | Northeastern Oklahoma • Ozark Mountains (1960s) |
| Point of View | First person, narrated by Billy Colman |
| Themes | Coming of Age • Perseverance • Loyalty • Family • Poverty • Man and the Natural World • Education |
| Memorable Quote | “After the last shovel of dirt was patted in place, I sat down and let my mind drift back through the years... 'You were worth it, old friend, and a thousand times over.'” |
| First Line | “WHEN I LEFT MY OFFICE THAT BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY, I HAD no idea what was in store for me.” |
Activities for Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Red Fern Grows Samples
Check out Where the Red Fern Grows Book Unit with these free samples including:
- Vocabulary Practice for Chapters 1-2
- Comprehension Questions for Chapters 1-2
- Constructed Response Question – Flashback
- Language Arts Sample Lesson on Sentence Fragments
You can get the free book unit sample by clicking the button.
A Summarizing Lesson
Teach students a little about summarizing using these two organizers. The first explains the Somebody Wanted But So strategy and the second goes over Who What Where When Why and How strategy. After students understand the basics of these two summarizing methods, go to the “Summarizing Activity.” This activity uses Where the Red Fern Grows to practice summarizing skills.
Students complete two foldable graphic organizers. The first organizer includes four basic steps for summarizing. The second organizer briefly explains two methods for summarizing (Somebody Wanted But So and Who What Where When Why and How). Use these organizers to explain the basics of summarizing before having students tackle the project.
This handout also includes the pieces needed to create the craftivity.
Craftivity
This craftivity was originally created as part of a blog link-up from the Reading Crew. The reading specialists each selected one winter-related book to create a lesson on. When thinking about a winter-related book to use as a mentor text, I immediately thought of Where the Red Fern Grows. In the novel, Billy has to battle the winter weather in life and death situations twice.
In Chapter 10, Little Ann falls into the mostly ice-covered river. Billy must save her as she hangs onto the ice shelf. The second catastrophe occurs in Chapters 17-18 when a blizzard blows in during the big coon hunt. First, Grandpa falls on the ice and injuries his ankle. Then, Little Ann and Old Dan become lost in whiteout conditions only to be found the next morning nearly frozen solid with thick coats of ice covering their bodies.
Even if you do not have time for your class to read the full novel, you can use this activity as the events from Chapter 10 tell a complete mini-story. Because of this, I have placed a three-page excerpt from the book on my website for those who do not have a set of novels. The excerpt can also be used for students to highlight.
You can find it here:
Summarizing Craftivity
Students read the excerpt, highlight details, and complete a timeline organizer. Students then use the details from the timeline organizer to write a summary in paragraph form.
See the product that inspired this post.
Where the Red Fern Grows Book Unit includes vocabulary practice, comprehension questions, constructed response writing, and skill practice.
2 comments
What a great lesson for such a challenging skill! I am always looking for different ways to teach summarizing. Thank you!
One of my favorite books! Thank you for the useful ideas in reading the book.