Minds On

Option #1:

Display the object to the students and ask them -

What does this make you think of?

What do you notice?

What do you wonder?

Option #2: Discuss the following questions-

• What do you know about owls?
• What do you know about lemmings?
• Have you ever been tricked?

Read the Story Together

Inquiry

DISCUSSION IDEAS

Traditional Inuit Story

The oral history of Inuit is filled with many folktales. In this traditional story, a young owl catches a lemming to eat. Inuit stories are often instructive and, with this tale, children quickly learn the value of being clever and humble, and why pride and arrogance are to be avoided.

Can you think of any other morality, trickster, or underdog tales you may know? Consider stories such as Aesop’s Fables, the Monkey King, the Gingerbread Man, Anansi the Spider, the Three Billy Goats Gruff or the Three Little Pigs.

• How is The Owl and the Lemming similar to the story you know? How is it different?
• Discuss the ways the lemming tried to outwit the owl.
• Read another story and compare/contrast.

The Cast and Setting

The North – This Inuit story depicts a scene of the Arctic Tundra, characteristic of the terrain in northern Canada. The Inuit are Aboriginal people in northern Canada, living mainly in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, northern Quebec, and Labrador.

Unlike other owls, snowy owls are active during the day and night. This helps them hunt during the summer when daylight is continuous within the Arctic Circle. They have excellent eyesight and hearing, which helps them hunt in the white snow and in dim light. Snowy owls are covered in feathers – even their feet! Although snowy owls feed on many animals, lemmings are their primary prey.

Lemmings are an important food source for many Arctic animals, like the snowy owl. They do not hibernate and stay active under the snow. They have short ears, legs, and tails to reduce heat loss. As told in the story, lemmings eat moss and other plants.

• Find Nunavut on a map.
• In this story, who was the predator? Who was the prey?
• For facts and clips about the tundra, owls, and lemmings, consider using school library resources, as well as general online websites such as Hinterland’s Who’s Who, www.hww.ca.

Learn. Share.

Learn from other folktales and share your message about what you have learned.

Sharing Our Learning.

See what other classes have created after reading this book.