New free TouchChat template: Bear Hunt

Six linked TouchChat boards for Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt — the bear and the whole family, the grass, the river, the mud, the forest, the snowstorm and the cave, every sound word, every line of the refrain, and a board of big feelings for the scary walk and the lonely bear at the end.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is a book children say along with you. By the second reading they are waiting for swishy swashy, and by the third they are the ones shouting Oh no! We’ve got to go through it! For a child who uses AAC, that is the moment this pack is for.

So two boards are for joining in. Sound Words has all six sound words, each drawn as the family wading, splashing or tiptoeing through that place, so the picture is the cue: swishy swashy, splash splosh, squelch squerch, stumble trip, hoooo wooooo and tiptoe. Say It Together has every line of the refrain as a single button, from we’re going on a bear hunt to we can’t go over it, we can’t go under it, oh no and we’ve got to go through it. A child can say their part on cue, every time the page turns.

The third board that matters is Big Feelings. The book is about saying we’re not scared until suddenly you are, so brave and scared sit side by side, with the words a child needs on a scary walk: hold my hand, stay with me, I need a hug, calm down and safe. And on the last page the bear walks alone along the beach. Every classroom asks why, so lonely bear is there too: a child can say how the bear feels about the family who ran away from him.

What’s on the boards

• Bear Hunt — The main board — bear, Dad, big sister, big brother, little sister, baby, dog, family, me; go, walk, look, find, hide; big; hello, goodbye, yes, no, my turn.
• The Journey — Every place on the hunt, in order — grass, river, mud, forest, snowstorm, cave, beach, home, door, stairs, bed; over, under, through.
• Sound Words — The six sound words, each with the family in that place — swishy swashy, splash splosh, squelch squerch, stumble trip, hoooo wooooo, tiptoe; long wavy, deep, cold, thick oozy, dark, narrow, wet, muddy, loud, quiet, fast, slow.
• Run Home — The moment in the cave and the race back — bear; shiny wet nose, big furry ears, big goggly eyes; quick, run, chase, shut the door, up the stairs, under the covers; what’s that, it’s a bear.
• Say It Together — Every line of the refrain as one button — read it again, turn the page, read to me; going on a bear hunt, catch a big one, what a beautiful day, we’re not scared, uh-uh, can’t go over it, can’t go under it, oh no, go through it, not again, my turn, your turn, all together, what happens next, I like that, I don’t like that, the end.
• Big Feelings — The board this pack was built around — happy, sad, mad, scared, brave, excited, surprised, tired, frustrated, lonely bear, safe, hold my hand, stay with me, I need a hug, calm down, it’s okay, too loud, need a break.

It is built for WordPower 60 on TouchChat. That is the one thing worth checking before you download: a page laid out for one grid size will not fit another. In TouchChat you can see which vocabulary is in use under Menu → Vocab → Choose Vocab.

It is free, like everything in our library. Get the Bear Hunt template for TouchChat — or browse the whole free library.

Need something we do not have yet? Tell us what to build. Requests from families are where most of these come from.