Hang a map of Maine in your classroom. Point out the Penobscot River to your students and tell them that this is where "The Sign of the Beaver" takes place. Talk to them about how the word Penobscot means "the rocky place" and how this relates to the book. Discuss the weather in Maine and how the Penobscot tribe in the book is affected by it and why they must move with the seasons.
The major themes of "The Sign of the Beaver" are survival, friendship, fear, courage, pride, gender roles and initiation. Discuss each theme with your students and build lessons and activities around these themes, leading up to reading the book. Try building these themes into interdisciplinary lesson plans, such as language arts, math, science, history and art.
"The Sign of the Beaver" is a good story to read during American history studies, especially when your students are studying native Americans. Talk to your students about how different life would have been for a native American child during the time of "The Sign of the Beaver" compared to today. Then ask them to think about how life would have been different for the same native American child and the child of settlers.
Introduce vocabulary words that students will find in the book prior to reading it. Understanding the vocabulary will give students a greater understanding of the language of the story prior to reading it or having it read to them. "The Sign of the Beaver" contains vocabulary words that describe living in a different time period, words someone might have used in another time period and words that describe living in the wilderness.