The Island of the Blue Doplins by Scott O'Dell

 

Island of the Blue Dolphins  

(Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; 10th edition-1960)

By: Scott O'Dell

Grade: 5

Once indians lived on the island, but when they left and sailed east they left one young girl behind.  This story is about an Indian girl names Karana that has to learn how to survive the obstacles that she comes across while on the island. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building a shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery. It is a great story about making the most of what you have and not giving up. It would have been easy for a young child to be unaware how to survive if they were left alone. It is a good idea to teach students how to take care of themselves if anything may happen to them.

Theme/Skills Taught: Survival/Character Comparisons & Survival Techniques

About the Author: Scott O’Dell’s name was created as a mistake. He was born Odell Gabriel Scott, but while he was working as a newspaper reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News, an editor mistakenly wrote Scott O’Dell as his byline. The name stuck, and O’Dell legally changed it. After his newspaper days, he began writing books for adults. Beginning in the late 1950s, however, his focus shifted, and he started writing for young adults. He wrote over twenty-six young adult novels, three books for adults, and four nonfiction books. His most famous work is Island of the Blue Dolphins, which won the 1961 Newbery Medal, among other awards. More information about Scott

Pre-Reading Activities: Have students try to identify the components of courage. You might start them off by listing "resolve" and "inner strength." Ask students to help define these terms and to name other aspects of courage. Then challenge them to find examples to share with the class. They might find poems or short stories in which characters show inner strength, newspaper articles that describe people who have shown resolve, and so on. As students read, they can think about how Karana shows courage.

Post Reading Activities: Have the students create a relief map of the community (without businesses and restaurants) and have them put the ways they would be able to survive off the land on the map, like Karana was able to survive on the island. Then, the students will need to write how they were survive on the land and compare it to Karana's experience.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

(Puffin-1996)

By: Mildred D. Taylor

Grade: 6-9

*1977 Newbery Award Winner*

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is set in Mississippi during the Great Depression. It is the story of one family's struggle to maintain independence and pride. It is told in first-person narrative of a girl, Cassie Logan who is in a constant struggle for physical survival. The story is both inspiring and terrifying. The story is told in the span of a year-with ups and downs. I don't want to give away too much because you should definitely read it!

Theme/Skills Taught: Fear, Distrust, Values, Not understanding one's culture/Problem & Soltions, Making Inferences, Drawing Conclusions

About the Author: Mildred D. Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi where life was difficult for their family due to racial segregation. Their family moved to the North to hopefully gain more opportunities. They continued to visit family in the South and through her father's love for the South and all the storytelling, Mildred became the writer she was. From these stories, Taylor learned about her great-grandfather, the son of a white plantation owner in Alabama and a slave woman. In the late 1800s, this young man ran away from Alabama to buy land and settle in Mississippi; the land he purchased more than 100 years ago is still owned by the Taylor family. All of these stories and her experiences influenced her writing. About Mildred Taylor

Pre-Reading Activities: Think about what it's like to be part of a large family, what it's like to start school, and how people who are different are treated. This story involves a number of characters in a dramatic novel in which the conflict between black and white Americans is described. Look at the front cover of the book. Read the title and ask: Who do you think these characters are? What can you tell about them just from their clothes and the way they are behaving? What questions do you have about the story from looking at the cover? See more activities

Post Reading Activities: Discuss problem/solution. In the middle of the book the author uses flashbacks: use flowcharts to keep track of the major events in the story so students don't get confused.