Bibliographic Information:
O'Dell, S. (1960). Island of the Blue Dolphins. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Readability Level: 5.5
Audience Level: Grade 5-8
Suggested Delivery: independent or group read
Summary: "In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, on young girl was left behind. This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. 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 usual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery." -Back of Book
O'Dell, S. (1960). Island of the Blue Dolphins. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Readability Level: 5.5
Audience Level: Grade 5-8
Suggested Delivery: independent or group read
Summary: "In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, on young girl was left behind. This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. 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 usual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery." -Back of Book
Curriculum Connections:
Taken from Teacher Created Resources
Taken from Teacher Created Resources
- Pretend you are a reporter from the eastern metropolis of New York City. Your travels throughout the country brought you to the quiet town of Santa Barbara. Upon your arrival in this small town, you heard the most fantastic survival story. You just know that your editor in New York will want his newspaper to get the "scoop." Karana's incredible ordeal will make a great human interest story. In the space provided below, create an eye-catching headline and story that will grab your readers' interest.
- Karana has some exciting but terrifying experiences. Think about how she must have felt after her battle with the devilfish. Imagine her thoughts as she stabbed it with her knife and it literally exploded, showering her with blood sucking leeches! This experience left her physically and emotionally drained. She was even too dispirited to pull the devilfish out of the water to retrieve its prized meat. In fact, she had other chances to kill other devilfish, but the memory was so painful that she no longer wished to spear them. Finally, she had the near death experience in the Black Cave. After the tide receded, she paddled her canoe out fast and never did she look back! It was at this point that she vowed to "never in all our days" go back. These two incidents left pyschological fears which played on her mind and emotions. In these instances, there were reasons for her fear. Often, though, we have fears for which there are no logical reasons. These are called phobias. Do you have any phobias? Are there any things that you are uncontrollably afraid of? A phobia is defined as an exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object or thing. It is important to find strategies to deal with phobias or they will continue to grow stronger and can control one's life. As a class, brainstorm a list of phobias and write these on the chalkboard. Next, interview classmates, parents, and neighbors to find effective strategies to control or even elminate each phobia.
- The author's publisher has decided to illustrate the fight scene from chapter 19. Your task is to illustrate two fo the scenes during the agonizing battle using the descriptions provided in the book. Under each illustration write a few sentences using as many descriptive words as possible to tell what is happening.