Survival!

__Survival!__ [|Glog]  There are a variety of ways of thinking of survival, but most often in school we are introduced to the theme through classics such as “Robinson Crusoe” and the often contested “Lord of the Flies”. All of the titles that I mention here are linked together through the theme of survival; whether it be surviving in the wilderness by yourself or on an island with another person. There are so many books on this theme that you should never have trouble finding a survival book for each and every one of your students. And whether you have a “hands on” student or one who enjoys working by themselves on a paper there is an activity that reflects each student and reinforces each book.    __Hatchet__  by Gary Paulsen: If you want to learn how to survive in the wilderness by yourself, Hatchet is the perfect book. Brian is forced to fly his plane after his pilot dies, then he must land it without crashing, after that he finds himself stranded in the wilderness and must learn how to survive. He is alone, but finds that the hatchet his mother gave him before he left home is the best gift he could have ever been given and essentially is what kept him alive.  __The Cay__  by Theodore Taylor: If you want a story of survival that also teaches a lesson, this is the book for you. Philip and Timothy embark on an unexpected adventure of survival when the boat they were on was attacked. Philip learns through this experience that everything he thought he knew about blacks wasn’t really true. Through this remarkable journey one will learn about survival, racism, and friendship.  __Island (Book One: Shipwreck)__ by Gordon Korman: This is book one of a series by Korman that lets you in on how these children end up on a deserted island. A handful of children were sent to get some discipline on a boat. What they weren’t expecting was the death of their captain, and then their boat catching fire. In this story the children must learn how to work together and get themselves off of a small safety boat and away from the risk of a shark attack. The book ends when they finally find an island, but one must read book two to find out what happens next! __Wild Man Island__  by Will Hobbs: Have you ever met a child who “knew it all”? In this book Andy was just that child. While on a kayaking trip he decides to make his own adventure. When the weather takes an unexpected turn he learns he should not have left his group. He first follows his instincts, then follows a stray dog to shelter. When he makes friends with the “wild man” that’s when the story really gets interesting. He finally finds help, but much to the reader’s surprise, he chooses a different option home. This is the most adventurous story of survival I have ever read! __Lord of the Flies__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by William Golding: This classic survival story may be required in most schools but has been banned at some point by other districts. This story is of a handful of young men who find themselves on an island “without any grownups!” After deciding on a leader and tasks for each person the story turns rather savage which is why it takes so much criticism. While it may not be the wholesome book, it is chalk full of examples of survival as well as many other themes that would be useful in the classroom. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__**Additional Resources**__

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Movies/TV__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">-Lord of the Flies <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">-Castaway <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">-Treasure Island <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">-Gilligan’s Island Clips <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">-History and Discovery Channel <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">-Bear Grylls Clips

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Books__

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Twister__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Darleen Bailey

__“<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">Stories of Adventure and Survival” __<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Pearson Education

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Robinson Crusoe__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Daniel Defoe

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Blizzard (Survival!)__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Kathleen Duey

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Mission Survival__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Bear Grylls

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Castaways: Stories of Survival__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Gerald Hausman

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Climb or Die: A Test of Survival__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Edward Myers

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Robinson Crusoe (Young Reading)__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Gill Harvey

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Wilderness__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Roddy Doyle

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__My Side of the Mountian__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Jean Craighead George

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__All Aboard!__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> By James Stevenson

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Voyage of the Frog__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Gary Paulsen

<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">__Alone in the Wilderness__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> by Hap Gilliland <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> __**Activities**__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> “<span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> **Would You Survive” Quiz:**  <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  This activity is a fun and easy way to introduce the theme of survival into your classroom. find out if your students could survive in the circumstances like the characters they are going to read about were put in. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> **Outside Foraging Activity:**    <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  To reenact foraging in the classroom you can have a professional come in and show the students what kinds of plants and berries are safe and unsafe to eat. It is a fun and interactive way to learn more about the world around us and try to understand what the characters in the book went through as they struggled for food to survive. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> **Group Survival Scenario:**    <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  Students are given a list of jobs and tools they are equipped with. As a group they must work together to delegate jobs for each member and decide which tools are most important to their survival. They will then explain their “plan of survival” to the class and the class will vote on which group had the best plan. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> **Real Survival Stories:**    <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  Individually students will research a real survival story. They can write a paper, make a poster, or reenact their persons real story and share it with the class. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> **Survival Word search:**    <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  Word searches are a good way to introduce the vocabulary of a text. You can use a word search in conjunction with a vocabulary lesson teaching your students some new survival words. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> **Story Map Activity:**    <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  During your students reading it is important that they grasp the ideas of plot, character, and other reading themes. With a story map, students can easily organize this information and prove that they are understanding their text. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> __Additional/Connecting Themes__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> The following are just   <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> // some //  <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  connecting themes, there are many others. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> __Family/Family Issues:__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  “Hatchet” begins with the story of his parents separation touching on divorce and the effect it has on the child. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> Racism: “The Cay” was the only title that had the theme of racism in it. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> __Death:__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  In “Wild Man Island” we learn that his dad died on one of the islands years before. His exploration is the healing he needs to put closure on his fathers death. Also, in “Lord of the Flies” we deal with a great amount of death as the children begin killing each other. In “Hatchet” the character comes very close to killing himself because of his anger at trying to survive. “Hatchet” also gives great detail into the death (heart attack) of the pilot of the plane and how the character deals with that death. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> __Coming of age:__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  Almost all of the books can be tied into a theme of “coming of age” because by the end of the book they have grown and learned so much. One book in particular is “Island.” This books specifically is dealing with children who are struggling with discipline and through this experience they grow up quickly. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> __Friendship:__ <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">  Whether it be friendship in the person to person sense or with an object, friendship is a key part of many stories of survival. For instance in “The Cay” the friendship between Timothy and Philip, and Philip and the cat. In “Hatchet” the hatchet itself was Brian's friend practically being the reason he survived. The examples of this theme is seen in many of the books and even in the movie “Castaway” when the character finds a friend in his volleyball. <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Maiandra GD,sans-serif;">