Island of the Blue Dolphins
By Scott O’Dell
Published by Dell Publishing
Copyright 1960

Accelerated Reader: 5.4

Suggested Delivery: Guided Reading

CULTURAL, EMOTIONAL, EXCITING, COURAGEOUS, BEAUTIFUL

Wonapeli, secretly known as Karana, lives on an island that is surrounded by flocks of wild dolphins.  Her tribe is run by her father, Chief Chowig, and he is a brave and stern man.  This story follows Karana throughout the island as she plays with the wild life and tends to her duties as a woman.  After a ship of white men arrive to hunt otter, a blood bath ends their trip and many are left dead, including Karana’s father.  After several new chiefs, the tribe has agreed to leave the island but Karana and her brother are mistakenly left behind.  After his death by wild dogs, Karana is left alone on the island to survive.  After befriending the leader of the wild dog pack, Karana lives peacefully on the island, doing what she can to stay alive. 

Native American Facts

This kid friendly website includes endless information about the Native American People.  Titled “Native American Facts for Kids,” this site has pictures and descriptions of Native American homes, hairstyles, tribes, names and clothing.  Students will look at this post-reading to observe the differences between the Natives in which they read about and the many other tribes they did not read about.

Island of the Blue Dolphins Film

This link contains the full 93 minute movie of Island of the Blue Islands.  Very true to the text, this movie is great to watch after the students have already read the novel.

Interactive Novel

In depth descriptions of the book are explored in this extremely interactive website.  Detailed drawings of some of the book’s main points reveal extra information, including the Aleuts, the ships involved, cave paintings, shelter and storytelling.  Each clickable feature includes valuable information as well as examples from the text which help connect the material.  

VOCAB: Clamor, Lure, Mourning, Omen, Scarce, Hasten, Snares, Wreckage, Rivals, Glimpse

TEACHING SUGGESTIONS:
-Use this book to help create a bridge to a social studies unit involving Native Americans, their culture and their backgrounds.
-Use this book to explore survival and create a unit where students will plan what they will need to survive in the wilderness.
-Use this book in language arts as an example of good literature and ask the students to write their own short story of what they would do in Karana’s shoes. 

Before: On the board, place pictures of items that you may need to survive on an island.  This may include rope, matches, a supply of food, storage for water, weapons, etc.  Then, in small groups, have students decide what three items they would keep.  This will introduce the novel as well as work on team building and problem solving among the students.   

During: While reading the book, have students complete a map of the island.  This will not only challenge their creative side but will assess if they have been paying attention to the text or not.  Generally, the placement of objects will be similar between all the students.  Hang them up on a bulletin board to display them. 

After: This Scott O’Dell novel has several covers.  Provide pictures of each cover for the students and have them complete a fishbowl discussion debating which cover best represents the novel and why.

Writing:  Have students practice their writing skills by creating a journal entry from Rontu’s point of view.  Scenes to consider include when Karana shot Rontu, when he decided to befriend her or when he fought his old pack.  Questions which can be addressed include:

-What do you see?

-What do you feel?

-What are you thinking?

-What do you think Karana is thinking?

-What do you plan on doing next?

Students can also include illustrations with their work.