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A Unit Plan for Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild

Includes:

o Activity Plan with reproducible handouts Pages 2-23

o Vocabulary Plan with reproducible handouts Pages 24-37

o Chapter Quizzes with reproducible handouts & teacher key. Pages 38-56

©2009 by PlP Publishing. All rights reserved. Handouts are reproducible for classroom use only. Unit Plan Written and Developed by Pedro Pereira

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Activity Plan

Activity Page # Pre-reading Quickwrite (possible classroom or group discussion prompt)

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Into the Wild Literary terms

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○Activity #1: Chapter 1 and 2: The Character of Alex Supertramp

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Activity #2: Chapter 3 and 4: Theme of social sensitivity

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Activity #3: Chapter 1-5, Tone/Author’s Voice. Writing Assignment

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Activity #4: Chapters 6 and 7: Style of author (epigraphs)

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Activity #5: Chapters 1-8: Figurative language/imagery in novel

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Activity #6: Chapter 9-11: Characterization (others’ reactions to Chris)

15-16

Activity #7: Chapter 12: Make the Connection. Relationship with parents 17 Activity #8: Chapter 13-Epilogue: Exploring themes

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Activity #9: Chapter 16-17: Creative writing (investigative report)

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Activity #10: Chapter 18-Epilogue: Write response to literature

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Activity #11: Conclusion of Book: Characterization Poster

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Activity #12: Conclusion of Book: Exploring Voice

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Name:_______________________

Date:___________________

Period:_________

Into the Wild Pre-Reading

Quick Write:

• In half a page, describe your experiences in the wild. Have you ever spent time outdoors? Have you ever spent time camping or out in a national park? Describe in ½ page any such experience.

• If you have never experienced time in the great outdoors, then write about another person, a TV show, or a movie in which you saw somebody enter such an experience. How did you like the story of their experience in the wilderness? ½ page.

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Name:_________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:___________

Into The Wild Literary Terms

DIRECTIONS: As your teacher defines the term, copy its definition in the blank ovals below.

1. Biography

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2. Autobiography

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3. Epigraph

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4. Anecdote

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5. Imagery

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6. Theme

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7. Symbol

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8. Tone

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9. Plot

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10. Conflict:____________________

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11. Complications/events:__________

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12. Climax

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13. Resolution

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Into The Wild Literary Terms TEACHER DEFINITIONS

1. Biography – a written account of somebody else’s life

2. Autobiography –when somebody writes an account of their own life

3. Epigraph – a quote or reference at the start of a chapter of a book that is related to the

contents of a chapter or refers to a theme in the chapter

4. Anecdote – a short story, usually one that is an attention-getter

5. Imagery – language that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, touch, feeling, smells).

6. Theme – a universal idea explored in a literary work

7. Symbol – something that is used to stand for something else

8. Tone – the attitude the narrator or writer conveys in their piece

9. Plot –the pattern of events

10. Conflict – the largest problem in a story

11. Complications/events – the things that happen in a story

12. Climax – the point of greatest tension or excitement in a story.

13. Resolution – when all the problems of a story are solved

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Name:_______________________________ Date:___________________ Period:_______

Activity #1. Chapter 1-3, Characterization. The Character of Chris McCandless

Directions: Use the following passages from the book to infer what character traits they reveal about Chris McCandless.

Thoughts, Actions, Words, Descriptions, or Opinions about Chris

Character Trait (What the quote reveals about Chris)

He used to sit right there at the end of the bar and tell us these

amazing stories of his travels. He could talk for hours (16).

There was something arresting about the youngster’s eyes. Dark and emotive, the suggested a trace of exotic blood in his heritage

(16).

He was the hardest worker I’ve ever seen. Didn’t matter what it was,

he’d do it: hard physical labor, mucking rotten grain and dead rats out of the bottom of the hold – jobs where you’d get so damn dirty

you couldn’t even tell what you looked like at the end of the day (18).

I think maybe part of what got him in trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to makes sense of the

world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often (18).

From things he said, you could tell something wasn’t right between him and his family, but I don’t like to pry into other people’s business,

so I never asked about it (18).

He was offered membership in Phi Beta kappa but declined, insisting

that titles and honors are irrelevant (20).

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He already had a perfectly good car; he insisted: a beloved 1982 Datsun B210, slightly dented but mechanically sounds, with 128,000

miles on the odometer (21).

In the years since, he’s been in the habit of taking it on extended solo road trips when classes weren’t in session, and during that

graduation weekend he casually mentioned to his parents that he intended to spend the upcoming summer on the road as well (21).

At long last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from

the raw throb of existence (22).

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Name:______________________________________________ Date:________________________ Period:___________

Activity #2. Chapter 3-4, Themes/Critical Thinking The Theme of Social Sensitivity.

Directions: Answer the following discussion questions by yourself or with a group of classmates. Be prepared to share your answers with the class.

1. Why would anybody isolate themself from society? 2. Describe a situation in which you isolated yourself from friends or family. 3. Give examples of and describe character traits of a person who may isolate themselves from others. 4. After learning a little bit of Chris McCandless, why do you think he is the type to isolate himself from others? Give proof from the readings that support your claims (proof means textual evidence and a page number).

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Name:____________________________

Date:________________________

Period:___________

Activity #3. Chapter 1-5, Tone/Author’s Voice.

Writing Assignment

Essay: Imagine that you are an author, like Krakauer, who has written a chapter on your life. Choose an eventful occurrence in your life in which you entered the great outdoors, somewhat alienated from normal society. If you have never had such a “wild” experience, then in this biographical piece describe a moment in which you felt alienated OR set apart from others. Such alienation can occur when you enter a new environment, or an unfamiliar place. Your essay must include the following components:

• You are writing as an outsider looking into your life and this one experience. You will be speaking in third person (he, she, her, him, etc.)

• Choose a tone and stick with it. Krakauer writes with sympathy towards Chris. You may write with a tone of sympathy, pity, disapproval, or any tone of your choosing. Keep the tone consistent.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name:____________________________

Date:________________________

Period:___________

Activity #3. Chapter 1-5, Tone/Author’s Voice.

Writing Assignment

Essay: Imagine that you are an author, like Krakauer, who has written a chapter on your life. Choose an eventful occurrence in your life in which you entered the great outdoors, somewhat alienated from normal society. If you have never had such a “wild” experience, then in this biographical piece describe a moment in which you felt alienated OR set apart from others. Such alienation can occur when you enter a new environment, or an unfamiliar place. Your essay must include the following components:

• You are writing as an outsider looking into your life and this one experience. You will be speaking in third person (he, she, her, him, etc.)

• Choose a tone and stick with it. Krakauer writes with sympathy towards Chris. You may write with a tone of sympathy, pity, disapproval, or any tone of your choosing. Keep the tone consistent.

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Name:_________________________________________ Date:________________________ Period:___________

Activity #4. Chapters 1-7, Style Epigraphs

Directions: Epigraphs are the short quotations that are placed at the beginning of each chapter. Read each epigraph below. Give your initial impression and then skim the chapter of its origin and give a better description of why it may have been used to introduce the chapter.

Epigraph Initial Impression (Pre-reading)

Significance of Epigraph (Post-reading)

Chapter 1: April 27th, 1992 Greeting from Fairbanks! This is the last you shall hear from me Wayne. Arrived here 2 days ago. It was very difficult to catch rides in the Yukon Territory. But I finally got here. Please return all mail I receive to the sender. It might be a very long time before I return South. If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again I want you to know you’re a great man. I now walk into the wild. Alex. -Postcard received by Wayne Westerberg in Carthage, South Dakota.

Chapter 2: Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway. The tress had been stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean toward each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold thqat the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of a laugher more terrible than any sadness—a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the Sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness if infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen hearted Northlan Wild. –Jack London, White Fang

Chapter 3: I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life. – Leo Tolstoy, “Family Happiness.” Passage highlighted in one of the books found with Chris McCandless’ remains.

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Chapter 4: The desert is the environment of revelation, genetically and physiologically alien, sensorily austere, esthetically abstract, historically inimical… Its forms are bold and suggestive. The mind is beset by light and space, the kinesthetic novelty of aridity, high temperature, and wind. The desert sky is encircling, majestic, terrible. In other habitat, the rim of sky above the horizontal is broken or obscured here, together with the overhead portion, it is infinitely vaster than that of rolling countryside and forest lands… In an unobstructed sky the clouds seem more massive sometimes grandly reflecting the earth’s curvature on their concave undersides. The angularity of desert landforms imparts a monumental architecture to the clouds as well as to the land… […] – Paul Shepard, Man in the Landscape: A Historic View of the Esthetics of Nature Chapter 5: The dominant primordial beast was strong in Buck, and under the fierce conditions of trail life it grew and grew. Yet it was a secret growth. His newborn cunning gave him poise and control. – Jack London, The Call of the Wild

Chapter 6: No man ever followed his genius till it misled him. Though the result were bodily weakness, yet perhaps no one can say that the consequences were to be regretted, for these were a life in conformity to higher principles. If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal, - that is you success. Al natures is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them. They are the highest reality… The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indestructible and indescribably as the tints of morning or evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched. – Henry David Thoreau, Walden.

Chapter 7: It is true that many creative people fail to make mature personal relationships, and some are extremely isolated. It is also true that,, in some instances, trauma, in the shape of early separation or bereavement, has steered the potentially creative person toward developing aspects of his personality which can find fulfillment in comparative isolation. But this does not mean that solitary, creative pursuits are themselves pathological… Avoidance behavior is a response designed to protect the infant from behavioral disorganization. If we transfer this concept to adult life, we can see that an avoidant infant might very well develop into a person whose principal need was to find some kind of meaning and order in life which was not entirely or even chiefly, dependent upon interpersonal relationships. – Anthony Storr, Solitude: A Return to the Self

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Name:____________________________

Date:________________________

Period:___________

Activity #5. Chapter 1-8. Figurative Language. Imagery that Targets the Senses

Directions: Find passages that entice the senses (sight, smell, sound, touch, taste) and copy them in the chart below. Additionally, describe the appeal of the passage.

Passage Utilizing Imagery Page # Sense That it Appeals to (sight,

smell, sound, touch, or taste)

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Name:__________________________________________ Date:________________________ Period:___________

Activity #6. Chapter 4-11, Characterization. The Character of Chris McCandless

Directions: Complete the chart below. You are given a statement by a person about Chris. Based upon the quote, make an inference about character traits that Chris might have.

Thoughts, Actions, Words, Descriptions, or Opinions about Chris

Character Trait (What the quote reveals about Chris)

“Frankly, I was surprised he ever got hired […]. He could do the job—he cooked in the back- but he always worked at the same slow pace, even during the lunch rush, no matter how much you’d get him to hurry it up. […]. It was like he was in his own universe” (40).

“It wasn’t up to McDonald’s standards to come in smelling the way he did. So finally they delegated me to tell him that he needed to take a bath more often” (41).

McCandless was especially attentive to Burres, flirting and clowning with her at every opportunity. “He like to tease me and torment me,” she recalls (45).

“He seemed extremely intelligent,” Franz states in an exotic brogue […]. “I thought he was too nice a kid to be living by that hot springs with those nudists and drunks and dope smokers” (51).

Not infrequently during their visits, Franz recalls, McCandless’ face would darken with anger and he’d fulminate about his parents or politicians or the endemic idiocy of mainstream American life (52).

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“He was kind of shy at first,” says Borah. “He acted like it was hard for him to be around people” (63).

“I got the impression that this Alaska escapade was going to be his last big adventure,” Westerberg offers, “and that he wanted to settle down some. He said he was going to write a book about his travels” (66).

“He was very into himself. he wasn’t antisocial—he always had friends, and everybody liked him—but he could go off and tertian himself for hours. he didn’t seem to need toys or friends. He could be alone without being lonely” (107).

Only once did he receive a grade lower than B: and F, in high school physics. He’d [the physics teacher] explained at the beginning of the semester hat because he had something like two hundred students, lab reports had to be written in a particular format to make grading them a manageable proposition. Chris thought it was a stupid rule and decided to ignore it. He did his lab reports, but not in the correct format, so the teacher game him an F (109).

“Toward the end of the evening, Chris asked me how much money I had. I said five dollars. He had ten. ‘Okay you buy the gas,’ he told me; ‘I’m going to get some food.’ So he spend the ten bucks on a big bag of hamburgers and we drove around handing them out to smelly guys sleeping on grates. it was the weirdest Friday night of my life. But Chris did that kind of thing a lot (114).

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Name:____________________________ Date:________________________ Period:___________

Activity #7. Make the Connection. Compare/contrast Your Parents to Chris’ Parents

Directions: Compare/contrast your relationship with your parents to that of Chris with his parents. Do so by completing the Venn Diagram below. Have at least FIVE statements in each circle. Be prepared to share your responses with your peers.

Your Parents Similarities Chris’ Parents

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Name:__________________________________________ Date:________________________ Period:___________

Activity #8. Themes. Exploring Themes in the Novel

A theme is a universal idea that a novel explores. In Romeo and Juliet, some themes were lost love and the affects of feuding families. In the chart below, you will be listing themes in the novel and then you will be giving general pieces of evidence that proves that the theme occurred in the reading.

Theme #1 Theme #2

Theme #3

Evidence of theme:

Evidence of theme:

Evidence of theme:

Evidence of theme:

Evidence of theme:

Evidence of theme:

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My interest in Bruce Canyons began when his body was found at the foot of an Aztec temple in South America. There was great debate over his demise but even greater controversy on how he got to the foot of a temple. After decades of research, the mystery behind this soon

Activity #9. Creative Writing. Into the Wild Investigative Report

Directions:

• You will be writing an investigative report on a fictional character—a character that you create. Your fictional, mysterious character went on a journey much like Chris’ and died somehow during his/her adventure.

• As an investigative reporter, like Krakauer, you will be writing an article for a magazine that details information about your character’s venture. Due to multiple interviews and countless hours of investigation, you are able to chronicle your character’s life easily.

• In the novel, Into the Wild, Krakauer begins by describing the discovery of Chris’ body in a bus. Then, Krakauer begins chronicling Chris journey and how he got to the bus. Essentially, Krakauer begins the novel at Chris’ ending.

• Similarly, as a starting point for your article, you must pinpoint the location that your character’s body was found and the last note that your character etched out before dying. The location of your character’s death must be a set of ancient ruins anywhere in the world. Carved on those ruins will be your character’s last words. Your character’s last words will be set as an epigraph that starts the written portion of your article.

• You must include a picture of the ruins where your character was found within your article (think of how pictures are placed in actual magazines near their articles) or you may staple the picture to your article.

• The article must have a title and be at least 4 paragraphs long – single spaced if typed. • You may use Microsoft word or Publisher in the creation of your article. Consider formatting your article like that

of an actual magazine. It is recommended that you use one of Word’s pre-formatted “newsletter” designs.

SAMPLE ARTICLE

The Adventure of a Lifetime By Your Teacher

“There is no better life lived than the one that I have experienced.” -Bruce Canyons

to be college graduate has been uncovered. The man who was a mystery is not all the mysterious at all. Bruce Canyons interest in South America began with his quest to document the elusive Brazilian Boa snake. Ever since youth, he had been captivated by slithery reptiles……...

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Activity #10. Writing a Response to Literature.

• Choose any ONE prompt from those listed below. • Typed format: 3 pages, double spaced, readable font, 1.25 inch margins on right and left. • Hand-written format: 5 pages, blue or black ink, written neatly.

1. We have explored a few themes in Into the Wild. You are to choose any one of those themes and

elaborate on it. Prove, its existence in the novel. Give specific proof, quotes, and paraphrased statements that validates the existence of the theme. Why is the theme important to the novel? How does the theme play a significant role in Chris’ life?

2. Would you label Chris McCandless a hero, somebody to be admired, or a fool, who made many tragic

mistakes? Is Chris somebody to be admired or somebody who should be pitied for his foolish mistakes? Explain your thoughts thoroughly.

3. In a compare/contrast essay, compare the relationship you have with your parents or guardians to the relationship Chris had with his parents.

Activity #10. Writing a Response to Literature.

• Choose any ONE prompt from those listed below. • Typed format: 3 pages, double spaced, readable font, 1.25 inch margins on right and left. • Hand-written format: 5 pages, blue or black ink, written neatly.

1. We have explored a few themes in Into the Wild. You are to choose any one of those themes and

elaborate on it. Prove its existence in the novel. Give specific proof, quotes, and paraphrased statements that validates the existence of the theme. Why is the theme important to the novel? How does the theme play a significant role in Chris’ life?

2. Would you label Chris McCandless a hero, somebody to be admired, or a fool, who made many tragic

mistakes? Is Chris somebody to be admired or somebody who should be pitied for his foolish mistakes? Explain your thoughts thoroughly.

3. In a compare/contrast essay, compare the relationship you have with your parents or guardians to the relationship Chris had with his parents.

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Name(s):___________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_____

Activity #11. Characterization. Christopher McCandless Poster

Directions: • Synopsis: Now, that you have read a few chapters of the book, you have caught a glimpse of the young man at the

heart of the story. Although Krakauer is crafting a work of nonfiction, he employs many of the same devices used in writing fiction. For example, he allows the reader to get to know Chris in the same ways fiction authors use characterization (indirect characterization tells you about Chris’ character without directly telling you his traits).

• You and your group will write about what you know about Chris McCandless so far in a poster. • The poster will describe the following:

1. Chris’ appearance (draw a picture of Chris) 2. At least 4 things people said about Chris

Include the passage and page number. Include a brief, personal comment on each passage.

• Example. o Passage: “Marely was a hyper but loving dog (3).” o Comment: Few people would have had the patience to put up with Marley.

3. At least 4 things Chris said/his thoughts Include a brief, personal comment on each thing he said/thought.

4. At least 4 things that he hoped to do or 4 things he did do, his actions/goals. Include a brief, personal comment on each thing he said/thought.

• Please assign people in your group to take on different tasks. Consider splitting up the tasks listed above. • Your poster must include color. • Be creative, perhaps adding pictures beyond the required picture of Chris, magazine cut-outs, etc. • Please attach this piece of paper to the back of your poster.

-------------------------------------------- GRADING RUBRIC

1. Included center design that is a good representation of Chris. Picture graded on effort not artistic ability.

3 2 1

2. Included at least 4 things people said about Chris. Passages include page numbers and included a comment on each passage.

3 2 1 3. Included at least 4 things Chris said/his thoughts. Included students’ own personal commentary.

3 2 1 4. Included 4 of Chris’ actions/goals.

3 2 1 5. Included color and exhibited creativity through pictures, cut-outs etc.

3 2 1

6. Group worked productively and collaborated well in class. 3 2 1

7. Holistic Grade: As a whole, on a 3 point scale, the poster is 3 2 1

Total: _____ /21 points

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Name:______________________________________ Date:____________________ Period:_________

Activity 12. Exploring Voice. Letter to Chris McCandless

Directions: Pretend that you are an old high school friend who knew Chris rather well. You just found out that Chris has just arrived in Alaska. You have no knowledge of his fate (how he will die), but you are worried about him. Write him a letter from a concerned friend. Letter must be at least 3 paragraphs long. Begin your letter below; if necessary, continue writing on the back or on an attached piece of binder paper.

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Name:_____________________________________ Date:____________________ Period:_________

Activity 12. Exploring Voice (continued)

Letter from Chris McCandless

Directions: Your teacher has collected all your letters to Chris. Now, your teacher will be giving you one of these letters that one of your peers has written. Pretend that you are Chris and write back to your peer in a response to their letter. You will be responding to their letter in the space provided below. Your response must be at least 3 paragraphs long (if you need extra room, continue on the back or attach a piece of binder paper). The explicitly of your response is at your teacher’s discretion.

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Vocabulary Plan

Activity Page # Chapter 1 – 2 Context Clues

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Chapter 3 – 4 Context Clues

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Chapter 17 – Epilogue Context Clues

36-37

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Name:___________________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_________

Into the Wild Chapter 1 – 2 Context Clues

Directions: Use context clues in the following sentences to guess the meaning of the underlined words; then, look up the word’s definition in the dictionary.

1. Alaska has long been a magnet for dreamers and misfits, people who think the unsullied enormity of the Last Frontier will patch all of the holes in their lives. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 2. The more they talked, the less Alex struck Gallien as a nutcase. He was congenial and seemed well-educated. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 3. Gallien thought the hitchhiker’s scheme was foolhardy and tried repeatedly to dissuade him. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 4. On Alex’s map, nevertheless, the broken line meandered west from the Parks Highway for forty miles or so before petering out in the middle of trackless wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Your guesses:

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Dictionary definitions: 5. On the northern margin on the Alaska Range, just before the hulking ramparts of Mt. McKinley and its satellites surrender to the low Kantishna plain, a series of lesser ridges, known as the Outer range, sprawls across the flats like a rumpled blanket on an unmade bed. Your guesses: Dictionary definitions: 6. In the three decades since construction ended, much of the roadbed has been obliterated by washouts, brush, and beaver ponds, but the bus is still there. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 7. Thompson, Samel, and Swanson, however, are contumacious Alaskans with a special fondness for driving motor vehicles where motor vehicles aren’t really designed to be driven. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 8. Virtually no subcutaneous fat remained on the body, and the muscles had withered significantly in the days of weeks prior to death. Your guess: Dictionary definition:

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Name:___________________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_________

Into the Wild Chapter 3 – 4 Context Clues

Directions: Use context clues in the following sentences to guess the meaning of the underlined words; then, look up the word’s definition in the dictionary. 1. Stately rows of cottonwoods shade a grid of streets seldom disturbed by moving vehicles. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 2. Westerberg, a hyperkinetic man with thick shoulders and a black goatee, owns a grain elevator… Your guess: Dictionary definition: 3. Dark and emotive, they [his eyes] suggested a trace of exotic blood in his heritage… Your guess: Dictionary definition: 4. If McCandless felt estranged from his parents and siblings, he found a surrogate family in Westerberg and his employees… Your guess:

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Dictionary definition: 5. His father, Walt, is an eminent aerospace engineer who designed advanced radar systems for the space shuttle and other high profile projects while in the employ of NASA and Hughes Aircraft… Your guess: Dictionary definition: 6. A. californica grows only in gypsum soil of a sort that occurs in abundance along the south shore of Lake Mead, so that is where Walsh led his team of rangers to conduct the botanical survey. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 7. A freebie from the road gods—a car like this will make a great undercover vehicle for drug interdiction. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 8. There was nowhere to move the care, however, as the only route of egress was now a foaming, full-blown river. Your guess: Dictionary definition:

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Name:___________________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_________

Into the Wild Chapter 5 –6 Context Clues

Directions: Use context clues in the following sentences to guess the meaning of the underlined words; then, look up the word’s definition in the dictionary. 1. Bullhead City is a community in the oxymoronic, late-twentieth century idiom. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 2. Temperamental. He meant good, but I think he had a lot of complexes. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 3. Come November, as the weather turns cold across the rest of the country, some five thousand snowbirds and drifters and sundry vagabonds congregate in this otherworldly setting to live on the cheap under the sun. Your guesses: Dictionary definitions: 4. Even though McCandless rebuffed Tracy’s advances, Burres makes it clear he was no recluse: “He had a good time when he was around people.” Your guess: Dictionary definition:

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5. McCandless made an indelible impression on a number of people… Your guess: Dictionary definition: 6. Only the rattle of the wind interrupts the spectral quiet. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 7. Franz relished being with McCandless, but their burgeoning friendship also reminded him how lonely he’d been. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 8. County officials say they eliminated the springs out of concern that bathers might become gravely ill from virulent microbes thought to flourish in the thermal pools. Your guess: Dictionary definition:

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Name:___________________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_________

Into the Wild Context Clues, Chapters 7-8

Directions: Use context clues in the following sentences to guess the meaning of the underlined words; then, look up the word’s definition in the dictionary. 1. The big John Deere 8020 squats silently in the canted evening light, a long way from anywhere… Your guess: Dictionary definition: 2. Nor was McCandless endowed with a surfeit of common sense. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 3. McCandless assured both Westerberg and Borah that when his northern sojourn was over, he would return to South Dakota, at least for the fall. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 4. The most strident criticism came in the form of a dens, multipage epistle from Ambler… Your guess: Dictionary definition: 5. From our brief conversation I deduced that I had just met the celebrated eccentric whom the locals called the Mayor of Hippie Cove- a references to a bight of tidewater north of town that was a magnet for long-haired transients… Your guess: Dictionary definition:

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Name:___________________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_________


Directions: Use context clues in the following sentences to guess the meaning of the underlined words; then, look up the word’s definition in the dictionary. 1. The ephemeral bloom of a sego lily peeks from the toe of a ninety-foot stone arch. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 2. And in his final letter Ruess nonchalantly confesses to his brother. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 3. I blundered upon a matrix of faint stone rectangles embedded in the tundra. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 4. Treeless and rocky, perpetually clobbered by gales howling off the North Atlantic, it takes its name from its first settlers, now long gone… Your guess: Dictionary definition: 5. An autopsy at the state coroner’s office in Fairbanks this week found that the man had died of starvation. Your guess: Dictionary definition:

33

Name:___________________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_________


Directions: Use context clues in the following sentences to guess the meaning of the underlined words; then, look up the word’s definition in the dictionary. 1. Floor to ceiling windows take in the hazy panorama of the bay. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 2. It wasn’t until he took up running, an activity that rewards will and determination more than finesse or cunning, that he found his athletic calling. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 3. Nuance, strategy, and anything beyond the rudimentaries of technique were wasted on Chris. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 4. In 1986, on the sultry spring weekend that Chris graduated from Woodson High School, Walt and Billie threw a party for him Your guess: Dictionary definition: 5. Walt’s double life came to light, the revelations inflicted deep wounds. Your guess: Dictionary definition:

34

Name:___________________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_________

Into the Wild

Context Clues, Chapters 13-14 Directions: Use context clues in the following sentences to guess the meaning of the underlined words; then, look up the word’s definition in the dictionary. 1. A month later Billie sits at her dining room table, sifting through the pictorial record of Chris’s final days. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 2 – 3 . As she studies the pictures, she breaks down from time to time, weeping as only a mother who has outlived a child can weep, betraying a sense of loss so huge and irreparable that the mind balks at taking its measure. Your guesses: Dictionary definitions: 4 . Such bereavement, witnessed at close range, makes even the most eloquent apologia for high risk activities ring fatuous and hollow. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 5. I owned a book in which there was a photograph of the Devil’s Thumb, a black-and-white image taken by an eminent glaciologist named Maynard Miller. Your guess: Dictionary definition:

35

Name:___________________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_________


Directions: Use context clues in the following sentences to guess the meaning of the underlined words; then, look up the word’s definition in the dictionary. 1. In truth, my escapade on the north face had rattled me, and I didn’t want to go on the Thumb again at all. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 2. Mystified, I was ready to chalk it up to my chemically enhanced imagination when I heard something crackle at my back. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 3. The windows of our home rattled with the thunder of ultimatums. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 4. McCandless was candid with Stuckey about his intent to spend the summer alone in the bush, living off the land. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 5. Told me his dad was a genius, a NASA rocket scientist, but he’d been a bigamist at one time—and that kind of went against Alex’s grain. Your guess: Dictionary definition:

36

Name:___________________________________________________________ Date:______________________ Period:_________

Into the Wild Chapter 17 – Epilogue Context Clues

Directions: Use context clues in the following sentences to guess the meaning of the underlined words; then, look up the word’s definition in the dictionary. 1. The cable was erected in 1970 to chart the Teklanika’s seasonal fluctuations; hydrologists traveled back and forth above the river by means of an aluminum basket that is suspended from the cable with pulleys. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 2. If he’d known about it, crossing the Teklanika to safety would have been a trivial matter. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 3. The beaver ponds are never more than chest deep, but the water is cold, and as we slosh forward, our feet churn the much on the bottom into a foul-smelling miasma of decomposing slime. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 4. For a few minutes the roof of the bust remains visible among the stunted trees, a tiny white gleam in a wild green sea, growing smaller and smaller, and then it’s gone. Your guess: Dictionary definition:

37

5. Over a period of several years I doggedly sifted through the scientific literature, hoping to find a clue that would explain this conundrum. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 6. And even if he had somehow chanced upon them, it’s difficult to imagine him destroying the buildings without boasting of the deed in his diary. Your guess: Dictionary definition: 7. Some people who have been brought back from the far edge of starvation, though, report that near the end the hunger vanishes, the terrible pain dissolves, and the suffering is replaced by a sublime euphoria, a sense of calm accompanied by transcendent mental clarity. Your guess: Dictionary definition:

38

Chapter Quizzes

Activity Page # Chapter 1 – 2 Quiz & Teacher Answer Key

39-40

Chapter 3 – 4 Quiz & Teacher Answer Key

41-42


43-44


45-46


47-48


49-50


51-52


53-54


55-56

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Name:_______________________________________________________________ Date:_____________________________ Period:______

Chapter 1-2 Quiz for Into the Wild

A. Short Answer Questions. Answer briefly in the space provided below each question. Chapter 1, The Alaska Interior

(1) Jim Gallien is driving in Alaska when he picks up a hitchhiker. Who is the hitchhiker?

(2) Where does the hitchhiker intend to go?

(3) How does Jim Gallien react to the hitchhiker’s intentions? Chapter 2, The Stampede Trail.

(1) Earl Pilgrim purchased what to house his employees?

(2) What did the hunters find in the bus?

(3) What do they decide to do with Chris? B. Vocabulary Matching. Match the word with its correct definition. Write the letter of correct response next to the word. WORDS _________(1) unsullied

_________(2) congenial

_________(3) dissuade

_________(4) meandered

_________(5) petering

_________(6) ramparts

_________(7) obliterated

_________(8) contumacious

_________(9) subcutaneous

DEFINITIONS

A. destroyed

B. pure or untarnished

C. protected embankments

D. to persuade somebody not to do something

E. unlawful or unwilling to follow rules

F. friendly or having a pleasant personality

G. to gradually diminish

H. beneath the skin

I. to have wandered aimlessly

40

Chapter 1-2 Quiz ANSWER SHEET

A. Short Answer Questions. Chapter 1

(1) Chris McCandless / Alex Supertramp (2) The Stampede Trail (3) He tries to persuade him not to go. He offers Chris supplies for his trip

Chapter 2

(1) Buses (2) Chris’ body (3) Contact the authorities to pick up his body

B. Vocabulary Matching. 1. B 2. F 3. D 4. I 5. G 6. C 7. A 8. E 9. H

41

Name:_______________________________________________________________ Date:_____________________________ Period:______


A. Short Answer Questions. Answer briefly in the space provided below each question.

Chapter 3, Carthage

(1) How does Westerberg meet Alex?

(2) Why does Westerberg go to jail?

(3) Describe Chris’ relationship with his family.

Chapter 4, Detrital Wash

(1) What do Walsh and the other rangers discover?

(2) What natural disaster affected Chris in this chapter?

(3) What does an officer give Chris a ticket for?

B. Vocabulary Matching. Match the word with its correct definition. Write the letter of correct response next to the word. WORDS _________(1) stately

_________(2) hyperkinetic

_________(3) emotive

_________(4) surrogate

_________(5) eminent

_________(6) botanical

_________(7) egress

DEFINITIONS

A. grand

B. being in a high position or high standing

C. characterized by emotion

D. the act of going out or leaving from a place

E. to have much hyperactivity

F. relating to plants

G. somebody who takes place of somebody else

42



(1) Picks him up as a hitchhiker (2) Selling black boxes that unscramble TV channels (3) Not good.

Chapter 4 (1) The Datsun (2) Flash flood (3) Hitchhiking

B. Vocabulary Matching. 1. A 2. E 3. C 4. G 5. B 6. F 7. D

43

Name:_______________________________________________________________ Date:_____________________________ Period:______



Chapter 5, Bullhead City (1) Where did Chris work in this chapter?

(2) What peculiar thing did the manage mention about his footwear?

(3) Who was one of Chris’ favorite authors? This author is mentioned in the chapter.

Chapter 6, Anza Borrego (1) Who does Chris meet in this chapter?

(2) Who does Krauker receive a letter from?

(3) Where does Chris live?

B. Vocabulary Matching. Match the word with its correct definition. Write the letter of correct response next to the word. WORDS _________(1) oxymoronic

_________(2) temperamental

_________(3) sundry

_________(4) congregate

_________(5) recluse

_________(6) indelible

_________(7) spectral

_________(8) burgeoning

_________(9) virulent

DEFINITIONS

A. gets upset easily

B. poisonous

C. a contradictory expression

D. growing quickly

E. come together or meet up with one and other

F. assorted

G. not easy to forget

H. somebody who prefers to be alone

I. ghostly

44



(1) McDonalds (2) Didn’t like socks (3) Jack London.

Chapter 6 (1) Franz (2) Franz (3) A drifter camp

B. Vocabulary Matching. 1. C 2. A 3. F 4. E 5. H 6. G 7. I 8. D 9. B

45

Name:_______________________________________________________________ Date:_____________________________ Period:______



Chapter 7, Carthage (1) Describe Chris’ kitchen.

(2) How was Chris when socializing with women?

(3) What instrument does he play in the chapter?

Chapter 8, Alaska

(1) Describe the character, Rosellini, Krakauer meets in the chapter.

(2) What happened to Rosellini?

(3) Waterman accomplishes what?

B. Vocabulary Matching. Match the word with its correct definition. Write the letter of correct response next to the word. WORDS _________(1) canted

_________(2) surfeit

_________(3) sojourn

_________(4) epistle

_________(5) transients


DEFINITIONS

A. a wanderer who only stays somewhere for a short time

B. slanted

C. to stay somewhere for a time

D. a long letter

E. excessive

46

Chapter 7-8 Quiz ANSWER SHEET A. Short Answer Questions. Chapter 7

(1) Smelly (2) Bad (3) Piano

Chapter 8 (1) A wandering hippie (2) He stabs himself. (3) Climbs Mount Hunter

B. Vocabulary Matching. 1. B 2. E 3. C 4. D 5. A

47

Name:_______________________________________________________________ Date:_____________________________ Period:______



Chapter 9, Davis Gulch (1) What is the name of the young man that Krakauer compares Chris to?

(2) What was the fate of this young man?

(3) Who were the papar?

Chapter 10, Fairbanks (1) When the Alaska State Troopers were trying to figure out who Chris was, what notable figure in Chris’ life gave them information necessary to figure out who Chris was? (2) What was one piece of information that this notable figure gave the Alaskan State Troopers?

(3) Who was Sam McCandless?

B. Vocabulary Matching. Match the word with its correct definition. Write the letter of correct response next to the word. WORDS _________(1) ephemeral

_________(2) nonchalantly

_________(3) matrix

_________(4) perpetually

_________(5) autopsy

DEFINITIONS

A. short-lived

B. interconnected things

C. not really caring

D. repeatedly

E. examination of a dead body

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Chapter 9-10 Quiz ANSWER SHEET A. Short Answer Questions. Chapter 9

(1) Everett Ruess (2) He disappeared. There are a few theories on how he died. (3) Irish monks who searched and settled in untouched, undisturbed regions

Chapter 10 (1) Westerberg (2) His name and/or his social security number (3) Sam is Chris’ eldest brother from Walt’s first marriage.

B. Vocabulary Matching. 1. A 2. C 3. B 4. D 5. E

49

Name:_______________________________________________________________ Date:_____________________________ Period:______



Chapter 11, Chesapeake Beach

(1) Who is Billie McCandless

(2) True or false: Chris’ parents were hard workers.

(3) What business did Chris begin at a young age?

Chapter 12, Annandale

(1) After high school, Chris went on a trip to the west and he nearly succumbed to dehydration. Where did this spell of dehydration occur?

(2) What was one of the summer jobs that Chris had?

(3) What secret did Chris learn about his dad? B. Vocabulary Matching. Match the word with its correct definition. Write the letter of correct response next to the word. WORDS _________(1) panorama

_________(2) finesse

_________(3) rudimentaries

_________(4) sultry

_________(5) revelations

DEFINITIONS

A. damp

B. newly revealed information

C. a wide picture

D. pieces of basic knowledge

E. physical skill

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(1) Chris’ mom (2) True (3) A copying business. Chris’ Fast Copies.

Chapter 12 (1) The Mojave Desert (2) Worked for parents’ company and for Dominos Pizza (3) His father had been living a double life. Walt had been seeing his first wife, Marcia, while having a relationship with Billie, his future wife and mother of Chris.

B. Vocabulary Matching. 1. C 2. E 3. D 4. A 5. B

51

Name:_______________________________________________________________ Date:_____________________________ Period:______



Chapter 13, Virginia Beach

(1) What is Chris’ sister’s name?

(2) On their way out of Virginia Beach, Chris’ sister asked Fish to stop at their __________. There she cried for an hour.

(3) How does Billie react to Chris’ passing?

Chapter 14, The Stikine Ice Cap

(1) Who is the protagonist in this chapter?

(2) What does the protagonist intend to do?

(3) What does he pay somebody $150 to do for him? This act could very well save his life.

B. Vocabulary Matching. Match the word with its correct definition. Write the letter of correct response next to the word. WORDS _________(1) pictorial

_________(2) irreparable

_________(3) balks

_________(4) bereavement

_________(5) eminent

DEFINITIONS

A. an account using pictures instead of only words

B. of high regard or rank

C. not able to be fixed

D. to deprive of something usually because of death

E. to be hesitant to do something

52



(1) Carnie (2) Church (3) Stops eating. Mourns. Doesn’t understand why he took risks.

Chapter 14 (1) The author of the book, Jon Krakauer. (2) He intends to climb a peak, Devils Thumb. (3) He pays a pilot to drop cargo for him upon the peak.

B. Vocabulary Matching. 1. A 2. C 3. E 4. D 5. B

53

Name:_______________________________________________________________ Date:_____________________________ Period:______



Chapter 15, The Stikine Ice Cap

(1) What happens to the tent?

(2) Give a brief description of Jon’s father.

(3) Describe people’s reactions to the fact that Jon made it to the top of the peak.

Chapter 16. The Alaska Interior

(1) Who is Stuckey?

(2) What’s the main source of food that Chris brings with him? (3) What is the largest animal that Chris kills for food?

B. Vocabulary Matching. Match the word with its correct definition. Write the letter of correct response next to the word. WORDS _________(1) escapade

_________(2) mystified

_________(3) ultimatums

_________(4) candid

_________(5) bigamist

DEFINITIONS

A. somebody who gets married to one person while married to another

B. honest

C. puzzled

D. an adventure

E. final demands

54



(1) It burns after he throws a match into a bag of garbage. (2) His father imposes his ambitions onto Jon. Eventually, his dad goes insane. (3) They don’t think much of it. Freeman doesn’t believe his story of climbing the peak.

Chapter 16 (1) Gives Chris a ride (2) Rice (3) Moose

B. Vocabulary Matching. 1. D 2. C 3. E 4. B 5. A

55

Name:_______________________________________________________________ Date:_____________________________ Period:______

Chapter 17-Epilogue Quiz for Into the Wild


Chapter 17. The Stampede Trail

(1) Who visits the bus in this chapter? (2) In chapter 17, Krakauer compares Chris to John Franklin. Who was John Franklin?

(3) Who are Roman and Andrew?

Chapter 18. The Stampede Trail

(1) Near the bus, were several cabins. What happened to the cabins owned by the Forsbergs?

(2) What was it that killed Chris?

B. Vocabulary Matching. Match the word with its correct definition. Write the letter of correct response next to the word. WORDS _________(1) fluctuations

_________(2) trivial

_________(3) miasma

_________(4) stunted

_________(5) conundrum

DEFINITIONS

A. not too important

B. poisonous or harmful vapors or fumes

C. changes in levels or depth

D. a puzzle

E. not fully developed or grown

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Chapter 17-Epilogue Quiz ANSWER SHEET A. Short Answer Questions. Chapter 17

(1) Krakauer (2) A British naval officer who led several expeditions. The last expedition he led, a search for the Northwest Passage, led to his death and the death of the 128 men with him. (3) They accompany Krakauer to Chris’ bus.

Chapter 18 (1) They were ransacked and trashed. (2) Starvation due to potato seed poisoning.

B. Vocabulary Matching. 1. C 2. A 3. B 4. E 5. D

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