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You are here Home Resources Literature Connections Dogsong
Literature Connections
6-8 Core Literature Themes and
Connections
Dogsong by Gary
Paulsen
Russel is a young Eskimo who feels drawn to the old ways of his people.
Taking as a teacher the old man who remembers the old days he learns
to hunt with the bow and spear and to run a dogsled as his ancestors
did. Dogsong is a rite-of-passage adventure told in three parts: "The
Trance," "The Dreamrun," and "Dogsong."
6th
grade Core Literature
Key Concepts
and Vocabulary Words
Inuit, endangered animals, Eskimo, Alaska, Iditarod, civilization,
dogsled, responsibility
Themes
Responsibility, Endangered Species
English/Language
Arts
Theme Questions
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Websites |
Extensions/ Activities
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What and how
do responsibilities increase as people get older?
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Dogsong:
An Interdisciplinary Unit
http://vygotsky.ced.appstate.edu/dogsong/
A unit plan by Janis C. Harless that contains examples, instructions,
and activities that include research and writing cross curricular
in nature.
Gary Paulsen Website
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/
This is the official Gary Paulsen website that includes a library
of his books, his biography, information on writing him, and more.
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Have students
make a Then-Now list of expectations that show Russel's passage
into adulthood. Do a quickwrite about the most difficult thing
students have ever attempted, what happened, why and how it was
difficult, whether they succeeded or failed, and how the experience
has affected their views of themselves. Then ask them to compare
their responses with Russel's.
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Language
Arts Content Standards
3.0 Literary Response and Analysis
Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
3.2 Analyze the effect of the qualities of the character (e.g.,
courage or cowardice, ambition or laziness) on the plot and the
resolution of the conflict.
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Top
History/Social
Science
Theme Questions
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Websites |
Extensions/
Activities
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What does
Dogsong tell you about the effects of the modern-day world on
Inuit culture?
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Canadian
Inuit History
http://www.civilization.ca/educat/oracle/modules/dmorrison/
page01_e.html
This site is by David Morrison for the Canadian Museum of Civilization
and provides a 1,000 year history of the Inuits along with timelines
and photographs.
Eskimo
http://www.alaskan.com/docs/eskimo.html
This site provides textual information about Eskimos, their history,
culture, and daily life.
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Research Inuit
culture, its past and present. Create a timeline of historical
events. Write a report on how climate and modern day culture affected
the growth of the Inuit civilization.
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6th Grade
Language Arts
2.0 Writing Applications
2.3
Write research reports:
a. Pose relevant questions with a scope narrow enough to be thoroughly
covered.
b. Support the main idea or ideas with facts, details, examples,
and explanations from multiple authoritative sources (e.g., speakers,
periodicals, online information searches).
c. Include a bibliography.
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Top
Science
Theme Questions
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Websites |
Extensions/
Activities
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Why
are Polar Bears endangered?
What
dog makes the best sled dog?
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Animals
of the Arctic
http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/3500/
A ThinkQuest about information on the animals in the Arctic,
including activities and resources.
Sled
Dogs
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/sleddogs/
This PBS site provides teaching guides and activities on dogsledding
that complement several video series on dogs and dogsledding.
The
Iditarod: Teacher Page
http://www.iditarod.com/teachers___students.html
This site contains many pages of information on the Iditarod
and the Jr. Iditarod, teaching activities, and a teacher forum.
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Have
students research polar bears and other endangered Arctic animals,
and explore what is being done to protect them.Students will view
the PBS video “Dogs: the Early Years” and write about
the best type of dog for sledding and the best type that would
fit their personality.
Math connection:
compare temperatures with a city in Alaska with students’
city.
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4th Grade
Science Standards: Life Science
3. Living organisms depend on one another and on their environment
for survival. As a basis for understanding this concept:
b. Students know that in any particular environment, some kinds
of plants and animals survive well, some survive less well, and
some cannot survive at all.
c. Students know many plants depend on animals for pollination
and seed dispersal, and animals depend on plants for food and
shelter.
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