Island of the Blue Dolphins

1
Island of the Blue Dolphins

• Historical fiction is a combination of
  imagination and fact, with fictional characters
  and plot placed in a factual historical setting.

2
Island of the Blue Dolphins

• Karana is an Indian girl stranded alone on
• an island. While waiting years for a ship to
• come near and rescue her, she finds inventive
  ways of living on an island inhabited by wild
  dogs. She makes a cave house, creates her own
  tools, finds food, and survives many years on her
  own.

3
Theme and Setting

• The theme is the underlying meaningof a story.
• The theme is often not stated. You can figure out
  a theme when you have finished reading from
  events and other evidence in the story.
• The setting is where and when the storytakes
  place. Writers use details, such as sights and
  sounds, to describe it.

4
Words to Know

• gnawed bitten or worn away
• headland narrow ridge of high land
• jutting out into water promontory
• kelp any of various large, tough, brown seaweeds
• lair den or resting place of a wild animal

5
Words to Know

• ravine a long, deep, narrow valley
• eroded by running water
• shellfish a water animal with a shell.
• Oysters, clams, crabs, and lobsters are
• shellfish.
• sinew tendon

6
Guided Reading Questions

• Reread p. 75. Describe the setting of this
  historical fiction story.
• How was the spring Karana visited near the dog's
  lair different from the spring near the headland?
• Based on pp. 7475, what do you think the big
  idea, or theme, for the story will be?

7
Guided Reading Questions

• How would you describe the way Karana approached
  the job of finding a place to build her hut? Tell
  about a time you wish you had acted in a similar
  way.
• What do the images and sensory words on p. 78,
  paragraph 2, suggest about what kind of day it
  was for Karana?

8
Guided Reading Questions

• Have students use a dictionaryto determine the
  meaning ofomen on p. 78, paragraph 2.
• What does the strong fence around Karana's house
  show about her situation?
• Read paragraph 6 on p. 81 and visualize Karana's
  shelter. Describe what you see.

9
Guided Reading Questions

• What are the things that Karana has done so far
  to survive in this setting?
• How were Karana's cooking utensils made?
• What has Karana accomplished by the end of the
  selection?
• Compare and contrast another selection you've
  read where the main character had to overcome
  many difficult obstacles. Describe similarities
  and differences.

10
Daily Fix-It

• Marge like to read adventurstories.
• She readed a book set in spain.

11
Daily Fix-It

• Mr. Jones is a expert onNative american history.
  
• Him gived a talk about theCherokee to our class.
  

12
Daily Fix-It

• If you go to south Dakota. You should see the
  Badlands.
• Thay look like a sene fromanother planet.

13
Daily Fix-It

• Natives on the cost hunted,and fished at sea.
• They lived near the water. Because it was
  theirsource of food?

14
Daily Fix-It

• After white settlers took there land many Native
  Americans lived on reservations.
• With little land, it was dificult to hunt with
  bow and arow.

15
Writing Prompt

• Write a letter to someone telling him or her
  about your vacation. Describe the place using
  specific details. Use transitions to show clearly
  when things happened or where things are located.

16
Resources

• Eduscapes
• LifeStreamCenter
• Glencoe Study Guide
• Teacher CyberGuide