Dog Song
Gary Paulson
Published by Scholastic Inc. New York
Copyright 1985
Russell Susskit is a fourteen year old Alaskan Eskimo boy who is lives in a culture where old traditions are fading and "outside" influences are taking over. Russell has come to an age where she is struggling to find who he is and what his path in life should be. Unable to get the guidance he needs from his father, Russell looks to the oldest man of the village Oogruk who still follows the native ways and is able to help Russell begin his journey to find himself; to find his Dog Song. Along with his newly acquired dog sled team Russell sets out on his journey and must find ways to survive on his own against situations such as hunger and polar bears. What do you think is going to happen to Russell? What will he encounter on his journey? Will he be able to find his way? Find out when you read DogSong by Gary Paulsen.
Reading Level: Grade 4-6; Lexile 930L
Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud, Independent Read, Guided Reading
Web Resources:
Activities, Discussions, etc.- This website offers ideas about ways to approach this text. It gives examples of discussion questions that support inferential comprehension and making connections, hands on activities, and writing prompts for essays and research papers about the native people of Alaska.
Across the Curriculum - This website offers ideas into how you can incorporate this text into different content areas such as social studies and science. Here you will find brief descriptions of ideas for activities and discussion questions for students to engage with.
Vocabulary:
- Eskimo
- Arctic
- Breechclout
- Cache
- Carcass
- Creek
- Doze
- Forlorn
- Game
- Gee
- Harness
- Haw
- Musher
- Tundra
- Umiak
- Wick
Suggestions for Activities for Students:
Before Reading/During Reading -
In order to help students understand the setting of this text a teacher could introduce cultural information about the Eskimos that are present in this text. This could be linked to a Social Studies lesson that focuses on different cultures, environments, and lifestyles. By understanding the different cultural aspects presented in this text the students could begin to make connections or comparisons between how their cultural beliefs, environment, and lifestyles are different from what Russell experiences during this story. The students could record these connections or comparisons in their reading or writing journals as well as fill out Compare and Contrast Worksheets provided from the teacher. Below are links for examples of Compare and Contrast Worksheets that would help students organize their thoughts and guide their discussions and or journal entries. These examples come from ReadWriteThink.org.
Teachers might also want to check out an interactive compare and contrast chart that you could have students use on a computer.
Awards and Acknowledgements:
Parents' Choice Award, 1985
ALA Notable and Best Book, 1985
Newbery Honor Book, 1986
Children's Book of the Year Award, 1986
Volunteer State Book Award, 1989
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