Newbery Award Winner

 Island of the Blue Dolphins

Author: Scott O’Dell

Grade Level:

6^th and 7^th

^{Island of the Blue Dolphins has situations and vocabulary that would be most appropriate for 6th and 7th grade students.}

Summary:

Island of the Blue Dolphins is a first person narrative told through the voice of Karana. At the beginning of the story, Karana and her tribe are forced to leave their island because of an invasion that left many of their people dead. When the boat is leaving with the tribe, Karana notices her little brother is still on the island and jumps overboard so he will not be left alone. Karana and her brother Ramo are left alone on the island and must fend for themselves. Within a day, however, Ramo is killed by wild dogs on the island. The climax of the book occurs when Karana is rescued after years of living on the island alone. In the end she finds out that she was the only person from the island to survive.

Island of the Blue Dolphin in the classroom:

I would use this book to teach a vocabulary based lesson. Many of the words in this book are Native American based. I would have students predict what the word means through the use of context clues and then have them research what the words actually mean to see if their predictions are correct.

ESOL strategies and Island of the Blue Dolphins:

ESOL students can also predict what certain Native American words mean and create their own dictionary. The dictionary would have the Native American word equivalent in English and the student’s native language. They could also illustrate the dictionary so they can connect the words to their meanings.

Read Aloud:

Page 36-38

I would read these pages because it describes the immediate action Karana takes when she realizes her brother is not on the ship.

Personal Opinion:

I remember Island of the Blue Dolphins on the bookshelves of many of my classroom libraries in middle school. I would always pick it up, place it back on the shelf, and opt for a Fear Street book. I am glad I finally read it because I loved it. Island of the Blue Dolphins is a beautiful book. I love that, although it is a first person narrative, little dialogue is ever spoken. Karana’s descriptions of the island she relied on to keep her alive were magical.