“The King of Mazy May”
Author: Jack London
page 421
Objectives
1. To compare and contrast information to learn
more about a character
2. To read and analyze a short story
3. To identify elements of suspense
4. To write an explanation of a problem and a
solution
Setting a Purpose
• Read to find out what claim-jumpers have to
do with the events in the story
Setting
• Klondike region of the Yukon territory in the late
1800s
• Klondike is in northwestern Canada, near Alaska
• After gold was discovered there in 1896, the
Klondike Gold Rush began
• Thousands of people came to the area searching
for gold
Iditarod
• dog sled race
• 1,100-mile race between Anchorage and
Nome, Alaska
• Winner of the first long race in 1973 took
about twenty days to run the course
• Recent years the winning times have been
about ten days
Today’s lesson
• Read page 420
• Both the Web page and “The King of Mazy May” are
about a dog sled race in which teenagers participate
• The Junior Iditarod is planned
• “The King of Mazy May” race is not
• Walt Masters races to protect a neighbor’s claim from
claim jumpers
• Both races require skill, determination, and the will
to win
Today’s lesson
•
•
•
•
Comparing is telling how things are alike
Contrasting is telling how things are different
Expository writers use this technique often
Readers use this technique to help understand
Iditarod
Participants
Route
Distance
Junior Iditarod