a novel study assessment
Into the Wild
http://english621.wordpress.com/into-the-wild/
Into the Wild: A WebQuest
Now that you’re nine chapters into your novel, we’re going to explore some of the references
made by your author, Jon Krakauer. The following web quest has been designed so that you –
the reader – will discover some context for your novel.
Some questions ask for information only while others ask you to apply your reading. Since you
have been asked to accomplish this quest using presentation format, it should make use of
representative photos and other cool stuff. Good luck.
Before You Begin

Open a document in Microsoft PowerPoint (highly-recommended) or Corel
Presentations and save it as ‘webquest’. Your responses will be completed in the form
of a presentation, each question on a new slide. Please create a cover slide for this web
quest.
Question One: Influences

Chris McCandless counted as his main influences: Henry David Thoreau, Jack London,
John Muir, and Leo Tolstoy. Do a brief search into the lives of ONE of these men and
decide what parts of his personality appealed to McCandless. Be sure to provide some
photos of the man as you write (approximately 100 words or so).
Question Two: Into the Wild Reality Tour

Imagine you are planning an Into the Wild Reality Tour for fans of Alexander Supertramp
from Krakauer’s best-selling novel. Of course, before planning, you must map out the
route from Chris’s home in the Washington DC area to his eventual resting place in the
middle of the Alaskan wilderness. Find a decent map of the United States and track
Chris’s progress so far in our novel. You should be able to – at this point – identify six
places where he visited. The map (and lines connecting the dots of his travels) will be the
answer to this portion.
Question Three: Survival Skills

Chris McCandless died because he starved to death – and some may say because of his
ignorance about living in the wild. That’s not going to happen to you when you go on
your adventure. Before you embark, you’re going to teach yourself some valuable
survival skills. If you’re going to successfully live in the wild for a year or so, what are
the top five survival skills you should possess? Do some research online to find a
consensus of what survival experts might say and use your research to help you fill in
your list (photos also wouldn’t hurt).
Question Four: Lost Photos

We all know that McCandless had a camera with him on his travels since many of his
photos appear in Krakauer’s novel. You’re going to provide us with five additional ‘lost
photos’ that the world has never had the opportunity to see. In other words, based on the
travels Chris has undertaken, you are to discover and insert five representative photos
(along with captions) that have just been ‘discovered’.
Question Five: Take the Survival Test

On the Wilderness Survival website (link below), there is a Survival Quiz that asks you to
test your survival ‘fitness’. Do you have what it takes to survive? Take the quiz
(answering each question honestly) and tell us how you did. What is your analysis of
your test results? How long do you think you’d make it if you were on McCandless’s
journey?
These websites might help provide context as you complete your WebQuest:





Death of an Innocent: The Chris McCandless Story
Who is Christopher McCandless?
Back Into the Wild: Jon Krakauer
Denali National Park Photos
Wilderness Survival