Grades 9–12
Into the Wild
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Jon Krakauer
INTO
THE
WILD
by
Jon Krakauer
Student Packet
2 Prereading Activities
5 Vocabulary Activities
1 Study Guide
4 Character Analysis Activities
2 Literary Analysis Activities
1 Comprehension Activity
1 Writing Activity
5 Quizzes
1 Final Test
Detailed Answer Key
and Scoring Rubric
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Contains masters for:
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Written by
James H Duncan
PLUS
Teacher Note
Note
The 1997 Anchor Books paperback edition of the book, © 1996 by
Jon Krakauer, was used to prepare this guide. The page references may
differ in other editions. ISBN: 978-0-385-48680-4
Please note: Parts of this book deal with sensitive, mature issues. Please
assess the appropriateness of this book for the age level and maturity of
your students prior to reading and discussing it with them.
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Selected activities, quizzes, and
test questions in this Novel Units®
Student Packet are labeled with
the appropriate reading/language
arts skills for quick reference.
These skills can be found above
quiz/test questions or sections
and in the activity headings.
ISBN 978-1-60878-723-4
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Note to the Teacher
Selected activities, quizzes, and test questions in this Novel Units® Student Packet are labeled with the
following reading/language arts skills for quick reference. These skills can be found above quiz/test
questions or sections and in the activity headings.
Basic Understanding: The student will demonstrate a basic understanding of written texts. The
student will:
• use a text’s structure or other sources to locate and recall information (Locate Information)
• determine main idea and identify relevant facts and details (Main Idea and Details)
• use prior knowledge and experience to comprehend and bring meaning to a text
(Prior Knowledge)
• summarize major ideas in a text (Summarize Major Ideas)
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Literary Elements: The student will apply knowledge of literary elements to understand written
texts. The student will:
• analyze characters from a story (Character Analysis)
• analyze conflict and problem resolution (Conflict/Resolution)
• recognize and interpret literary devices (flashback, foreshadowing, symbolism, simile,
metaphor, etc.) (Literary Devices)
• consider characters’ points of view (Point of View)
• recognize and analyze a story’s setting (Setting)
• understand and explain themes in a text (Theme)
Analyze Written Texts: The student will use a variety of strategies to analyze written texts. The
student will:
• identify the author’s purpose (Author’s Purpose)
• identify cause and effect relationships in a text (Cause/Effect)
• identify characteristics representative of a given genre (Genre)
• interpret information given in a text (Interpret Text)
• make and verify predictions with information from a text (Predictions)
• sequence events in chronological order (Sequencing)
• identify and use multiple text formats (Text Format)
• follow written directions and write directions for others to follow (Follow/Write Directions)
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Critical Thinking: The student will apply critical-thinking skills to analyze written texts. The
student will:
• write and complete analogies (Analogies)
• find similarities and differences throughout a text (Compare/Contrast)
• draw conclusions from information given (Drawing Conclusions)
• make and explain inferences (Inferences)
• respond to texts by making connections and observations (Making Connections)
• recognize and identify the mood of a text (Mood)
• recognize an author’s style and how it affects a text (Style)
• support responses by referring to relevant aspects of a text (Support Responses)
• recognize and identify the author’s tone (Tone)
• write to entertain, such as through humorous poetry or short stories (Write to Entertain)
• write to express ideas (Write to Express)
• write to inform (Write to Inform)
• write to persuade (Write to Persuade)
• demonstrate understanding by creating visual images based on text descriptions (Visualizing)
• practice math skills as they relate to a text (Math Skills)
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Into the Wild
Activity #3 • Vocabulary
Chapters One–Four
Name ________________________________
Vocabulary Comprehension
unsullied
estranged
parched
ominous
convivial
irksome
anomaly
severance
vagabonds
implication
austere
jubilant
Directions: Choose the word closest in meaning to the vocabulary word as it is used in the
book.
(b) poisoned
(c) poor
(d) playful
.
(a) pure
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____ 1. unsullied
(a) grotesque
(b) grievous
(c) griping
(d) gloomy
____ 3. anomaly
(a) glimpse
(b) gibberish
(c) greatness
(d) glitch
____ 4. implication
(a) simulation
(b) suggestion
(c) sincerity
(d) surprise
____ 5. estranged
(a) sheltered
(b) shocked
(c) separated
(d) silenced
____ 6. convivial
(a) cordial
(b) cheerless
(c) circular
(d) clean
____ 7. severance
(a) decision
(b) disconnection (c) dismissal
(d) diversion
____ 8. austere
(a) grave
(b) glaring
(c) glowing
(d) gory
____ 9. parched
(a) anchored
(b) abounding
(c) amicable
(d) arid
____ 10. irksome
(a) thrilling
(b) tactless
(c) tiresome
(d) tangled
____ 11. vagabonds
(a) divers
(b) drifters
(c) dreamers
(d) disrupters
____ 12. jubilant
(a) tarnished
(b) threatening
(c) triumphant
(d) talented
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____ 2. ominous
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Name ________________________________
Into the Wild
Study Guide
Directions: Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper. Use your answers to
guide your reading, prepare for class discussions, and review for quizzes and tests.
Chapters One–Four
1. According to Jim Gallien, why was “Alex” afraid of water?
2. What did Gallien give “Alex” when they parted ways?
3. What did the note Chris left tell the hunters? What did the hunters find inside the bus?
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5. Who is Wayne Westerberg, and how did he know Chris?
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4. What did an investigation by the crime lab reveal about Chris’s body?
6. According to Westerberg, what kind of worker was Chris?
7. Describe Chris’s academic career. How did he pay for college?
8. How did Chris symbolically “sever” himself from his old life?
9. What was Chris’s plan when he bought the canoe?
10. What is unusual about the way Chris wrote his early journal entries, and what effect does
this give his writing?
Chapters Five–Eight
1. Why wouldn’t Bullhead City be appealing to someone like Chris? Why do you think he
liked it?
2. What are the Slabs, and what happens there?
3. What was ironic about Chris’s love for Jack London’s work?
4. What did Ronald Franz do to help recover after the loss of his family?
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5. According to Chris, what are some negative aspects about hopping trains?
6. What advice did Chris give Franz? How did Franz react to this advice?
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7. What was Westerberg’s hypothesis about Chris’s relationship with his father? Was
he correct?
8. What did Chris tell Westerberg and Jan Burres in his postcards?
9. Who was the “Mayor of Hippie Cove” (p. 73) that the author met in 1981, and what
was his goal/lifestyle? What happened to him?
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10. Why did Carl McCunn go into the wild? What oversight did McCunn make? How did
he die?
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11. What similarities did Chris share with the other adventurers mentioned in Chapter Eight?
How was he different from these men?
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Into the Wild
Activity #9 • Character Analysis
Use After Reading
Name ________________________________
(Character Analysis)
Sociogram
Walt
McCandless
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Ronald
Franz
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Directions: A sociogram shows the relationship between characters in a story. Complete
the sociogram below by writing a word to describe the relationships between the characters.
Remember, relationships go both ways, so each line requires a descriptive word.
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Chris
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Wayne
Westerberg
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Carine
McCandless
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Time Line
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3.
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Directions: In the numbered boxes below, write four main events that drastically altered Chris’s plans the summer he
went into the wild. In the larger boxes, describe the event or draw a picture representing the event.
1.
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Into the Wild
Activity #13 • Literary Analysis
Use After Reading
Name ________________________________
(Sequencing)
Name ________________________________
Into the Wild
Quiz #1
Chapters One–Four
(Main Idea and Details)
A. True/False: Mark each with a T for true or an F for false.
____ 1. Wayne Westerberg convinced Chris to buy an aluminum canoe to travel the
Colorado River.
____ 2. Chris considered it his moral responsibility to ignore and oppose state and
federal laws.
____ 3. A friend of the family gave Chris $40,000 to pay for his education.
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____ 4. Wayne Westerberg claimed Chris was a lazy employee who preferred to read and
write in his journal rather than work.
____ 5. Chris found refuge in the Alaskan wild in an abandoned camper.
(Main Idea and Details)
B. Fill in the Blanks
6. Chris chose the new name _______________ _______________ while on the road.
7. Chris wanted Jim Gallien to take him to the _______________ _______________.
8. According to the autopsy, _______________ was the likely cause of Chris’s death.
9. _______________ _______________ claimed he could tell right away that “Alex” was
extremely intelligent.
10. Chris got lost in ______________ as he was looking for the _______________.
(Main Idea and Details)
C. Open-Ended Comprehension: On the lines below, describe a significant event involving
each of the modes of transportation Chris used in this section: car, canoe, on foot.
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Into the Wild
Final Test
page 4
Name ________________________________
(Summarize Major Ideas)
D. Short Answer: Briefly respond to each of the following. Use a separate sheet of paper
if necessary.
31. How did the author feel after climbing the Devils Thumb? How did this differ from how
he expected to feel?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
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32. Why didn’t Chris want to bring a lot of supplies with him into the wild?
_______________________________________________________________________________
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33. Explain why most Alaskans were incredulous about Chris’s journey into the wild.
_______________________________________________________________________________
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34. How did Chris’s morals and beliefs differ from his father’s? How did this affect their
relationship?
_______________________________________________________________________________
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E. Essay: Complete two of the following in well-developed essays. Cite specific evidence from
the book to support your responses.
(Drawing Conclusions/Support Responses)
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(a) Analyze Chris’s personal beliefs about the world in general, and explain whether or
not he was justified in abandoning his comfortable life to go into the wild.
(Cause/Effect/Making Connections)
(b) Explain how Chris’s relationship with his father affected his decisions after
high school.
(Interpret Text/Author’s Purpose)
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(c) Analyze the reasons for Jon Krakauer’s apparent empathy for Chris.
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Answer Key
Activity #1: 1. Jon Krakauer 2. The book will be about someone having an adventure in the
wilderness. 3. 1996 4. 207 5. Answers will vary. 6. The wilderness adventure will be in a remote,
very cold part of the world.
Activity #2: Answers will vary.
Activity #3: 1. a 2. d 3. d 4. b 5. c 6. a 7. b 8. a 9. d 10. c 11. b 12. c
.
Activity #4: Word maps will vary. Example: Vocabulary Word—recluse; Definition—someone
who chooses to live apart from others; Synonyms—hermit, loner, outsider; Antonyms—socialite,
communalist, extrovert; Part of Speech—noun; Pronunciation—re·cluse [re-klüs]; Sentence—Henry
built his home far from town and any highways, preferring the quiet life of a recluse.
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Activity #5: Associations will vary. Examples: disdain—Many of Chris’s decisions were based on his
disdain for his father, desiring to never become like him; monomania—Chris suffered from monomania
regarding surviving alone in the wild, an obsession that eventually cost him his life; hypocrite—It
seems strange that Chris based so many of his ideals and dreams on Jack London’s glorification of the
outdoors because London was a bit of a hypocrite,, rarely treading into the wilderness and dying as a
drunkard after a long, indolent, and urban life.
Activity #6: Crossword puzzles will vary.
Activity #7: 1. nickname/moniker 2. barren/fecund 3. praised/castigate 4. pride/hauteur 5. thicket/
coppice 6. scavenge/forage 7. mainstream/unorthodox 8. clown/bumbler 9. hoofed animal/ungulate
10. smog/miasma 11. commending/lambasting 12. deep thoughts/ruminations; Antonyms—2, 3, 7, 11
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Study Guide
Chapters One–Four: 1. “Alex” told Gallien that in the previous year, he was out on the ocean in a
canoe and almost drowned during a storm. 2. two sandwiches, a bag of chips, rubber work boots,
and his phone number 3. The note was a plea for help and stated that Chris was near death and
too weak to hike out of the woods. The note also stated that Chris was collecting berries nearby.
When the hunters went inside the bus, they saw Chris’s belongings scattered throughout and
found his corpse inside a sleeping bag. 4. The lab had difficulty placing the time of death due to
decomposition, but they found no broken bones or injuries. No fat remained on the body, and the
muscles had withered away. Chris’s body weighed only 67 pounds at the time of the autopsy.
5. Wayne Westerberg lives in South Dakota and manages a combine crew. He picked up Chris when
the young man was hitchhiking. He eventually offered Chris a job, and the two worked together
several times. 6. Chris was “the hardest worker [Wayne had] ever seen” (p. 18). When Chris started
a job, he would finish it, no matter what. 7. Chris was a good student and graduated from Emory
University in 1990. He was a writer and editor for the college newspaper and distinguished himself
with a 3.72 grade-point average. The final two years of his college education were paid for by a
family friend who entrusted $40,000 to Chris. 8. He created a new identity: Alexander Supertramp.
9. He planned to paddle down the Colorado River to the Gulf of California and then across the border
to Mexico. 10. Chris wrote his journals in the third person, constantly referring to himself as a
character. Answers will vary, but students may note that this style makes his journal read like fiction.
One gets an almost eerie feeling while reading it, as if Chris was observing his own life from the
outside rather than actively participating.
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Chapters Five–Eight: 1. Bullhead City is basically a strip mall with too many of the trappings of
middle-class, capitalist, mainstream America. Chris may have liked it because of the many itinerant,
poor travelers who lived along the outskirts of town. He may have connected with their lifestyle, and
their presence may have balanced the monotony of the typical American life present in Bullhead City.
© Novel Units, Inc.
Linking Novel Units® Student Packets to
National and State Reading Assessments
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During the past several years, an increasing number of students have faced some form of
state-mandated competency testing in reading. Many states now administer state-developed
assessments to measure the skills and knowledge emphasized in their particular reading
curriculum. This Novel Units® guide includes open-ended comprehension questions that
correlate with state-mandated reading assessments. The rubric below provides important
information for evaluating responses to open-ended comprehension questions. Teachers may
also use scoring rubrics provided for their own state’s competency test.
Scoring Rubric for Open-Ended Items
Thorough, complete ideas/information
Clear organization throughout
Logical reasoning/conclusions
Thorough understanding of reading task
Accurate, complete response
2-Sufficient
Many relevant ideas/pieces of information
Clear organization throughout most of response
Minor problems in logical reasoning/conclusions
General understanding of reading task
Generally accurate and complete response
1-Partially Sufficient
Minimally relevant ideas/information
Obvious gaps in organization
Obvious problems in logical reasoning/conclusions
Minimal understanding of reading task
Inaccuracies/incomplete response
0-Insufficient
Irrelevant ideas/information
No coherent organization
Major problems in logical reasoning/conclusions
Little or no understanding of reading task
Generally inaccurate/incomplete response
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3-Exemplary
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