Day 94 - Reading Class Culminating Activities from The River by Gary Paulsen - Mrs. Rafferty's Grade 6 Students

These artists created their favorite scenes.

Mrs. Rafferty’s reading class has just finished reading The River by Gary Paulsen. In this story, the main character, Brian Robeson, is a 14-year-old boy who spent 54 days surviving alone in the Canadian wilderness the previous summer. He is hired by the government to live again in the woods so the military can learn his survival techniques. Brian agrees and sets out for a remote Canadian location accompanied by Derek Holtzer, a government psychologist. Though the government wanted Brian and Derek to take emergency supplies, Brian was against it, insisting that the trip would not be realistic if they were fully supplied. He finally agrees to take a small knife and a radio. During a rainstorm, Derek is struck by lightning and goes into a coma. Also, the radio is destroyed so there is no means of communication. Fearing that Derek will die of dehydration before anyone finds them, Brian builds a raft and attempts to get himself and Derek down the river to safety.

These aspiring actors created a radio show based on Derek and Brian’s adventures.

Students participated in various culminating activities where they created one of the following: art work from the novel, a board game based on the story, new ending to the original novel, a movie trailer for a setting change, or a radio show about Brian’s adventure.

These writers developed a new ending for the original story.