Eighth-grade students in Mr. Tornquist’s class are staying cool this blustery January by reading Jack London’s class tale, The Call of the Wild. Students are following the struggles of Buck who is a dog kidnapped from his warm sunny home in California. He is then brought to the Antarctic and forced to be a sled dog for several different owners, while at the same contemplating his instincts and inner calling for freedom.
London’s fluid use of the English language, including his stellar usage of higher-level vocabulary and thematic chapters, is keeping students engaged in the tale. The story is also serving as great modeling for story-telling, plot structure, and character development as students embark upon writing narratives of their own.