Swiss Family Robinson Unit – Chapter 3

Chapter Three entitled Changing Quarters, continues the unit study of the Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss

For a complete copy of The Swiss Family Robinson online, check out http://www.ccel.org/w/wyss/swiss/swiss.html.

Suggested Vocabulary:

grass
gallinaceous
marmot
phlegmatic
porcupine
hammock
copse
coppice
bough
bulward


Suggested Questions:

1. Explain how Jack made the dogs their collars.

2. Why did mother allow the boys to carry guns on their expedition? [Note: some answers may vary based on personal opinion, but the one in the book is that father taught all of the boys at a very young age how to handle firearms.]

3. Describe the “wood” that mother and the boys investigated. What was peculiar about these woods?

4. Why weren’t the dogs hungry and begging for food as they had been?

5. What happened to the shark that was shot in chapter two?

6. How did the father and his sons determine if they had enough wood to build their bridge?

7. Why do you think father gave the boys a reminder of safety precautions?

[Answer: one possible answer is the cliché “familiarity breeds contempt” which means the boys were becoming comfortable in their new surroundings and that father wanted to remind them that they must still remember to be cautious at all times.]

8. What is a nomad and why did Ernest say that his family reminded him of one?

9. What uses were the porcupine and ocelot put to use?

10. How did father tame the flamingo?



Suggested Activities:

1. Research as many of the animals listed in this chapter as possible: Great Bustard, crabs, sea turtle, marmot, seabirds, gulls, shark, crawfish, ocelot, flamingo, porcupine, etc.

2. Create a diorama of any scene in this chapter.

3. Build your own pulley and block (aka block and tackle).

4. Draw a picture of what their new home looks like up to this point.



Online Lessons:

http://www.suhsd.k12.ca.us/mvm/netlinks/1swiss/1swiss.html
Island Survival
http://www.penguinreaders.com/downloads/0582426642.pdf
Teach With Movies


Sites You May Find A Good Resource:

Swiss Family Robinson Fan Site

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