Swiss Family Robinson Unit:
Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen entitled Harvesting, 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.
I’m adding a note here that will be true of all of the parts of this unit study. There are several versions of The Swiss Family Robinson. This started back to its original publication some 200 years ago when it was written originally in German. There are various translations and even alternate endings. The edition that I am using was published in 1968 by Classic Press, Inc. in Santa Rosa, California. Other editions may be different. There are several modern versions that have removed all references to prayer and God which are so prevalent a theme in the original work. You may use this unit as a guide, and if your edition of The Swiss Family Robinson is slightly different, simply adjust it to meet your needs.
Suggested Vocabulary:
kayak
germinate
ambrosia
threshing
winnowing
culinary
mead
kangaroo
harpoon
Suggested Questions:
1. At the very beginning of this chapter, the rainy winter season began. Despite the new living quarters in the cave, the family became depressed. Why do you think this is so? What do you think they could have done to prevent this from happening?
2. What activity did father and Fritz come up with to occupy their hands and their minds? Why was mother none too happy about it?
3. Create an outline of all the activities that took place in this chapter. Or, use the flow chart method instead.
4. What was mother’s surprise that she made from the seaweed?
5. What all did the boys bring back from their game hunt?
6. What contraption did father create to help him to skin the animals much more easily? How did it work?
7. What did father need to build the “crushing machine” for? What did he make it out of?
Suggested Activities:
1. Lack of the proper amount of sunshine can actually cause people to become depressed. The Robinson family was closed up during the rainy winter season. Try and come up with some strategies so that they could better withstand being cooped up for long stretches of time.
2. Draw a picture or build a scale model of the kayak that the Robinson family built.
3. Draw a picture of the “swimming dress” that mother designed for Fritz to allay her worries about him being out upon the sea in the kayak.
4. Research shells and coral collecting. Start your own collection if possible.
5. Research all the various ways that man uses seaweed.
6. Draw a picture of father’s “crushing machine.”
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
