57 pages • 1 hour read
Gary PaulsenA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
At the outset of the book, Paulsen explains that he quit trapping and hunting because he began perceiving animals as more human-like; consequently, trapping and hunting suddenly felt “wrong.” Throughout the narrative, he humanizes the sled dogs with attributes, thoughts, and feelings.
Over time, the Iditarod race has come under scrutiny from animal rights organizations for being cruel and inhumane to dogs. How do you think Paulsen might have responded to these criticisms, knowing how deeply he cares for his dogs and for animal welfare in general? What textual details in Winterdance support your thoughts?
Teaching Suggestion: Classes may benefit from reading DogTime’s “The Iditarod Dog Race & The Bigger Conversation It Leads To” for a neutral overview and discussion of the controversy. It may be important to draw students’ attention to the many ways in which Paulsen was an animal rights advocate himself, seen in Winterdance and in his choices and actions throughout his life; in his 1994 interview with NPR, for example, he mentions how he became a vegetarian because he realized that it was “not correct to kill animals.” Students might meet briefly in pairs or small groups to share their ideas and point out textual evidence supporting their claims; comments and replies from their partner or group may be helpful in refining their approach to a written response.
By Gary Paulsen
Brian's Hunt
Brian's Hunt
Gary Paulsen
Brian's Return
Brian's Return
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Brian's Winter
Brian's Winter
Gary Paulsen
Canyons
Canyons
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Dogsong
Dogsong
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Guts
Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books
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Harris and Me
Harris and Me: A Summer Remembered
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Hatchet
Hatchet
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How Angel Peterson Got His Name
How Angel Peterson Got His Name
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Lawn Boy
Lawn Boy
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Liar, Liar
Liar, Liar
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Masters of Disaster
Masters of Disaster
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My Life in Dog Years
My Life in Dog Years
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Nightjohn
Nightjohn
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Northwind
Northwind
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Soldiers Heart
Soldiers Heart: Being the Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers
Gary Paulsen
The Crossing
The Crossing
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The Monument
The Monument
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The River
The River
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The Transall Saga
The Transall Saga
Gary Paulsen