5th Grade Book Club Activities for Island of the Blue Dolphin
I remember reading Island of the Blue Dolphins when I was in 5th or 6th grade and really loving it but it was a kind of quiet book. I didn’t notice kids at school reading it either, and I assumed too old-fashioned and had fallen out of favor. When it arrived on our doorstep for PickyKidPix’s 5th grade book club, I was delighted! She hasn’t it read it yet though.
The girls in her book club enjoyed the book but they enjoyed the book club meeting even more! The first activity was a scavenger hunt followed by a quiz show. I loved Penny’s ideas for the book club — not too complicated or difficult to do, but ties in beautifully with the book and really fun for kids!
Scavenger Hunt
On an island, you’ll have to search for food. The activity that Penny planned was an outdoor hunt for candy that she had hidden all over her yard. The girls LOVED the outdoor scramble for candy!
Quiz Show
Each kid wrote down three things they’d bring to a deserted island. The slips were put into a pile and pulled one by one. The group had to guess who it was. The answers are hilarious! Here are a few of them:
Food, water, and clothes. (I had no idea that PickyKidPix would be so practical!)
Bed, swing, and yacht.
Dog, fence, and refrigerator. (Her friend H doesn’t even have a dog which made us all giggle! She needed the fence for the dog, of course. And the fridge?)
Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott O’Dell
Young Karana manages to survive by herself for eighteen years on a deserted island off the California coast.
Click on image of book to purchase or examine more closely.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Children’s Book Activities on Pinterest.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Children’s Book Activities on Pinterest.
My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Wow. I can’t even believe I never read this book. I remember it being one of my sister’s favorites. This will be a good one to read with Fen.
Hi Artchoo,
It’s an old-fashioned book so PickyKidPix takes a while to get into it. I’ll have to read the first few chapters with her to get her going. I remember loving this book as a child … but it’s a quiet book so in this day and age, these are the type of books that get forgotten. Still, such a gem!
This was one of my favorite books growing up. It really appealed to me, though I do not know how appealing the story is for males.
Posted by Lacy Zapata
From my LinkedIn Group Elementary School Teachers of America
I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins as a child also but I wondered if it grew out of fashion because it’s such a quiet book. I’m glad my daughter’s book club picked it; I would have been scared to pick it. She hasn’t read it yet and I’ll need to read a few chapters with her to ease her into it but I think she will like the well written story.
I LIKE TO KNOW MORE ON TEACHING I AM A TEACHER and i can see you are doing a good thing to share with other teachers keep in that spirit
Posted by Mary Naipanoi
From my LinkedIn Group Elementary School Teachers of America
Hi Mary,
I’m so glad you found this helpful!