Endurance 6-pack Author: Janice Marriott ISBN: 9780478124293 Copyright Date: 2000 Lesson Plan Blackline Master Grade Level: 6 Reading Level: Z Strategy/Skill: Visualizing, Descriptive language Genre: Recount, Diary, Journal, and Log Theme/Topic: Overcoming Obstacles, Journeys, History, Adventure Classification: Nonfiction

Book Summary

Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men set sail from England on the Endurance in August 1914.  Their goal was to cross the Antarctic Ocean via the South Pole.  The expedition was stranded when crushing pack ice destroyed their ship.  This true story tells their  remarkable tale of survival over two years.

Features of the Book

• Technical vocabulary – ice floe, ballast, tiller, sextant, caulk
• The use of historical photographs
• The use of both descriptive narrative and diary excerpts
• The theme of survival against all odds
• The various ways information is presented – epilogue, timeline, glossary, index, captioned photographs, maps, and fact files
• The features of the layout that set the scene – engravings, photograph corners, banner headings, watery background images

Purpose

Endurance can be used to introduce and reinforce the following skills:

• locating and summarizing main ideas
• using a contents page, glossary, and index effectively
• using evidence in a text to support interpretations and points of view

For more information please see our Lesson Plan