College of Education

Name: Danica Faye S. Tamagos

Course and Section: BSED ENGLISH 3B
Course Facilitator: Mary Vincentia o. Beldia
Course Number: ENG 117: Teaching and Assessment of Macro Skills

“Island of the Blue Dolphins”

By: Scott O’ Dell

If I were to teach a book to Grade 7 students that

book would be “Island of the Blue Dolphins” by Scott
O’Dell. This book is about Karana, a girl who was
stranded on the island together with her brother Ramo
who was later killed by a pack of wild dogs. From then
on, Karana learned to do things on her own and
managed to survive for 18 years on the island.
The message of the story is that in life you will
always have to figure out things by yourself, and you
will encounter situations where there is no one to rely
on. I want to discuss this book to the Grade 7 students
because as young as they are, they need to know that in
life, they’re going to learn to do things in their own, that
even after knowing you have a lot of people you can ask
for help, someday time will come that you will have no
one.
Another reason as to why I want to discuss this book to them is because Karana’s
character could inspire them, that despite of the hardships she has been through she has
managed to thrive on the island and to keep herself from going crazy. It showcases the
characteristic of Karana as someone who is very strong and confident.
I think this book will give the students a lot of things to ponder in their minds, if
Karana had been selfish and never jumped on the ship to be with her brother, she could have
a beautiful life away from that island. This book can give you a lot of things to question
yourself, you would wonder if Karana was irrational in making decisions.
This book does not only give you entertainment, but it also gives you an idea of how
things happen according to the choices you have made in your life. When I finished reading
the book, I know I will never forget the realizations I had after reading it.
 College of Education
Another reason for this book to be worthy of sharing to students is because it talks
about the beauty of finding a silver lining despite of how sad and tragic a situation might be
in your life. I believe that we all should possess this quality, always rise from your downfall.
Not only does this book talk about the strengths of a person or a woman but it also
allows your imagination to imagine the sceneries, how will the beach look like from their
point of views, how would the wild dogs look from their imaginative minds, how does
Kanara’s shelter look like, and how big is Rontu.
The main character of this book faced several difficulties as well and I want the
students to be able to relate to it. They might not be stuck on an island like Karana, but the
universe nonetheless challenges us and makes us experience life's lessons the hard way.
This book also discusses the value of earning someone's trust and having faith in
them. I adore the fact that the girl from the Aleuts preserved Kanara's secret and did not
betray her confidence in the story when Karana met her, and they kept each other company
for a while.
Most of the plot in the story talks about Karana and her breaking the prescribed
gender roles her tribe has established for her to survive. And I think it’s great that the book
also included these aspects because I know at the age level of grade 7 students, they already
know that there’s been a great division between what the women should be because its their
responsibility or how men should not cry because they are supposed to be the strongest in the
society. And I believe that this book will be a source of empowerment to the young minds
that will be able to read and understand the story of Karana.
Another amazing thing about this book is about how the author managed to compress
eighteen years of Karana’s isolated like in a compact and coherent story. And I wanted to
share this information to the students because it shows how skilled the author is because he
managed to create a work of art based on an 18-year experience of a stranded woman, alone
in the island. It’s also nice that the book talks mostly about survival skills and yet children
loved reading it.
This book will also teach them the most important thing and most meaningful to
them, is what does a home really means. Is it an island, a concrete house, a mansion, a simple
home, or a condo. And it also tackled our relationship with the natural world, how we enjoy
the resources around it and how it keeps us alive. The students should realize that without the
resources the nature provides we would not survive on this planet, so we better take care of it
to preserve its beauty and make it sustainable for all living beings in this planet.
The most fascinating aspect of this tale was that it was based on the true account of
Juana Maria, also known as "The Lone Woman of the San Nicolas Island," who was
abandoned on the island for 18 years before being "rediscovered" in the middle of the 19th
 College of Education
century. The readers may nevertheless detect Karana's or Juana Maria's strong spirit
throughout this novel.
And lastly, I wanted to tell the students that after she was rescued, finally after 18
years of waiting, she did not live long enough to discover the new environment she could
have enjoyed, how her traditional way of hunting and gathering with food was innovated and
how there are grocery stores and supermarkets to provide for her foods. She would no longer
sew her own clothing because there are machines to make it for her. It has a sad ending for
her because despite of being rescued, she died 7 weeks after and that teaches us a lesson
about how we should enjoy every moment we do despite of the circumstances we’re given.
We never know when our time is so you better enjoy it just like Karana did, when she was
found everyone describe her as smiling, despite of her being lonely and alone in that island
she maintained strong and resilient.