1. Lesson 13: Analyzing Incidents in the Text that Reveal Insight into Buck’s character
About this lesson
Students will continue reading chapter 3 of The Call of the Wild in pairs and analyze the final incident between Buck and Spitz to consider what it reveals about Buck’s character. Students will also connect back to and discuss London’s portrayal of Buck with human-like reasoning characteristics.
An audio recording of The Call of the Wild is available at

2. We continued reading and discussing Chapter 3 of The Call of the Wild and analyzed how incidents in the chapter propel the action, build tension, and reveal aspects of Buck’s character.
Let’s Review!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~1 minute
Directions:
Briefly review the previous learning.

3. Continue reading Chapter 3 of The Call of the Wild.
Today we will:
Continue reading Chapter 3 of The Call of the Wild.
Analyze how incidents in the text reveal Buck’s character.
Let’s Prepare!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~1 minute
Directions:
Read the slide.
Briefly explain how this lesson prepares students for another lesson and/or the end-of-unit assessments.
Throughout the lesson, compare students’ responses and work to the student look-fors. Determine the students who need additional support with reading, understanding, or expressing their understanding of complex, grade-level texts. During this lesson or before the next lesson, support those students individually or in a small group using the Additional Supports for Diverse Learners.

4. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
You will need:
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Split-page notes for Chapter 3
Let’s Prepare!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~ 3 minutes
Directions:
Distribute the text.
Ask students to locate their split-page notes handout for chapter 3 from previous lessons.
This lesson uses accountable talk. Access the strategy one-pager to learn about accountable talk.

5. Follow along in your copy of The Call of the Wild while I read aloud the rest of Chapter 3.
Let’s Read!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~7 minutes
Directions:
Say: “I’m going to read the rest of Chapter 3 aloud. As I read, think about how incidents in the text reveal aspects of Buck’s character.”
Read aloud paragraph 33 to the end of Chapter 3 as students follow along.
Start at: “At the mouth of the Tahkeena, one night after supper, Dub turned up a snowshoe rabbit, blundered it, and missed.”
Stop after the fourth paragraph, ending with “At sound of this, the cry of Life plunging down from Life's apex in the grip of Death, the full pack at Buck's heels raised a hell's chorus of delight.”
Ask students to turn and talk with their partner to discuss the following questions as a quick comprehension check:
Say: “Describe the scene that is unfolding: What is Buck doing? The other dogs? Spitz?”
After 1-minute, engage the class in a quick, whole-class discussion to check student understanding before reading the conclusion of the chapter.
Use teacher talk moves so students [clearly express their ideas (Goal One), listen carefully to understand others’ ideas (Goal Two), provide evidence to support their claims (Goal Three), establish new ways of thinking (Goal Four)].
Finish the read aloud, ending at: “Buck stood and looked on, the successful champion, the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill and found it good.”
Possible Supports During the Lesson:
As needed, play the audio recording [embed link] instead of reading aloud the text.
To keep students actively involved during the read aloud and to practice their reading fluency, engage students in choral reading or echo reading.
Student Look-Fors:
Students should follow along silently as you read aloud.
In the partner share/ whole-class discussion, students should note that Buck is chasing a rabbit, while all the dogs are following in pursuit. As he is enclosing on the rabbit, Spitz comes in from the side and steals it, killing it with his teeth and keeping Buck from getting his prey.

6. What does inexorable mean?
What context helped you define inexorable?
What happens in the final paragraph of Chapter 3?
“Despite the pain and helplessness, Spitz
struggled madly to keep up. He saw the
silent circle, with gleaming eyes, lolling
tongues, and silvery breaths drifting
upward, closing in upon him as he had
seen similar circles close in upon
beaten antagonists in the past. Only
this time he was the one who was
beaten.”
“There was no hope for him. Buck was
inexorable. Mercy was a thing reserved
for gentler climates.”
Let’s Work With Words!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~6 minutes
Directions:
Divide the class into pairs using an established classroom routine.
Purposefully pair together students with different levels of language proficiency.
Direct pairs to select a partner A and B.
Establish norms for the partner work and explain that students will be held accountable for their learning by participating in a whole-class discussion and completing their vocabulary chart.
Give students 2 minutes to develop their answer.
Then direct partner A to begin the discussion by answering the questions on the slide.
Allow 1 minute for partner A to share.
Then direct partner B to respond and share.
Prompt pairs to use the conversation stems learning tool as they discuss.
After 3 minutes, engage the class in a brief discussion to refine their definitions until you reach an accurate definition.
Engage students in a brief, whole-class discussion in response to the third question on the slide.
Use teacher talk moves so students [clearly express their ideas (Goal One), listen carefully to understand others’ ideas (Goal Two), provide evidence to support their claims (Goal Three), establish new ways of thinking (Goal Four)].
Possible Supports During the Lesson:
If students are not providing answers similar to the Student Look-Fors:
Prompt students to recognize the prefix “in-” as meaning not, and the suffix “-able” as meaning able to do something.
Ask, “So, what is Buck not able to do?”
Prompt students to share the context clues that helped them refine their definition.
As needed, give the definition to students (inexorable, adj.: not able to be stopped or changed).
Student Look-Fors:
Access a completed vocabulary chart handout.
Ensure students understand that Buck has killed Spitz and asserted himself as the dominant beast/leader of the dogs.

7. “Spitz was untouched, while Buck was streaming with
blood and panting hard. The fight was growing
desperate. And all the while the silent and wolfish circle
waited to finish off whichever dog went down. As Buck
grew winded, Spitz took to rushing, and he kept him
staggering for footing. Once Buck went over, and the
whole circle of sixty dogs started up; but he recovered
himself, almost in mid air, and the circle sank down again
and waited.”
Let’s Discuss!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~3 minutes
Directions:
Have students locate the text on the slide in their copy of the text (the third paragraph from the end of chapter 3). Read the text aloud or have a student read the text aloud.
Say: “By the end of the battle with Spitz, Buck is inexorable and ultimately reigns supreme as the dominant primordial beast. However, for most of the fight, it appeared that Buck would lose. What enabled Buck to dominate Spitz? This is the question you will answer as you reread and discuss the end of chapter 3 with a partner.”

8. With a partner, answer questions #9-10 on your split- page notes.
Reread the paragraphs noted and cite evidence from the text.
Let’s Read!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~15 minutes
Directions:
Students can remain in pairs.
Give directions to students to reread the paragraphs noted on their split-page notes handout and answer questions #9-10 with their partner.
After 10 minutes, engage students in a quick whole-class discussion to ensure students comprehend the way in which these lines convey Buck’s primitive, animal instinct as well as his ability to reason and use his “imagination.” This is directly related to the ideas that students will discuss throughout the unit and in the extension task.
Use teacher talk moves so students [clearly express their ideas (Goal One), listen carefully to understand others’ ideas (Goal Two), provide evidence to support their claims (Goal Three), establish new ways of thinking (Goal Four)].
Possible Supports During the Lesson:
If students are not providing answers similar to the Student Look-Fors:
Ask: “In what way are Buck’s actions animal-like? What does the author mean by the lines that convey that Buck had a familiarity with the scene?”
Ask: “In what way do Buck’s actions demonstrate that he is not just using instinct but also relying on reason and thinking skills? Why?”
Student Look-Fors:
Access completed split-page notes handout for chapter 3.

9. Buck is guided by instinct as he engages in battle with Spitz, but Buck ultimately relies on his intelligence to defeat Spitz.
How does this incident characterize Buck differently from the other dogs?
Based on Jack London’s portrayal of Buck in Chapter 3, should he be considered a “nature faker”?
How?
Why?
Let’s Express Our Understanding!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~6 minutes
Directions:
Connect students back to London’s use of anthropomorphism in the text and the controversy he stirred related to being a “nature faker.” Tell students this is an idea that they will continue to explore this unit and within each chapter of The Call of the Wild. They will examine how Buck is characterized with both instinct and intelligence/reason and emotion to consider questions like: To what extent do animals have the ability to think and reason? Is Buck’s portrayal accurate? Is London a nature faker?
Direct students to discuss the questions on the slide with a partner.
After 4 minutes, engage students in a whole-class discussion about the questions as a way for students to hear and respond to the ideas of their peers to continue to refine their understanding.
Use teacher talk moves so students [clearly express their ideas (Goal One), listen carefully to understand others’ ideas (Goal Two), provide evidence to support their claims (Goal Three), establish new ways of thinking (Goal Four)].
Possible Supports During the Lesson:
If students are not providing answers similar to the Student Look-Fors:
Prompt students to return to their split-page notes handout and the last few paragraphs of chapter 3 as Buck defeats Spitz to consider how Buck is characterized, and what this suggests about the role of instinct and intelligence/reason.
Student Look-Fors:
Students should note that Buck is characterized differently from other dogs because he demonstrates both instinct and intelligence. Ultimately, it is the combination of these things - and Buck’s intelligence (referred to as imagination in the second to last paragraph of the text) - that allow him to prevail.
Based on chapter 3, one could argue that London should/should not be considered a nature faker. There are several instances within the chapter where Buck is characterized as relying on instinct (suggesting London is not a “nature faker”):
The rabbit sped down the river, turned off into a small creek, up the frozen bed of which it held steadily. It ran lightly on the surface of the snow, while the dogs plowed through by main strength. Buck led the pack, sixty strong, around bend after bend, but he could not gain. He lay down low to the race, whining eagerly, his splendid body flashing forward, leap by leap, in the wan white moonlight. And leap by leap, like some pale frost wraith, the snowshoe rabbit flashed on ahead.
All that stirring of old instincts which at stated periods drives men out from the surrounding cities to forest and plain to kill things by chemically propelled leaden pellets, the bloodlust, the joy to kill--all this was Buck's, only it was infinitely more intimate. He was ranging at the head of the pack, running the wild thing down, the living meat, to kill with his own teeth and wash his muzzle to the eyes in warm blood.
Then Buck took to rushing, as though for the throat, when, suddenly drawing back his head and curving in from the side, he would drive his shoulder at the shoulder of Spitz, as a ram by which to overthrow him.
There are also several instances where he is characterized with intelligence, reasoning, and emotional capacity that is more human-like in nature.
His newborn cunning gave him poise and control. He was too busy adjusting himself to the new life to feel at ease, and not only did he not pick fights, but he avoided them whenever possible. A certain deliberateness characterized his attitude.
Then Francois' lash descended, and Buck had the satisfaction of watching Spitz receive the worst whipping as yet administered to any of the team.
But Buck possessed a quality that made for greatness--imagination. He fought by instinct, but he could fight by head as well he rushed, as though attempting the old shoulder trick, but at the last instant swept low to the snow and in.

10. In this lesson, you finished reading and discussing Chapter 3 of The Call of the Wild.
You also analyzed the final incident in the chapter and discussed what it revealed about Buck’s character and survival.
Let’s Close!
Teaching Notes
Suggested Pacing: ~1 minute
Directions:
Read the slide.