1. The Cremation of Sam McGee
By Robert Service

2. Warm-Up What is it like to feel bitterly cold?
How does it affect the senses?
Have you ever been really cold- so cold that you thought you would never get warm again?

3. Take out your homework I will be checking your work.
Let’s go over it and re-read the selection.

4. Essential Questions What is internal rhyme? What is a ballad?
How can I identify causes and effects when reading?

5. Background
The Yukon Territory is a region in northwest Canada. It is a semi-artic region with long, cold winters. During the Klondike Gold Rush in late 1890’s, many prospectors went seeking their fortune.
Winter’s average temperature is between 0 and -20 degrees fahrenheit!!
“Land of the midnight sun”

6. Robert W. Service, folk poet
Service worked as a bank clerk in the Yukon territory during the early 1900s. While there, he learned about the lives of local miners, hunters and prospectors.
Service’s works are known for mystery, adventure and a playful spirit.

7. Ballads
Service is a folk poets often tell a story in dramatic verse. What do we call these?
Ballads can also refer to a story told in a song. Can you think of any musical ballads?
Most ballads written in verse have 4 lines. Usually, the second and fourth lines rhyme. There is also a stanza which describes the main characters and situation immediately.

8. Vocabulary Worksheet Cremate Parka Loathed Trice Heed Mushing Moil
Brawn
Strongly dislike
A coat worn in snow
To burn a corpse until reduced to ashes
Short span of time
To listen and take seriously
Great strength
To travel across snow by dog sled
To work hard, especially during times of great difficulty
Worksheet

9. Reading Guide p 636
The story is about 2 gold miners in the Yukon in 1896.
The story is a series of causes and effects.
Use the sheet provided to chart the causes and effects as we read the poem.

10. True or False
On the back of the vocabulary sheet, complete the true/false statements.
If the question is false, circle the word, or words that makes it incorrect.

11. Internal Rhyme Internal rhyme – occurs within a single line of poetry
Find the rhymes in this stanza:
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge, of Lake LeBarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

12. Quick Check (under the warm-UP)
Where was Sam McGee’s hometown?
What was Sam McGee doing in the Yukon?
On what holiday does the story begin?
Sam made a last request to his traveling companion, Cap. What does Sam request?
How did Cap feel about this promise later?
What happened to Cap’s sled dogs? How does this make things worse for Cap?
Why was Cap unable to cremate Sam’s remains in the wilderness?
Where did Cap finally cremate Sam?
Hours after placing Sam’s body in the boiler, Cap has the courage to look inside. What did he see in the boiler?

13. Sam McGee
Day 2

14. Warm-UP
What is the setting of the poem we read yesterday? Remember to include where and when.
What is the cause of Cap’s anxiety?
What does it mean that the “dogs were spent”?
What would be the worst part of being in the Yukon during this time of year?

15. Reviewing the Poem Where was Sam McGee’s hometown?
What was Sam McGee doing in the Yukon?
On what holiday does the story begin?
Sam made a last request to his traveling companion, Cap. What does Sam request?
How did Cap feel about this promise later?
What happened to Cap’s sled dogs? How does this make things worse for Cap?
Why was Cap unable to cremate Sam’s remains in the wilderness?
Where did Cap finally cremate Sam?
Hours after placing Sam’s body in the boiler, Cap has the courage to look inside. What did he see in the boiler?

16. Literary Elements – on same paper
What is the setting of the poem? Where did you find the information?
How do the first 2 lines foreshadow a strange event to come?
List 5 examples of internal rhyme.
Line 14 is an example of what literary device? What is being compared?
What conclusions can you draw about the speaker’s feelings toward Sam?
What is the climax to the story?
How does the mood of the poem evolve from the beginning to the end of the selection?

17. Purple Worksheet
Worksheet (Figures of Speech- first)

18. Themes Cold, isolation and fatigue can A friend's dying wish
Themes are the universal truths revealed in a story. (Aka – ideas that go beyond the plot of the story)
What are some possible themes to “The Cremation of Sam McGee”?
Cold, isolation and fatigue can
play tricks on the mind
A friend's dying wish
Harsh elements (man against nature)

19. Quiz on Sam McGee
The sled dog team was ________ across the tundra.
My mother suggests that I _____ her advice and do what she says.
It took only a ______ for the boys to get into serious trouble with the teacher.
She diligently ______ed over the test to ensure that she received a great score.
Word Bank
Brawn Loathed Heed
Trice Moil Mushing
slide 1

20. Questions slide 2 What mostly likely will happen to Cap?
He will go crazy and die.
He will join Sam in the fire.
He will have a party in Sam’s honor.
George will visit.
Sam wanted to be cremated because:
He wanted his wife to have his ashes.
His father had also been cremated.
He did not want to be buried in an icy grave.
Cap had suggested it.
slide 2

21. Questions slide 3 When Sam asked to be cremated, Cap:
Agreed to carry out the request.
Pretended not to hear.
Loathed the idea.
Adamantly refused.
While Sam was being cremated, Cap:
Stayed nearby.
Went for a walk.
Wrote a letter to his family.
Searched for sled dogs.
slide 3

22. Questions
How many days did Cap carry Sam’s corpse through the wilderness?
300 30
3 or 4 1
Cap lit the boiler using:
Pieces of the sled.
Nearby trees.
Sam’s belongings.
Planks from the cabin floor.
slide 4

23. Questions
“And the dogs were fed, and the stars o’erhead were dancing heel and toe,”
simile
metaphor
hyperbole
personification
“It’s the cursed cold, and it’s got right hold till I’m chilled clean to the bone,”
simile
metaphor
hyperbole
personification
slide 5

24. Questions slide 6 Which is an example of internal rhyme?
“Talk of cold! through the parka’s folds it stabbed”
“And he wore a smile you could see for a mile”
A and B
Neither A or B
What is the theme of the selection?
Friendship is everlasting.
Heed your mother’s warnings about cold weather.
The wilderness can be dangerous.
The mind can play tricks when you are in an intense situation.
slide 6

25. Quiz on Sam McGee mushing heed trice moil slide 1
The sled dog team was ________ across the tundra.
My mother suggests that I _____ her advice and do what she says.
It took only a ______ for the boys to get into serious trouble with the teacher.
She diligently ______ed over the test to ensure that she received a great score.
heed
trice
moil
Word Bank
Brawn Loathed Heed
Trice Moil Mushing
slide 1

26. Questions a c slide 2 What mostly likely will happen to Cap?
He will go crazy and die.
He will join Sam in the fire.
He will have a party in Sam’s honor.
George will visit.
Sam wanted to be cremated because:
He wanted his wife to have his ashes.
His father had also been cremated.
He did not want to be buried in an icy grave.
Cap had suggested it. a c
slide 2

27. Questions b a slide 3 When Sam asked to be cremated, Cap:
Agreed to carry out the request.
Pretended not to hear.
Loathed the idea.
Adamantly refused.
While Sam was being cremated, Cap:
Stayed nearby.
Went for a walk.
Wrote a letter to his family.
Searched for sled dogs. b a
slide 3

28. Questions
How many days did Cap carry Sam’s corpse through the wilderness?
300 30
3 or 4 1
Cap lit the boiler using:
Pieces of the sled.
Nearby trees.
Sam’s belongings.
Planks from the cabin floor. d c
slide 4

29. Questions
“And the dogs were fed, and the stars o’erhead were dancing heel and toe,”
simile
metaphor
hyperbole
personification
“It’s the cursed cold, and it’s got right hold till I’m chilled clean to the bone,”
simile
metaphor
hyperbole
personification c d
slide 5

30. Questions d c slide 6 Which is an example of internal rhyme?
“Talk of cold! through the parka’s folds it stabbed”
“And he wore a smile you could see for a mile”
A and B
Neither A or B
What is the theme of the selection?
Friendship is everlasting.
Heed your mother’s warnings about cold weather.
The wilderness can be dangerous.
The mind can play tricks when you are in an intense situation. d c
slide 6

31. Culminating Activity - choice
Write a script to turn the poem into a play.
Create a RAP about Cap from Sam’s point of view. It must be performed.
Make a comic strip telling of Cap’s adventure.
Create a game to review poetry terms and the poem.

32. Poetry Scrapbook Mixed UP Mother Goose (1)
It Figure’s (one example of each)
Let’s Limerick (one example)
Cool as a Cucumber (2 examples)
Duck is a Stomachache (3 of your best)
Bio Poem

33. Conclusion What is internal rhyme? What was the climax of the poem?
What does Sam request?