Into The Wild

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. In Into the Wild, food plays an important role in Chris’s interactions with others. What role does food as a social connection play in people’s lives? What foods do people reserve for specific occasions, and why? 

Teaching Suggestion: If students are struggling to answer these questions, you may want to provide suggestions around holidays. For example, turkey at Thanksgiving, gingerbread cookies at Christmas, etc. 

• This 13-minute video from TEDx explores the cultural and symbolic aspects of eating that we take for granted. Because of the length of the video, you may want to select the first 5:25 to show to your class.
• “Breaking Bread: the Functions of Social Eating” This article from The National Library of Medicine uses data from a UK national stratified survey to test the hypothesis that eating with others provides both social and individual benefits.

2. Stepping away from society for a time to recharge or realign yourself is an increasingly popular form of self-care. Do you know anyone who has ever “taken a break” from society? What was the impact on that individual?

Teaching Suggestion: If students have never taken a physical break from society, you might encourage them to consider other kinds of breaks such as social media, television, gaming, etc. Even bringing up holiday breaks from the pressures of school or work could spark ideas.

• “Taking Breaks Is Good for Your Brain—Here’s Why”

This article from Right as Rain by UW Medicine explains the benefits of taking breaks on your brain and provides guidance on how and when to take breaks.

• “What to Know about Taking a Break from Social Media”

This article from Medical News Today explains the benefits of taking a break from social media, points out some signs that a break is needed, and provides tips for taking a break.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

Imagine you are preparing for a solo trip for two weeks. Where would you go? What would you take with you? What concerns do you have regarding your trip? What is the purpose of your journey? Write a brief reflection that answers these questions.

Teaching Suggestion: If students are comfortable doing so, it might be helpful to have them share their reflections to gain a better understanding of what other people are concerned about, what their purposes are, etc.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who benefit from assistance with abstract thinking, it might be useful to set frames or context for them to answer this question in a classroom discussion first. Display the first question: Where would you go? Offer ideas—a big city, a house in the country, a foreign country, etc. Students can share ideas and brainstorm a list of possibilities. Repeat the process with two more questions: What would you take with you? and What concerns do you have? After a discussion over these three questions, students should have enough material to write their thoughts in a written response.