Brian's Winter

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. What are some of the dangers a person might face if they were stranded alone in the woods of northern Canada during the winter? List as many as you can think of.

Teaching Suggestion: Many students will be able to generate a substantial list of the dangers of such a situation. After they have spent some time making their lists, you might offer them access to the listed resources or other similar resources and talk about which dangers they overlooked. You can extend this conversation by asking them how they might rank these dangers—which are most probable, for instance, and which are most life-threatening?

• This article from Snowshoe Magazine details some of the winter hazards snowshoers encounter.
• This article offers general information on hazards in the Canadian Rockies.

2. If you were stranded alone in the northern woods, what would be some important steps to take to survive the winter? What difference would it make if you had access to at least some survival equipment?