The Swiss Family Robinson

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-4

Reading Check

1. Where is the family’s ship headed?

2. Who hunts the agouti when the family first gets to the island?

3. What pet does Fritz adopt after Turk kills its mother?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is lucky about the ship being wedged between the rocks?

2. What disagreement do Fritz and Father have about looking for survivors from the ship’s crew?

3. What kind of home does the family decide to build, and why?

Paired Resource

“Why Writers Treasure Islands”

• This Guardian article explores some of the reasons island settings appeal to writers. (Note that at the end of its third paragraph there is a parenthetical remark you may wish to redact for young readers.)
• This resource relates to the theme of The Lure of the Wild.
• What are some of the reasons this article gives for the popularity of islands as settings in literature? What specific purpose does the author see in Wyss’s choice of the island setting in Swiss Family Robinson? What evidence from the text backs up this interpretation? Do you see any other potential purposes in Wyss’s choice of setting?