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Paired Texts > Trail into Darkness

by Brad Robie

2017

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

6th Grade Informational Text 1150L
Of Feathers, Fat, and Freezing
  • Donna DeVoe DiFolco
  • 2012

In the informational text, “Of Feathers, Fat, and Freezing,” Donna DeVoe DiFolco discusses how chickadees are able to survive freezing temperatures.

Pair “Of Feathers, Fat, and Freezing” with “Trail into Darkness” to provide students with information about how harsh winter conditions can be. Ask students to discuss why Luke would have been in trouble if he hadn’t found his family? Do students think Luke could have survived in the cold as well as a chickadee? Why or why not?

5th Grade Historical Fiction 610L
Black Blizzard
  • Maurine V. Eleder
  • 2015

In Maurine V. Eleder’s short story “Black Blizzard,” a girl braves a dust storm to help bring her horse to safety.

Pair “Trail into Darkness” with “Black Blizzard” and ask students to discuss how nature can be dangerous. How is getting lost in the snow dangerous for the speaker in “Trail into Darkness”? How does this compare to the dangers of getting caught in a dust storm in “Black Blizzard”? How do the characters in the two texts manage their fears?

3rd Grade Informational Text 940L
Excerpt from “Inuit”
  • Carol White
  • 2013

In this excerpt from “Inuit,” Carol White discusses a group of people who have survived in the Arctic for thousands of years.   

Pair “Trail into Darkness” with “Excerpt from Inuit” and ask students to discuss how freezing weather can be dangerous. Why is it dangerous when Luke gets lost while snowshoeing? What dangers do the Inuit face because of their cold environment? How do they stay warm? What do students think the Inuit would have told Luke to do in order to stay alive?