Garden Heights · Independent Novel Study

Island of the Blue Dolphins

a novel by Scott O'Dell

Karana, a young Nicoleño girl, is left alone on a rugged Pacific island off the California coast after her people sail away and her little brother is killed by a pack of wild dogs. Over many years alone she teaches herself to build a home and weapons — breaking her people’s old rule that women must not make them — hunts the giant devilfish in the kelp beds, and tames the leader of the wild dog pack, a dog she names Rontu. She survives an earthquake and a towering tsunami, and finds unexpected friendship with a visiting Aleut girl. Scott O’Dell’s Newbery Medal classic (1961) was inspired by the true story of the “Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island,” who really did survive alone for about eighteen years. These 8 Part workbooks cover the full novel, with vocabulary, comprehension, literary analysis, Think Deeper reasoning, SAT® & TOEFL®-style practice, and writing, all built on real-world CLIL background.

Level 4Newbery Medal 1961Interactive & auto-gradedCLIL-based

Level 4 · Strong ReadersUS Grade 5–6Lexile 1000LAR (ATOS) 5.4 · Newbery Medal (1961)

📖 Get the right book: our workbooks follow the HMH — Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (paperback) edition — ISBN 9780547328614. All recommended editions →

Subject Personalities

The real-world subjects this novel study leans into — the depth behind every Knowledge Bank and reading passage.

PRIMARY LENS

🌴 Wilderness & Island Survival

Foraging, building shelter and tools, and enduring winter and a tsunami alone — the real skills and self-reliance behind Karana’s years on the island.

SUPPORTING

🐙 Channel Islands Marine Ecology

Sea otters and kelp forests, abalone, the sea elephant, cormorants, and the giant Pacific octopus — the real “devilfish” — of the ocean world Karana lives in.

SUPPORTING

🏝️ The Real Lone Woman of San Nicolas

O’Dell based Karana on a true Nicoleño woman, later called Juana María, who survived alone on San Nicolas Island for about eighteen years — a factual, respectful look at Indigenous self-reliance and a girl’s courage.

8-Part Novel Study

Choose a Part

Progress

PT1

Part 1 · Chapters 1–4

The Aleut Ship Arrives • The Hunters’ Bargain • Gathering Storm

VocabularyComprehensionLiterary ElementsThink DeeperStandardized TestStandardized Test

Start →

PT2

Part 2 · Chapters 5–8

Battle on the Beach • Leaving the Island • Ramo Left Behind

VocabularyComprehensionLiterary ElementsThink DeeperStandardized TestStandardized Test