To Build a Fire

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 do you know about Jack London? If you are not familiar with the author, have you heard of The Call of the Wild or White Fang? What might you already know about London’s life, or about his adventure and survival stories?

Teaching Suggestion: Jack London was a man who was as adventurous as his stories. Many of London’s stories are set in locations in which he spent time. He is considered part of the naturalism movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Understanding the author’s life may help students access the text at a deeper level.

• This biography from National Geographic overviews London’s life and many adventures.
• This webpage from SuperSummary provides an overview of naturalism.
• This article from Washington State University gives more information on naturalism.

2. What do you know about the Klondike gold rush or any of the gold rushes of the late 1800s? What might life have been like for the people and prospectors of this era? 

Teaching Suggestion: The Klondike gold rush brought roughly 100,000 people to the Yukon region of Alaska. Many of these were men who endured dangerous and inhospitable conditions in the hope of finding gold. Use students’ responses to begin building an understanding of the time period and then the man in “To Build a Fire.”

• This page from the National Parks Service provides an overview of the Klondike gold rush.
• This article from Smithsonian Magazine details Jack London’s experience during the Klondike gold rush.
• This short video from Smithsonian Magazine shows images from the Klondike gold rush.
• This longer video from Buffalo Toronto Public Media (an NPR affiliate) provides a much more thorough examination of the Klondike gold rush.

Short Activity

“To Build a Fire” tells the story of one man and his dog traveling to a camp during the Klondike gold rush. Imagine you were in the Yukon in the late 1800s. What easily transportable materials would you want with you to aid your survival? What knowledge would you want to possess?

Teaching Suggestion: This activity will help students to think about the materials and knowledge necessary for survival in the wilderness during a harsh winter. The activity can be used to introduce the thematic motif of The Dangers of Unimaginative Thinking. Frontloading this information may help students gain a stronger sense of the man in the story, as well as the dog.

• This pamphlet from the government of Alberta provides a guide to winter survival.
• This shorter pamphlet from the government of the Northwest Territories provides similar information in a more compressed format.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students may want to complete this activity in pairs, particularly if some students have more outdoors experience than others. The activity could also be completed as a think-pair-share for students who prefer to share their ideas orally.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Do you have much experience in the wilderness? What types of activities have you done in nature? What dangers does nature present? If you do not have much experience, imagine what it would feel like to be alone in the wilderness in winter. What might you hear? What might you see?

Teaching Suggestion: Photographs of the Yukon Territory can be helpful as students reflect on this question, or during the follow-on discussion.

• This page from Britannica provides images of the Yukon Territory (both historical and contemporary) that can help students visualize the wilderness they’ll encounter in the story.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who are visual learners or who would benefit from practicing artistic skills may engage in this activity by drawing a wilderness scene; English language learners or those who would benefit from communicating via images might create a slideshow of wilderness photographs or those that show the dangerous side of nature.