Power Point Study GuideCOPY THE QUESTIONS AND COMPLETE THE ANSWERS AS YOU WATCH

THE POWERPOINT

1. List: the title, author, and a favorite activity of his.

2. Describe the setting.

3. Explain what “Wilderness Therapy” is.

4. Who are the eight main characters?

5. What is one of the major themes of the book?

DownriverBy Will

Hobbs

Meet

Will HobbsReaders often ask me, "What made you

want to write in the first place?" That's

easy for me to answer: it was

because I loved reading. If you like

reading stories, you too might start

thinking, I want to try that. I want to

write a story!

“Halfway through my fifth grade year my family moved from Alaska to California, where I roamed the hills behind our house almost every day after school. In the summers I went backpacking in the Sierras. It was hard work and sheer joy, and has been a big part of my life ever since. After graduating from Stanford University I moved to southwestern Colorado, where my wife Jean and I have lived for many years. We do lots of hiking in the nearby San Juan Mountains, and spend as much time as we can running rivers in our whitewater raft. You won't be surprised to learn that I was a reading teacher for many years before I became a full-time writer.”

SettingGrand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

Six Day Map

Wilderness Therapy

Sending your troubled youth to a program hundreds of miles away to work on a child behavior problem can be a difficult and sometimes traumatic decision for parents. Most parents

have arrived at a point of hopelessness dealing with their troubled youth. By the time they begin the search for a

program, the child's behavior problems have escalated to an unbearable level.

Red Cliff Ascent

If a teen is struggling with defiance, anger issues, academic underachievement,

depression or other behavioral problems, the wilderness can transform them and put them on a positive path.

Main Characters:

Where did Will Hobbs get the ideas for his characters?

“Some I modeled loosely on former students of mine, others came from people who had been on river trips with us. When I'm starting to create a character, it helps me a lot to be able to picture a particular individual, to hear them talking, to visualize what they'd do in a situation. If I can begin with at least a few personality characteristics of an actual person, it immediately makes the character more real for me. Then I have something to build on. Often I'll combine personality characteristics I've observed in a number of different people, so the characters in the book end up being very different from the person I started with. “

~Will Hobbs

• Jessie

• Troy

• Star

• Heather

• Rita

• Adam

• Pug

• Freddie

A Question for Will HobbsQuestion: Are all of the parts

about the Grand Canyon itself real?

Answer: Absolutely. If Jessie talks about the poison ivy at a certain location, it's really there. It was great fun for me to describe the amazing attractions down there, like the side stream called the Little Colorado, which Jessie names the River of Blue. (See photo.) I made the song of the canyon wren a sort of theme in the book and a strong touchpoint between Jessie and Star, who become very close. Friendship is a big part of this story.

Literary Elements of DownriverGenre:

Realistic Fiction—although untrue, could actually happen, characters are true-to-life and events take place during this time period, set in a place that actually exists. 

Conflict:• Man vs. Nature—problems from the river and weather• Man vs. Man—Any issue one character has with another• Man vs. Self—Jessie trying to accept her dad and deal

with her internal strugglesTheme:

Issues dealing with trust, friendship, courage, heroes, and survival Told through the eyes of Jessie. You see her thoughts and feelings.

More Literary Elements

Point of View:

Told through the eyes of Jessie. You see her thoughts and feelings.

Suspense and Mood: the storyline keeps you wondering what will happen next, and the mood changes often.

Foreshadowing: hints the characters do or say that tell you what will happen next.

Whitewater Rafting

You Decide

Write a paragraph (at least three to four complete

sentences) stating why you would like to read this novel.

*You may not say, “I can’t because I don’t want to read this novel.” Therefore, if you wouldn’t like to read Downriver, use your imagination to create reasons for why you might want to read it.