West with Giraffes

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Mapping the Journey to Selfhood”

In this activity, students will trace the development of Woody’s character from the beginning of his journey with the giraffes to the end in order to identify shifts in inner conflict and turning points in character.

Woody’s journey of discovery is both internal and external, represented both on the US map and through changes in conflict, motivation, and action. In this activity, you will create a map, infographic, poster, or other visual guide in which you connect Woody’s physical journey across the country to his interior journey of self-discovery.

• Include external events, such as Woody pocketing Percival T. Bowles’s coin.
• Include internal events, such as Woody feeling guilty for endangering the giraffes.
• Make sure each major external event corresponds with an internal event.
• Label all events, conflicts, character shifts, and turning points clearly.
• Use your visual to compare who Woody is at the beginning of his journey to who he is at the end.

Your visual will be presented in an art walk and displayed for visitors.

Teaching Suggestion: Students may benefit from a class or small group sequencing Woody’s character development in connection with the novel’s events before creating their visual guide. Having students plot the events on a map of the United States may help them imagine how they might translate the story into a visual medium. For deeper close reading practice, consider having students select direct quotes to label important events, conflicts, and turning points. Digital mediums and collages might work well for this activity in addition to hand-drawn representations.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students with organizational or executive functioning differences, graphic organizers, sequencing frames, or step guides may be beneficial. To open this assignment up to more learning styles and cultures, consider allowing options for group work, performance art form such as film and dramatic reenactments, or oral response forms such as spoken word or storytelling.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Though Woody considers himself one of thousands of Dustbowl orphans, he differs in outlook and attitude from others during this time.

• How do Woody’s differences in attitude and beliefs create conflict for him? (topic sentence)
• Choose up to three examples of Woody expressing ideas and attitudes that go against the norms of the time and explain what the outcomes are of holding these beliefs.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, consider how these contrasting attitudes shape the person Woody becomes by the end of the journey.

2. Throughout the novel, Rutledge examines conflicting attitudes toward animals and philosophizes about their intrinsic value.

• How do conflicting philosophical attitudes toward the value of animals drive conflict and character development in the novel? (topic sentence)
• Choose at least two characters with conflicting attitudes toward animals and explain how these differing attitudes shape their motivations and put them in conflict with others.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, consider how these conflicts build toward the theme of Animals as Sentient, Wise, and Valuable.

3. Although Woody is expected to fulfill masculine expectations and is often treated as a “man” despite still being a boy, he is receptive to feminine influences on his journey of self-discovery.  

• What role do feminine influences have in shaping Woody’s character and beliefs? (topic sentence)
• Explain which female figures influence Woody’s journey of self-discovery and what perspectives they contribute as he struggles to determine what kind of person he wants to be.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, describe how feminine influences counterpose the masculine expectations he feels pressured to fulfill.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. A key catalyst in coming of age is examining and questioning one’s core beliefs, a process often brought about by considering different points of view and stepping outside of one’s comfort zone. Why is it important to have companions who challenge your core beliefs and actions when growing into adulthood? How do characters like Augusta, Riley Jones, and even the giraffes challenge Woody’s core beliefs and create productive conflict for him? In what ways do these challenges shape Woody’s journey of self-discovery?  

2. Consider Riley Jones’s hand, Augusta’s limited options as a woman and her health conditions, Wild Girl’s broken leg, and Woody’s recent trauma. In what ways are these characters working to overcome personal challenges, and what role do these personal challenges play in their companionship? What do these intimate challenges reveal about prevailing attitudes during the period, and how does their collective ability to persevere challenge these prevailing attitudes?

3. Woody Nickel’s name plays on the idiom “don’t take no wooden nickels,” a warning against getting duped or scammed. In what ways does the concept of the “wooden nickel” appear throughout the novel? What role do scams, lies, and duplicity play in Woody’s growth and development? Which lies harm him, and which serve him? Overall, to what extent does Woody overcome his namesake?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What might the rabbit foot symbolize?

A) It symbolizes Woody’s dedication to Cuz.

B) It symbolizes human cruelty and exploitation of animals.

C) It symbolizes both desperation and hope.

D) It symbolizes Woody’s love for animals.

2. Why must Riley Jones give Woody a chance to drive the giraffes?

A) Woody is the only person the giraffes will not kick.

B) Woody impresses Riley with his persistence.

C) Riley thinks of Woody as a stray dog.

D) Riley finds shifting too difficult with his missing fingers.

3. What metaphor sums of Riley Jones’s view of humans?

A) Humans are lions.

B) Humans are killers.

C) Humans don’t come with instructions.

D) Only humans can feel shame.

4. What is ironic about the kind of people Riley Jones will not tolerate?

A) He will not tolerate tipplers, but Earl is a tippler.

B) He will not tolerate thieves and liars, but Woody is both.

C) He cannot stand women, but he works for one.

D) He likes animals more than humans, so tolerating anyone is ironic.

5. What scares the bear?

A) Wild Girl kicks the bear.

B) Augusta flashes her camera bulb.

C) Riley Jones fires his shotgun.

D) Woody yells.

6. Why does Seventh Son block Augusta’s camera?

A) The bulbs are too bright for the giraffes.

B) He does not want to appear in Life magazine.

C) She did not ask and is treating the family like objects.

D) He does not trust her.

7. What roles does Honey Bee play in the story?

A) She softens the story’s tension with her innocence and awe for the giraffes.

B) She arranges for the family to allow the crew to stay the night.

C) She is a reminder of hardships and sacrifice.

D) She wins the crew over despite their prejudice.

8. Which phrase from Chapter 9 signals that Percival T. Bowles is untrustworthy?

A) “It is a time of opportunity.”

B) “Young man, I promise no tricks.”

C) “Young man, you’re traveling with a murderer.”

D) “They’re only animals.”

9. Who is Augusta really referring to when she worries that zoo animals will never be free again?

A) She is referring to Woody.

B) She is referring to Wild Girl and Wild Boy.

C) She is referring to herself.

D) She is referring to Percival T. Bowles.

10. Why is Wild Boy’s interference with Cooter significant?

A) Wild Boy is docile and never kicks.

B) Wild Boy expected Cooter to be holding onions, not a shotgun.

C) Wild Boy is easily scared and hates new people.

D) Wild Boy thought the interaction was a game.

11. Why does Woody compare Riley Jones to a magpie as they leave Phoenix?

A) He is attracted to shiny objects.

B) He is wily and keeps Woody’s mind from wandering.

C) He is unusually talkative.

D) He is distractible and flighty.

12. What might the discarded items the Dustbowl migrants left at the roadside represent?

A) Hard times

B) Perseverance

C) Duty and sacrifice

D) Lost hopes and dreams

13. Why is it so significant that the giraffes both lay down on the last night of the trip?

A) They are weary from the long journey.

B) They show they trust Woody to watch for lions.

C) They are near death from the stress of the trip.

D) They can smell the ocean.

14. How does Woody view his relationship with the giraffes?

A) He is their caretaker.

B) He is a part of their herd.

C) They are his family.

D) They are his miracle.

15. What is the final plot twist?

A) Woody dies before he finishes the story.

B) Belle Benchley gives him a job.

C) Writing the story cures Woody’s heartache.

D) Woody is writing to Augusta’s daughter, not Augusta.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What event solidifies Woody’s character development?

2. In what ways are the hurricane giraffes symbolic?