STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND LESSON PLAN

by Despina Karamitsou
Warm up questions
Do you like camping? Have you gone camping?
Have you ever slept under the stars?
What things do you always take with you on a camping holiday?
Whats the most remote place youve ever visited?
Did you spend the night there? Were you frightened?
Whats the most dangerous natural environment youve been in? Ocean? Mountain?
Forest? Jungle? Desert?
Part 1:Give out desert island handouts and explain the situation. Pack your
suitcase for a cruise
Castaways on a desert island:
You and your classmates were on a cruise sailing in the Caribbean Sea. On the
third night out at sea, there is a terrible storm. Just before dawn, the ship
hits a coral reef, somewhere near an uninhabited island, in the middle of the
ocean. You cannot see any other ships or islands near you. The storm has
destroyed almost everything in the ship. The captain, the crew, most of the
other passengers, and all but a tiny lifeboat have disappeared!
The island has:

Fresh water Banana trees Coconut palms Chickens A jungle A hill A

mountain A small forest
The climate is mild (not too hot, not too cold) You and your classmates decide to
leave the shipwreck as water is flooding in and you think it might sink. You
have only a few minutes to take some of your things from your cabin to help
you survive. Choose wisely.
1.

What 5 things will you choose and why? Explain to the rest of the castaways.

Then all of you take the lifeboat and swim to the shore. Each one of you has 10
health points. In order to stay healthy you need to make the correct choices.
But sometimes the die will decide for you.
Now, all of you search for debris along the shoreline. Each one of you finds an
object or objects from the ship.

Part 2 Whole class discussions and pair activities

2.

Take one of the facedown pictures on the floor. Turn it over. This is what
you have found.

Discuss with your partner:

What have you found?
Why is it important to help you survive?
How will you use it?
Who should be in charge of it?
When should you use it?
Now get together with the other passengers to see how best to pool your
resources to help you all survive together. You have 10 hours before night
falls. The weather is hot and sunny but at night it will be chilly.
Decide where you will spend the first night. Remember it is not something
permanent. Discuss the pros and cons of each choice

on the beach

under the palm trees

in a cave up the hill

in the forest

in a diy tent somewhere else.(you think about it)

(Each choice will have its own consequences. In this case, the only choice that wont lead to a student
losing health points, or dying, is the forest. Someone is struck by lightning on the mountain, and has to
roll a die for damage, either 1 to 6. Someone on the beach is swept out to sea. They can roll a die to
see if they can swim (50%) and if they cant, roll again for damage of 1 to 6.)

3.

Find a way to keep warm. Do you know how to light a fire? Do you have extra
clothes, blankets etc? Can you bring some from the ship? Who will be brave
enough to do it?
Roll the die to see if you catch a cold (1) and subtract 1 health point.
4.

Find some drinking water and a way to store it for future use.
Consider rain water, river water
Each idea gets 1 health point
5. Find food, ways to cook it and store it.
For each food idea your group gets one point.
6.

Find a way to let the world know you are on this island
Leave a message on the beach so that a pilot may see it
Write a message in a bottle
Make a signal for day time
Make a signal for night time

Part 3 Problem solving IN GROUPS OF 4-5 deal with the following problems
7.

Problem : The next day you decide to build a shelter. Where will you make it?
What materials will you use? Who will design it? How will you build it? How
long will it take you? Use the materials provided to make a model. (wooden
sticks, leaves, sand, pebbles, rope, plastic sheets)

8.

Problem: Two days later you find some strange footprints on the beach. Make
a drawing of them. Tell the rest of the class what you think it might be and
how you will find out.

9. Problem: A week later the body of a man is found on the beach.

Decide with your group the following
Is he alive? Who is he? (ex. The captain, a member of the crew, a stranger, etc)
Describe him in detail.
Has he got anything that can help you?
If he is alive, what is his story?
What will you do next? Is he staying with you?
10.

Problem: Pirate ship on the Horizon. A boat comes and 2 pirates hide a
treasure map.
What will you do? What will happen if they see you?
Change the location of the treasure and make a new treasure map.
Give names for the island and its landmarks
11.

Problem: One of you gets injured. Tell the rest of the groups who got hurt,
how the accident happened and what is the exact injury.(ex. Head, limb, skin,
eye etc) Roll the die to extract health points

12.

Problem: After another stormy night there is another shipwreck. The beach
is covered with debris and there are no survivors except a dog. Gather the
items that will help you and tell us about them. Decide on a name for the dog
and describe it to the class.

13.

Problem: A big lizard is coming your way. Find a way to get rid of it before it
hurts you.

14.

Problem: Snakes are coming out of the jungle, birds are flying to the beach,
there is a bad smell in the airWhat could the problem be? Brainstorm!
What are you going to do?

15.

Problem: Find a way to leave the island

Swim to the next island
Build a raft

Part 4 More activities

16.

Writing Activity: Keep a journal of how you spend each day on the island.
Record your feelings and your thoughts about the experience.
17. Drama Activity: Find a way to entertain yourselves
18. Online game and Revision Activity: Play Who wants to be a millionaire game on
Survival
19. Online game:
http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/quandary/version_2/examples/castaway.
htm
20. Prepare a deserted island survival kit
Part 5 Reflection Questions concerning group work
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How were decisions made?

Who influenced the decisions and how?
How could better decisions have been made?
Did people listen to each other? if not why not?
What roles did group members adopt?
How was conflict managed?
What kinds of behavior helped or hindered the group?
How did people feel about the decisions?
How satisfied was each person with the decision (ask each participant to rate
his / her satisfaction out of 10, then obtain a group average and compare /
discuss with other groups' satisfaction levels)
What have you learnt about the functioning of this group?
How would you do the activity differently if you were asked to do it again?
What situations at work/home/school do you think are like this

exercise?