The Call of the Wild | Full Week Lesson | Adapted Version | London | No Prep

Do you want students to know the classics, but you don’t have weeks to fight through an 32,000-word novel?

Here’s the solution: A resource that gives you both the complete original 1903 text and a tightly adapted 5-part, 1-week version so you can match the reading path to your students and your schedule.

Use the original and adapted versions together for effortless differentiation. Advanced or fast readers can work directly from Jack London’s full chapters while other students read the matching adapted Parts 1–5. Because the discussion questions, multiple-choice exit quizzes, short-answer items, and challenge questions are all aligned to the same chapter ranges, mixed groups can still use the same assessments (except the vocab words) and talk about the same scenes and themes in class.

The result? One novel study, two reading levels, zero extra planning.

Quick Guide for Teachers

Adapted-Only Track (Fastest: 5-Day Model)

• Best for classes that need a manageable, one-week novel study.
• Day 1–5: Students read one adapted part per day and use the matching discussion questions and self-grading quiz
• End the week with the Final Worksheet (Vocab + short answer + challenge questions).
• This track keeps the lesson tight, predictable, and easy to finish within the week.

Original-Only Track (Longer: Multi-Day Per Section)

• Ideal for advanced readers or classes with time for a full novel study.
• Students read the original chapters aligned to each adapted Part.
• Assessments still work exactly the same (except no vocab words)
• This track preserves Baum’s full language, pacing, and descriptive style.

Dual-Track Differentiation (Mixed Readers, flexible timelines)

• Lets your entire class study the same plot, themes, and characters at the same time—even if they are reading different versions of the text.
• Assign adapted version part 1 to students who need a shorter, clearer text and original chapters that correspond to part 1 to students reading the full text (This is fully detailed in the Teacher's Guide)
• Give original-text students multiple days per section while adapted-text students can reread, complete targeted vocabulary work, and/or tackle included discussion questions in small-groups.
• All assessments are usable for both tracks: Discussion questions + MC exit quizzes for each Part + Final Worksheet (except for Vocab Words)

What's the tradeoff of using the adapted version?

Pros:

• Reduces story to a fraction of its original length, fitting neatly into a one week lesson.
• Well suited for shorter attention spans to maintain student interest.
• Preserves core narrative elements, themes and character development.
• Better than omitting it completely due to time limits.
• Works for whole-class read-alouds, small-group novel studies, independent reading, or close reading unit.

Cons:

• Omits some original language and details for brevity, potentially losing nuances of the author's style.
• Limits opportunities for in-depth literary analysis by excluding certain subplots or descriptive passages.

This product includes a zip file consisting of:

Full Original Text ~32,000 words (PDF, DOCX)

• Great for advanced students that can read fast or for classrooms that want to take multiple weeks to read through the story.

Adapted Version Text ~15,000 words, 35 pages (PDF, DOCX, Google Docs)

• Divided into 5 parts for easy daily reading sessions

Student Worksheet (PPT, Google Slides, PDF print)

• 10 Vocabulary Words
• 10 Short Answer Recall/Comprehension
• 5 Challenge Questions (synthesis, analysis, themes, real life connection)

Teacher’s Guide & Answer Key (PDF, DOCX, Google Docs)

• 5 Sets of Daily Discussion Questions (1 per part)
• 5 Sets of Self-Graded Exit Quizzes (1 per part, 20Qs each)
• Answer Keys for Vocab, Short Answer, and Challenge Questions
• Key Figures & Places reference sheets to help students track characters and settings

Text Summary
Each part is designed like a short, focused “mini-chapter” in sequence, with each day centered on a coherent slice of Buck’s journey. The structure supports chunking, repeated exposure to characters, and layered theme work.

• Part 1 – From Judge Miller’s Ranch to the Law of Club and Fang: Buck rules a sunny California estate as an indulged “king” until Manuel sells him into the northern gold rush. He is choked, crated, and beaten by the man in the red sweater, witnesses Curly’s brutal death, learns the law of club and fang, and begins his transformation from pampered pet to hardened sled dog.
• Part 2 – The Fight for Mastery: Buck grows lean and powerful on the trail while tension with Spitz builds. He survives a wild husky raid, deadly ice along the Thirty Mile River, Dolly’s madness, and growing sabotage within the team. At last he challenges Spitz under the moon, fights with strategy instead of rage, kills him, seizes the lead, and drives the team to record-breaking runs.
• Part 3 – Broken Teams and a Last-Minute Rescue: After eighteen hundred miles of mail work, Buck’s exhausted team is sold to Hal, Charles, and Mercedes, who overload the sled, mismanage food, and drive the dogs toward collapse on spring ice. At a crowded camp, John Thornton steps between Buck and Hal’s whip, cuts Buck free, and refuses to let him pull one more step. The ice breaks under Hal’s team downstream, and Thornton quietly becomes Buck’s new and truest master.
• Part 4 – For the Love of John Thornton: Buck recovers under Thornton’s care and develops a fierce, almost startling devotion. He attacks Burton for striking Thornton, rescues Thornton from a dangerous river, and pulls a frozen, thousand-pound sled a hundred yards to win Thornton a $1,600 wager. Stories spread about the dog who would do anything for his master, and the winnings give Thornton the chance to leave crowded camps and chase a lost-mine dream deep in the wilderness.
• Part 5 – The Sounding of the Call: Buck travels with Thornton, Hans, and Pete into an untouched valley where they build a small camp and search for gold. Buck’s roaming grows longer as he runs with a gray wolf, hunts a wounded bull moose, and feels the wild pull strengthening. Returning from a long hunt, he finds the Yeehats have destroyed the camp and killed the men and dogs he loved. After driving the Yeehats away in fury and mourning Thornton, Buck joins a wolf pack, becomes its leader, and returns each year to the ruined valley—answering fully the call of the wild while still honoring the memory of his final human friend.

This one classic literature reading resource gives you a complete, no-prep, one-week unit for teaching The Call of the Wild in manageable, text-dependent steps—preserving Jack London’s story while making it teachable in real classrooms with real time limits.

Try one of these free classical literature mini readers just like this one to see if it meets your needs:

• A Christmas Carol | Free Full Week Lesson | Adapted Version | Charles Dickens
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | Full Week Lesson | Adapted Version Text | No Prep

Standards

• Reading Literature: CCSS RL.6-8.1, CCSS RL.6-8.2, CCSS RL.6-8.3, CCSS RL.6-8.4, CCSS RL.6-8.5, CCSS RL.6-8.6
• Writing: CCSS W.6-8.2
• Speaking & Listening: CCSS SL.6-7.1

Want more? Save 40%!

Get the full Middle School Classical Lit Sets | Bundle of 8 Adapted Text Versions

This bundle includes adapted versions of:

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Baum, 1900) [FREE DOWNLOAD]
• Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery, 1908)
• The Secret Garden (Burnett, 1911)
• The Call of the Wild (London, 1903)
• Black Beauty (Sewell, 1877)
• White Fang (London, 1906)
• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Verne, 1870)
• Robinson Crusoe (Defoe, 1719)
• BONUS: A Christmas Carol (Dickens, 1843) [FREE DOWNLOAD]