Skim the essay and look at the pictures. Then read the Prereading information on page 185 and the Note on page 198. Set a purpose for reading “The Cutoff: The Story of the Donner Party” by looking for things that led to the party’s doom. As you read, use sticky notes or bookmarks to mark things that members of the party said or did that hindered their efforts to get across the mountains safely.
1. Read along as your teacher reads the first two pages of “The Cutoff: The Story of the Donner Party” aloud. As you listen, put sticky notes or bookmarks near passages that describe things that hindered the Donner party. Write a brief statement on your note or bookmark that describes what may have held up the Donner party.
2. Read the rest of the essay on your own. Using sticky notes or bookmarks, continue to mark things that hindered the Donner party. Add additional notes about the passages as you mark them so you remember why you marked them.
If you are having trouble understanding the essay, read it in shorter sections with a partner. First look through the essay and notice that this essay has natural breaks marked by large capital letters and white space. Read each section of the essay silently. Then read and answer the Guided Reading Questions with your partner. Jot down things that make things hard for the Donner party, and then continue reading by going on to the next section. Continue in this way until you reach the end of the essay.
When you have finished reading, look over the passages you marked. Choose three of the passages that you feel most describe why the Donner trip failed. Then hold a whole-class discussion about what went wrong. Find out which decisions and events the class feels were most damaging.