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Dougal Robertson--Context Clues and Inferencing

Last updated over 2 years ago
13 questions
Sailing around the world can be a wonderful experience, but it can also be very dangerous. Dougal Robertson lived with his wife, Lyn, and their four children in a remote area of England that was far away from any busy cities. Robertson decided he wanted to expose his family to the world far beyond their farm and planned a trip to sail around the globe. He spent his family’s savings on a boat and designed a route that would take them well over a year to complete. Dougal Robertson had previous experience sailing but had long since retired. Robertson was looking forward to relying on his past experiences at sea while his family lived a nomadic lifestyle as they sailed all over the world.
10

What is the meaning of remote?

10

What context clue helped you figure out the meaning of remote?

10

What is the meaning of nomadic?

8
Which context clue helped you understand the meaning of the word nomadic? __________
The family set sail on January 1, 1971, on a 43-foot long schooner that they named the Lucette. The first 18 months went by without any serious trouble. There had been some problems, but overall the trip had gone very smoothly. For nearly a year and a half, the Robertsons sailed in the Atlantic Ocean and stopped at various places in the Caribbean to pick up supplies and visit new places. Over the course of their journey, one of the children decided to end her trip early, and the family picked up an additional passenger that they met along the way. The relative ease of the first part of their excursion may have given them a false sense of security because they had little idea of the trouble that was ahead.
4

What inference could be made about today’s passage?

4

Which portion of the text helped you to reach this conclusion?

The family set sail on January 1, 1971, on a 43-foot long schooner that they named the Lucette. The first 18 months went by without any serious trouble. There had been some problems, but overall the trip had gone very smoothly. For nearly a year and a half, the Robertsons sailed in the Atlantic Ocean and stopped at various places in the Caribbean to pick up supplies and visit new places.
8

What is the main idea of this section of the passage?

The months of smooth sailing came to an abrupt end soon after the Lucette entered the Pacific Ocean. The family was startled by a loud boom and then realized that their ship was being attacked by a group of killer whales. The attack caused significant damage to the Lucette and the family quickly clambered off the ship. They had both an inflatable lifeboat and a dinghy to use in case the Lucette sank. Shortly after the initial attack, the Robertsons watched the boat that had been their home for many months disappear under the water. What had started out as a fantastic opportunity to travel the world had quickly turned into a desperate fight for survival.
5
  • abrupt
  • clambered
  • climb
  • sudden
8

What inference can be made about killer whales?

The Robertsons hastily got off the sinking ship and didn’t have time to grab many provisions. They only had a small amount of food which included some fruit and cookies. The adult members of the family realized how dangerous the situation was and they limited food in order to make it last as long as possible. The food lasted around a week and then the family caught fish and turtles to eat. The family may have been surrounded by water, but none of it was safe to drink. They had some containers that were used to catch rainwater. The inflatable raft was small and uncomfortable, but it was the family's best option. Unfortunately, the inflatable life raft began to fail, and the family’s situation became even worse.
8

. What is the central idea of today’s passage?

8

What is the meaning of provisions?

Bad luck for the family continued when their inflatable lifeboat sank. While the
lifeboat was far from comfortable, it was more capacious than the final boat that the
family had to cram in, which was only 10 feet long. There was only a small section of the
boat that wasn’t always wet, and the family took turns so that everyone had a chance to
sit in the dry seat. The Robertsons were quickly running out of supplies. To make matters
worse, sharks circled their small boat on a regular basis.

The Robertsons had been rowing daily to try to make it back to land, although it was
unlikely that they would be successful. As luck would have it, the family’s small boat was
spotted by a Japanese fishing boat 38 days after the Lucette sank. Initially the crew of the
fishing boat assumed no one was on such a small boat in the middle of the ocean, but
luckily they investigated. The Robertsons were overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for
surviving their harrowing ordeal. Years later, the father wrote a novel telling his family’s story
of survival. He used the money he made from writing the book to buy a boat while the
mother opted to stay behind on their family farm.
5

Drag and drop each word to its meaning.

  • capacious
  • harrowing
  • opted
  • distressing
  • spacious
  • chose
12

Write a complete summary of the biography of Dougal Robertson and his family.