My Side of the Mountain (1969):The Wilderness Survival Story That Puts Thoreau's Ideas About Self-Reliance to a Real Test

My Side of the Mountain introduces students to a story built around self-reliance, the idea of learning to meet your own needs directly from the natural world rather than relying on stores, tools, or other people. Through Sam's choice to leave home and live off the land, the movie puts real questions about independence, resourcefulness, and what a person actually needs to survive directly in front of students.

Twelve-year-old Sam Gribley is frustrated after his family's planned summer trip falls through, canceling the algae experiments he had been looking forward to, and sets off on his own into the Canadian mountains rather than stay in the city. He builds a home inside a hollow tree, learns to forage and hunt, and trains a wild falcon named Frightful to help him find food. Over the course of his time alone he befriends a wandering folk singer named Bando and a local librarian named Miss Turner, faces the death of Frightful at the hands of a hunter, and survives a life threatening blizzard before deciding, with his goals accomplished, to return home.

Beyond its survival story, the movie draws directly on the writing of Henry David Thoreau, giving students a way into ideas about simple living and self-sufficiency through a character who is actively trying to test them. Its attention to wilderness skills, from building shelter to training a falcon to identifying what the land actually provides, gives students a concrete look at what survival in nature really requires.

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🏕️ Centers a real test of self-reliance. Sam has to meet every basic need himself, from shelter and food to warmth, using only what the wilderness actually provides. The movie treats his choices as genuine problem solving rather than an easy adventure.

🦅 Follows a real skill being learned start to finish. Sam researches falconry at the local library, then trains a wild falcon named Frightful to hunt for him. Watching that process gives students a concrete look at how patience and research turn into a practical skill.

📖 Gives students a visual companion to Jean Craighead George's novel. The movie is based directly on George's 1959 book of the same name, making it a natural pairing for a novel study or a way to compare how the story changes across mediums. Sam's choice to test Thoreau's ideas about self-sufficiency for himself, rather than just read about them, comes through directly on screen.

🌲 Shows nature as something to work with, not just admire. The movie spends real time on Sam identifying food sources, building shelter, and reading the land around him. It treats the natural world as something with rules and knowledge to learn rather than scenery.

❄️ Builds toward genuine danger and loss. Sam survives a life threatening blizzard and loses Frightful to a hunter partway through the story. Those moments give the movie real stakes instead of a risk free version of wilderness life.

🤝 Explores connection through unlikely company. Sam's solitary plan is interrupted by real friendships with a wandering folk singer and a local librarian who each shape his time in the wilderness. Their presence gives students a way to talk about whether total independence is actually what Sam wants by the end.

⚠️ Things to be aware of:

• Hunters kill a deer on screen, and Sam uses its hide and meat, though nothing graphic is shown.
• A hunter kills Sam's pet falcon partway through the story.
• Sam faces several tense survival scenes, including a near suffocation in his tree home during a blizzard and a climb up a dangerous mountain.
• There is no sexual content, language, or substance use in the movie.

📚 English Language Arts Teachers. My Side of the Mountain gives an ELA class a story built directly from a novel, which makes it a natural pairing for a book study or a way to compare how the same story changes across mediums. The guide includes three sets of differentiated comprehension questions, a wilderness survival design and problem solving activity, and a storyboard and synopsis writing sequence that pushes beyond simple recall.

🗣️ ESL and ELL Teachers. Sam's story is carried largely through narration and visual detail, which makes it easier to follow for students who are still building their English. The multiple choice question set works well with ESL and ELL students, giving them a structured way to engage with the plot without relying only on written recall.

🎬 Substitute Teachers and Cover Lessons. Hand it to a substitute and walk away. Everything is self contained and organized, with answer keys included for the comprehension question sets, and a substitute can run the session without having seen the movie.

🏠 Homeschool Parents. My Side of the Mountain works well for a single learner because of its focus on one character's experience and its clear, steady pacing. The guide's wilderness survival design activity and storyboard and synopsis tasks suit independent work well, and the differentiated comprehension question sets let a parent match the difficulty to the student's level.

💙 SEL Teachers. Sam sets out to prove he can live entirely on his own, but the story tracks him forming real friendships with Bando and Miss Turner despite that plan, and facing genuine loss when Frightful is killed partway through. His choice to return home once he has proven what he set out to prove gives students real material for a conversation about independence and connection. The guide does not include dedicated SEL activities, but the comprehension questions keep students accountable while they watch.

🌟 Supporting All Learners Movie guides can be a wonderfully calm fit for students with autism, learning difficulties, and mild to severe disabilities. The structured format gives every student a clear purpose during viewing, easing uncertainty and allowing them to engage at their own pace. If you teach in a special education or learning support setting, you may find this guide a gentle and practical resource. Find out more about why movies work for diverse learners.

Part 1: Comprehension Questions
Three sets of differentiated comprehension questions in chronological order. The first set has 35 questions requiring full sentence answers, the second has 25 questions requiring full sentence answers (a shortened version of the 35 question set), and the third has 25 multiple choice questions with three possible answers each. Answer keys are included for all three sets.

Part 2: Creativity and Problem Solving
Students imagine they are in Sam's situation and need to set up a home in the wilderness, drawing an area map of their chosen location and writing the reasons behind their choice with survival needs like wood, water, and food in mind. A second activity asks students to think through solutions to four possible problems they might face while living in the wilderness.

Part 3: Storyboard and Synopsis
A nine scene storyboard where students draw what they consider the most important parts of the movie, including a brief description for each scene, with the movie questions available as a reference for sequencing. Students then use their completed storyboard to write a synopsis of the movie.