Covers "The Call of the Wild" and four thematically related short stories: "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," "The Ransom of Red Chief," "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," and Saki's droll "The Story Teller." This curriculum unit provides everything needed for in-depth study of classic fiction (except the readily available novels and short stories themselves): teaching directions, suggested schedules, background information, author bios, plot summaries, vocabulary study guides, discussion of literary elements, reproducible activities and assessments, and ideas for extensions. The time required for full treatment is four weeks for each novel, one week for each short story. Grades 6–8. Glossaries. Answer keys.