The Road

Use these activities to engage all types of learners while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “It’s the End of the World as We Know It, and We Feel _______”

Picture an end of the world scenario (that’s a little less dire than the one in The Road): there is no more culture, no nations, no technology. Instead, it’s you, your closest community members (or your classmates), and the need to survive. Whatever career ambitions you had, whatever plans you had for the future, are gone in a world that has been unmade. What would a satisfying life look like in this scenario? Would it be achievable? How would you achieve it? Brainstorm with your classmates what you would need to create a workable, satisfying society together.

Teaching Suggestion: This is a great activity to do as a group brainstorming session to encourage a conversation about shared values. Students may see the ways that the society that they live in is giving them a context for their own goals, dreams, and futures, and considering a world in which those pressures are removed might lead them to think about what they value personally. Try not to let anyone form a blood cult!

ACTIVITY 2: “Apocalypse Shopping List”

You see a flash in the distance, and the power goes out. After filling the bathtub, you remember you’re right down the block from a big box grocery store. You know the owner, and you’re pretty sure he’ll let you spend the $200 in cash you have on hand, since he realizes that he’ll soon have much bigger problems and may as well let people buy things before they start taking them by force. What are you buying?

• Make a list of your needs, then think about how you would divide up those needs into a budget.
• Use ballpark figures if you’re not sure of the price of something. The owner will probably let you round things down anyway!
• After you’ve made your list, share it with your peers. How did your lists differ? Did you miss something that may prove dire in case of emergency? Who is best prepared to make it through the end of days?

Teaching Suggestion: The Road is a novel about logistics—food, water, staying out of inclement weather—and most of us think that we have a good idea of what it would take to live without the infrastructure to which we are accustomed. This activity will get students thinking about their immediate and medium-term needs, and it will give you an opportunity to talk to them about how and why the man and the boy’s situation is so dire.