Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Lesson plans and other teaching resources
Fiction Elements in Hatchet
Lesson includes reading a story, identifying elements of fiction, creating a project about survival, and making a PowerPoint presentation to demonstrate student comprehension. It was designed for special education students using a block schedule; it includes suggestions for adapting it to other situations.
Focusing Activity to begin novel: Hatchet by Paulsen
Students will visualize how Brian feels when he crash lands on the deserted island at the beginning of the novel, Hatchet. This whole class period will be spent using prior knowledge of survival skills.
Description as Mind Control: Using Details to Help Readers Visualize Your Story
Students listen to passages from Hatchet, draw one of the images from the passage, and identify which details Paulsen uses to create these images.
Focusing activity to begin novel: Hatchet by Paulsen
Students will visualize how Brian Robeson will feel when he crash lands on the deserted island at the beginning of the novel, Hatchet. This whole class period will be spent using prior knowledge of survival skills. Designed for 6th grade.
Hatchet
How might students use storyboards to demonstrate and to extend their learning? Check the resources here. Includes essential questions, character maps, vocabulary, sequencing, literary devices, more. Note: Storyboard That helps sponsor this site.
Hershey Kisses Writing Activity
Students add words to make a description more vivid.
Hatchet Lesson Plan
After looking at the book's cover and listening to the opening scene, students predict what the book will be about.
Plane Emergency
Informational text on airplane safety and a followup quiz to check student learning.
Hatchet
Author biography, pre-reading activities, vocabulary, printable active reading guides, questions for analysis, extension activities. Organized by sections of the novel. 17 pages of resources for Hatchet, additional pages address related titles. Adobe Reader required.
Survival as a Bridge to At-Risk Readers: Applications of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet to an Integrated Curriculum
This article by Cynthia G. Unwin and Brian Palmer offers chapter-by-chapter discussion questions and interdisciplinary activities.
Teaching Imagery with Gary Paulsen
Students will read excerpts from memoirs written by Paulsen as examples of how to write a narrative piece. Includes presentation rubric, printable for sensory details.
The Ultimate Survivor
The writer will respond to the following questions: If you were stranded in a remote place, what important items would you want to have? How would you survive? What sort of plan would you come up with? The writer will then create an organized piece of writing that explains their survival plan. This lesson focuses on organization and word choice.
- Chapters 1-4, 30 words
- Chapters 5-8, 35 words
- Chapters 9-12, 35 words
- Chapters 13-16, 30 words
- Chapters 17-19, Epilogue, 25 words
Gary Paulsen
Links to lesson plans and teaching resources for other books by Paulsen.