Hatchet Novel Study Activities
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen is one of my very favorite novels to teach. I sometimes struggle with engaging my struggling middle school boys, and the male protagonist and survival theme really seems to suck them in. That being said, the book was one of my daughter’s favorites in middle school, so I can say with all honesty that the story is really appealing to adventurous young girls as well. A Hatchet Novel Study is the perfect fit for an upper elementary or middle school classroom.
Looking for a COMPLETE novel study to use with Hatchet? Click the image or button below!
For more information on teaching specific novels, you won’t want to miss our posts on teaching Because of Winn Dixie, Wonder, The Hunger Games, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Outsiders!
Hatchet Novel Study Activities
I can’t remember where I first heard it, but they say that in order to write a successful middle grade novel, the first thing you need to do is remove the parents from the story. I didn’t believe it at first, but then I started to think… Harry Potter? Percy Jackson? Series of Unfortunate Events? Island of the Blue Dolphins? Lord of the Flies? No parents. When you start to really think about it, the list goes on and on and on. It’s one of those things that as soon as you see it, you can’t unsee it. Hatchet, is no different.
Hooking Reluctant Readers with Hatchet
The story revolves around a young boy named Brian, who hops on a plane that eventually crashes into the wilderness. He has to learn to survive by himself in the wilds of nature before (spoiler alert) eventually getting rescued. A great bonus to go along with this novel is the fact that it is part of a series. If you can hook your reluctant readers on this first book, there will be a lot more reading material for them to dive into later.
Books to Pair with your Hatchet Novel Study
Looking for a fun group assignment to add to your list of Hatchet novel study activities? This novel makes a great literature circle book! It pairs really nicely with other survival themed novels, such as Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins, Jean Craighead George’s Julie of the Wolves or My Side of the Mountain, Shipwreck by Gordon Korman, Deathwatch by Robb White, The Cay by Theodore Taylor, or (my personal favourite) The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelsen. The similar themes of these stories would make for some great class discussion and compare/contrast activities.
To read more about great novels to pair with Hatchet, check out our guide to teaching survival novels.
Introducing Hatchet
YouTube has some great videos about the novel. I usually use an interview with Gary Paulsen that I found on YouTube to introduce the author.
I like the way he talks about his life as a writer and his reasons for writing. To keep the kids focused while we watch, I like to handout a few quick questions for them to complete while watching.
We glue these in at the beginning of our Hatchet Interactive Notebooks, and discuss the answers as a class.
Want to add this video assignment to your folder of Hatchet novel study activities? If you would like a set of the questions we use (with answer key and video link), you can download it for FREE here, or by clicking on the image at the bottom of this post.
Hatchet Novel Study Activities: Examining Internal and External Conflicts
Hatchet is the perfect model to teach about internal and external conflicts. The entire novel is pretty much an extensive study of man vs nature. However, Brian faces a lot of different internal struggles as well. Brian’s “secret” is a deep internal struggle that a lot of students are able to make strong connections to.
Hatchet Novel Study Activities: Wilderness Survival Guides
As the theme of the novel revolves around survival, I like to introduce the novel by discussing some wilderness survival tips. I have collected a variety of tips on a handout, and we go over the tips and discuss them as a class.
After discussion, I have the kids brainstorm and write about the tip they think is most important. The kids always enjoy this. I find it to be a fun pre-reading activity to get them excited about the book. We usually get some pretty good class debates going on. The kids really like to argue over which tip is most important.
Hatchet Novel Study: Comprehension Activities
Throughout the novel, I like to use comprehension questions as quick checks to make sure students are keeping up with and understanding their reading. I like to work in some vocabulary here as well, as I think it is important for students to have an opportunity to work with the new words they are learning.
However, while I think comprehension is important, I don’t like to bog students down with endless questions. I think this can take away from the enjoyment of the novel. I typically only have students answer 2 or 3 per chapter. This way, I am able to assess their comprehension and understanding without the overkill.
On the hunt for some engaging graphic organizers that you can use with ANY novel study? Check out this post – and grab an exclusive free resource!
Hatchet Summary Activities
Last time I taught this novel, I decided to switch things up a bit. Since we had been learning about summarizing, and I really wanted the kids to get some practice with these skills while reading through the novel.
To do this, I decided to have them summarize and illustrate what happens in each chapter. This was a nice break from our chapter questions, and the kids like the opportunity to show their understanding in artistic form. I also really loved how the completed projects looked!
We hung our completed summaries on the wall outside our classroom for a bit, and then glued them into our Hatchet Interactive Notebooks.
The little image on the left of Brian with mosquito bites makes me giggle every time I see it. The kids had so much fun with these and I really love how they turned out.
For more information on Interactive Notebooks, and ways to use them in your own classroom, check out our post all about the benefits of using them.
Hatchet Character Analysis
As we progress through the novel, we spend a significant amount of time brainstorming the ways Brian has changed from the beginning of the novel towards the end. I have them do a compare and contrast organizer in small groups, which we then go over and add to as a class. When we are done, I have them glue them into their Hatchet Interactive Notebooks, as they will need to refer back to them for the next activity.
For this activity, the kids are required to illustrate and discuss the changes that Brian went through during the novel. It makes for a great visual representation of Brian before and after. I like the way this assignment forces kids have to look at the changes that occurred in Brian both on the inside and outside. Again, the kids loved being able to use art to show their understanding, and I love how they turned out. Once they were complete, we glued them into our Hatchet Interactive Notebooks.
Is character analysis something you focus on in your ELA classroom? You may be interested in our guide to teaching character traits and our character analysis activities.
Interested in teaching this novel with your class?
If you are interested in picking up any of the resources shown in this post, you can pick them up at my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking here or on one of the images below.
Looking for some FREE resources to help introduce the novel to your class?
Click on the image below to snag this FREE download. It contains the materials needed for the Gary Paulsen interview activity mentioned earlier in this post.
Do you teach this novel in your classroom? I would love to hear about some of the activities you use to bring it to life! Leave comment below and tell me all about it!
If you are struggling with choosing the perfect book for your next novel study, you won’t want to miss our lists of favorite middle school and upper elementary novels!
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