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Hatchet

A novel by Gary Paulsen

A WebQuest for 6th Grade ELA

Designed by

Mrs. Kimberly Kelton

kimberly.kelton@

 Introduction | Task | Process |Resources| Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page

Introduction

Brian Robeson is 13 years old and angry. His parents are divorcing, and he is in possession of The Secret, knowledge about the reason for his parents’ divorce that he really wants to tell his Dad. On the way to spend his summer with his Dad, the pilot of the Cessna 406 in which they are traveling suffers a heart attack, and Brian is stranded in the Canadian wilderness. His only tool is the hatchet his mother gave him just before he boarded the plane and insisted he wear in his belt. Your task is to help Brian survive in the wilderness until help can arrive. As you read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, you will complete specific tasks that will help you to better understand Brian’s experiences. You will keep a journal during this adventure that will serve to “help” Brian by providing support information.

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The Task

You will keep a journal as you read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The purpose of this journal is to enhance your understanding of Brian’s experience while stranded in the Canadian wilderness. After completion of the journal, you will have a better a better understanding of:

• How an airplane flies

• What do to if someone has a heart attack

• Where in Canada could Brian have been?

• What kind of animals did Brian encounter?

• What actions should Brian take when he does encounter wild animals?

• How can a person survive in a similar situation?

• Why did it take so long for help to arrive?

Your final product will be a electronic presentation (PowerPoint or Haiku Deck) about the information you collect.

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The Process

As you read Hatchet, find the assignment that corresponds to the chapters you’ve read. Click on the links, watch the video or read the articles, and then use that information to answer the questions. Write the name of each section, each question, and your answers in your journal entries. After you have completed all the tasks, you will use that information to create a Powerpoint or Haiku Deck presentation for your classmates.

Task 1: Flight and a Heart Attack (Complete after reading chapters 1-3)

It’s your first time in an airplane! Click on the link(s) below to learn about how airplanes work, and to learn about how the airplane Brian is in differs from a commercial airliner.





Questions:

1. What are the four forces of flight?

2. Explain how the four forces of flight act together to make an airplane fly level.

3. When Brian had to fly the plane, (ch. 2) why do you think it was important for him to hold the nose down and head for the lake?

Click on these links to learn about Heart Attacks.

[pic] Heart Attack

What to do if someone is having a heart attack

First Aid for Heart Attack: What Should You Do?

Task 2: Survival in the Canadian Wilderness (Complete after reading chapters 4-6)

Click on the links below to learn about Brian’s original destination and survival in the wilderness.





[pic] Wilderness Survival Basic Rules

Click on the link below. Take the Survival Quiz. Write down your score in your journal, then read the sections about survival located to the left of the quiz page (there are 21). After you have read the links, take the Survival Quiz a second time. Write down your score. Compare the two scores. Write about what you learned. This task will take some time. Be prepared to spend at least 1 hour completing the entire task.





Task 4 – Food and Fire (Complete after reading chapters 7-9)

After eating the “gut cherries” Brian realizes that he will need to find food. Click on the links below to learn more about the types of edible plants he may have encountered.







In your journal, draw and color (using colored pencils) at least 5 different types of edible wild plants shown on the links above. Label each plant with the name of the plant, the scientific name, and label the parts of the plant that may be eaten. Also discuss how the plant can be gathered (dig tubers out of the ground, pick berries, etc.) Give details as to whether the plant can be eaten raw or if it must be cooked.

In your journal, draw and color (using colored pencils) at least 5 different poisonous plants shown on the links above. Label each plant with the name, scientific name, and label the parts that someone might try to eat, but would be poisonous to do so. YOU MAY DISCUSS POISON IVY OR POISON OAK, BUT NOT BOTH. Discuss what might happen to someone who ate the plant (would they break out in hives, become sick to their stomach, ect.) .

In Chapters 7 and 8, Brian encounters two types of animals with very different results. Click on the pictures below to learn more about the animals Brian encountered.

After reading about these animals, draw a picture of each animal in your journal (colored w/pencils would be an excellent touch and get you extra points), then write 2-3 sentences describing each animal, its habitat, diet, habits, and why you think the interaction this animal had with Brian happened in the way described in the book.

In Chapter 9, Brian makes fire. Watch the video learn ways that you can start a fire without matches.



At the end of Chapter 9, Brian refers to the fire as his friend.

I have a friend, he thought—I have a friend now. A hungry friend, but a good one. I have a friend named fire.

The author uses personification to describe the fire. Discuss in your journal how this is a good method of describing fire by listing the ways in which fire is Brian’s friend. Why is fire a “hungry friend?”

Task 5 - Keeping Busy (Complete after reading Chapters 10-12)

In Chapter 10, Brian realized that he must work constantly in order to keep the fire going. He also realizes a hidden benefit to having a fire. What was the hidden benefit? [answer this question in your journal.]

Click on the photo below to learn more about another animal that made a difference in Brian’s survival. Identify the animal in your journal, draw a picture of it in your journal (colored w/pencils would be an excellent touch and get you extra points), then write 2-3 sentences describing the animal, its habitat, diet, habits, and why you think this event made a difference in Brian’s survival.

There were these things to do.

In Chapters 11 and 12, Brian found many ways to keep busy. Click on the links to learn more about the tools Brian made to help him survive.







At the end of Chapter 12, something happens that causes Brian to lose all hope. Write a poem describing Brian’s feelings at the end of chapter 12. Do not use information from chapter 13 to aid in this question.

There are many different types of poetry. Click the link below for help in deciding why type of poem to write. When you put your poem in your journal, be sure to tell what type of poem you have written.



Task 6 – Mistakes (Complete after reading Chapters 13-15)

Click on the pictures below to learn about animals that Brian encountered in these chapters.

1. In these chapters, Brian has changed dramatically. In your journal, discuss his behavior and outlook immediately after his realization that he was not going to be rescued immediately. How did he get past it? How did keeping a positive outlook help him to survive?

2. As a second journal entry for this task, discuss the mistakes Brian has made. How was he able to learn from them? How did the ability to learn from his mistakes help him to survive?

Task 7 – Insanity (Complete after reading Chapter 16)

Click on the pictures below to learn about these challenges that Brian encountered.

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In one day, Brian went from being confident in his abilities to survive to completely losing everything he had gained. However, his reaction is very different from his reaction at the end of Chapter 12. Read the following passage from the story:

Come on, he thought, baring his teeth in the darkness – come on. Is that the best you can do? Is that all you can hit me with – a moose and a tornado? Well, he thought, holding his ribs and smiling, then spitting mosquitos out of his mouth. Well, that won’t get the job done. That was the difference now. He had changed, and he was tough. I’m tough where it counts – tough in the head.

In your journal, discuss this difference. What does Brian mean by being “tough in the head?”

At the end of Chapter 16, after losing everything, Brian finds something to renew his hope. What did he find? Write in your journal about what he found and how this could change everything

Task 8 - New Treasures (Complete after reading Chapters 17-19)

Click on the links below to learn about the challenges Brian faced in this chapter.



Click on the picture below to learn about what Brian found in the wreckage of the plane.

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Compare the items in the survival kit that Brian salvaged from the plane to the list of items on the website. How are they alike? How are they different? In your journal, create two columns, one for the items on the website list, one for the items listed in the story. Which pack do you think is the better? Why? Write about this in your journal.

Epilogue

Brian Robeson was rescued after spending fifty-four days alone in the Canadian wilderness. During that time, he underwent many changes both physically and emotionally. After reading the Epilogue, choose one of the following “Discussion Topics” and respond to it in your journal.

• Brian is haunted by “The Secret” that he knows about his mother. Discuss why he hasn’t told his father about his mother’s affair. How does keeping “The Secret” make him feel guilty? Explain Brian’s feelings toward his mother at the beginning of the novel, how “The Secret” colors his feelings towards her, and why “The Secret” is less important to Brian by the end of the novel.

• Discuss how Brian uses information that he has learned from movies and specials on public television to understand the animals in the wild. How does this knowledge contribute to his survival? What does Brian mean when he says that his knowledge is “tough hope”?

• Brian once had an English teacher who encouraged his students to “get motivated.” He told them, ”you are your most valuable asset. Don’t forget that. You are the best thing you have.” How does this message give Brian courage when he is alone in the wilderness? Describe how Brian learns to depend on his own ingenuity.

• Brian keeps a mental journal of his experiences so that he might share them with his father. What are the mistakes that he records in his mental journal? Describe his best memories.

Culminating Thoughts – complete this after you have completed all other tasks.

In your journal, respond to the following question.

• Among the virtues that Brian acquires during his fifty-four days alone in the Canadian wilderness are willpower, patience, hope, courage, and trust in his instincts. How might these qualities affect Brian for the rest of his life? What other lessons in life does Brian learn from his experience?

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Evaluation

For each Task, your work will be evaluated using the rubric below:

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

|Hatchet Journal Writing |

| | | | | |

|  |  |  |  |  |

| | | | | |

|Teacher Name: Mrs. Kelton | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

|Student Name:     ________________________________________ | |

| | | | | |

|CATEGORY |4 |3 |2 |1 |

|Grammar & Spelling |Writer makes no errors in |Writer makes 1-2 errors in |Writer makes 3-4 errors in |Writer makes more than 4 |

|(Conventions) |grammar or spelling that |grammar or spelling that |grammar or spelling that |errors in grammar or |

| |distract the reader from the|distract the reader from the|distract the reader from the|spelling that distract the |

| |content. |content. |content. |reader from the content. |

|Sentence Length (Sentence |Every paragraph has |Almost all paragraphs have |Some sentences vary in |Sentences rarely vary in |

|Fluency) |sentences that vary in |sentences that vary in |length. |length. |

| |length. |length. | | |

|Flow & Rhythm (Sentence |All sentences sound natural |Almost all sentences sound |Most sentences sound natural|The sentences are difficult |

|Fluency) |and are easy-on-the-ear when|natural and are |and are easy-on-the-ear when|to read aloud because they |

| |read aloud. Each sentence is|easy-on-the-ear when read |read aloud, but several are |sound awkward, are |

| |clear and has an obvious |aloud, but 1 or 2 are stiff |stiff and awkward or are |distractingly repetitive, or|

| |emphasis. |and awkward or difficult to |difficult to understand. |difficult to understand. |

| | |understand. | | |

| | | | | |

|Date Created: Dec 05, 2014 02:36 pm (CST) | | |

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Conclusion

I hope that you have enjoyed sharing Brian’s adventures and challenges through this WebQuest. By putting yourself in his place, hopefully you have gained a different view of what is important in life, and to survival. Brian learned that in order to survive, he could not feel sorry for himself no matter how difficult his situation became. He also learned that keeping a positive outlook was vital to his survival. How can keeping a positive outlook benefit you in your life?

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Credits & References

All images have been downloaded from Google images.

Rubric was created using

Video about Heart Attacks provided by Discovery Education

Journal questions from the sections “Epilogue” and “Culminating Thoughts” taken from the Reader’s Group Guide by Pat Scales, retired librarian and independent consultant, Greenville, SC located in the back of my copy of Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet.

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Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

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