Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

A. Read the following pages each week.  Please resist the temptation to read ahead. We will be doing some predicting and inferring during our class discussions.  Questions should be answered based only on what has been read up to that point in time.

Novel	Week One Jan 12 - 16		Week Two Jan 19 - 22	Week Three Jan 26 - 30	Week Four Feb 2- 6
The Giver		Pg 1 - 39	Pg 40 - 87	Pg 89 - 138	Pg 139 - 179
Tiger Rising		Pg 1 - 25	Pg 26 – 55	Pg 56 – 86	Pg 87 - 116
The White Giraffe		Pg 1 - 45	Pg 46 – 86	Pg 87 – 134	Pg 135 -181
No Such Thing as Dragons		Pg 1 – 49	Pg 50 – 102	Pg 103– 145	Pg 146 - 186
Hatchet		Pg 1 - 55	Pg 56 - 118	Pg 119 - 146	Pg 147 - 195
Loser		Pg 1 - 49	Pg 50 - 100	Pg 101 - 160	Pg 161 - 218-

B. Summarize each week’s reading in your own words.  Include all important events. Leave out minor details.

C. In your language notebook answer the questions.  Include the page numbers when giving evidence from the text.  

Week One Jan 12 - 16

Week Two Jan 19 - 22

Week Three Jan 26 - 30

Week Four Feb 2- 6

Questions

1, 2, 3 Wanted Poster

4,5,6

7, 8, 9

10, 11 Portrait

* Create a “Wanted Poster” for the “Brian”(template will be provided).

* Draw and colour a plan of Brian’s camp. Label your portrait with evidence from the text (a large sheet of blank paper will be provided).

1. Why did Brian’s mother give him a hatchet? How did Brian feel about the gift? What does the fact that he wore it tell us about his feelings towards her?

2. Evaluate Brian’s ability to handle the controls of the plane. Do you think that a boy his age could realistically land a plane under these circumstances? Explain your opinion.

3. Predict what Brian might do to save himself. What would be your first priority, if you were in his position?

4. Brian thought that the danger in a city park at night was worse than the danger he faced in the woods. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

5. In what way did Brian’s past science lessons come in handy? How did he apply this knowledge to his challenge to make fire?

6. Why did Brian think that “he had never felt so rich somehow”?

7. Explain Brian’s solution for storing fish and catching the “foolbirds”.

8. After the tornado, Brian was once again alone with just his hatchet. Why didn’t he feel the same hopelessness as when he first landed the plane?

9. How, do you think, was it possible for Brian to do things he’d never done before, that helped him survive, without anyone teaching him?

10. What role do patience and observation play in Brian's survival? How do Brian's powers of patience and observation change in the course of the book?

11. What do you think would have happened if Brian had found the survival pack much earlier? Would he be the same person he became under the book's circumstances?