Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

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Hatchet by Gary Paulsen Building Background Knowledge

Somebody was screaming, screaming as the plane drove down into the water. Someone screamed tight animal screams of fear and pain and [Brian] did not know that it was his sound, that he roared against the water that took him and the plane still deeper, down in the water. He saw nothing but sensed blue, cold blue-green. . . . Hatchet

Soon, you will be reading the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. This activity will give you some background knowledge about what happens in the book.

Directions for the Activity Sheet are found at http://hcms-hatchet.wikispaces.com/.

1. About the Author  Where did Paulsen live when he completed his first novel?

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 What sport did Paulsen get involved with around 1983?

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 How many books has Paulsen written for kids and adults?

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 Why did Paulsen write the book Brian's Winter?

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 It's important to decide whether an author is credible (or believable) when he writes, especially when the book is about a situation that could be real. The book Hatchet is about a boy who has to survive in the wilderness of Northern Canada by himself. What things in Paulsen's background do you think would make you believe the situations he talks about in the book?

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Follow the directions on the wiki to find a picture of a Cessna Skyhawk, then draw a sketch of it in the box below.

Below is a picture of what the control panel for an airplane looks like. Draw an arrow to the instrument on the panel that you think would control whether the plane goes up or down. 3. Setting – Location

1. Put a dot on the map at the approximate location of Long Beach and label it “Long Beach”. 2. Use maps.google.com to find Hampton, New York. 3. Now, click on "Get Directions" on the upper left-hand side of the screen. Type in "Lac des Ouefs Canada" and click "Get Directions". Google won't be able to calculate directions because there are no roads between the two locations but it will give you an idea of where Brian might have been. 4. Mark the location for Hampton, NY and for Lac des Ouefs on the map on your activity sheet and label each of them. Draw a line between the two to show the route Brian might have taken in the plane. 5. Now, click and hold someplace close to Lac des Ouefs on the map. The cursor will turn into a hand. Use this to drag Lac des Ouefs to the center of the screen. 6. Now click on "Satellite" in the upper right hand corner and zoom in using the "+" sign to see what Brian might have seen while he was trying to land the plane. Click on the picture and use the "hand" to drag the picture around.

Based on what you saw in the satellite picture, how hard do you think it would be for Brian to find a lake to crash into in the Canadian Northern Wilderness? Why?

______4. Heart Attack What causes a heart attack? ______

5. Setting – Biome  Taiga o What is the temperature in the Taiga in the summer? ______

o Why do birds come to the Taiga each year? ______

 Porcupine o About how many quills does a porcupine have? ______

o How does a porcupine use its quills to defend itself? ______

______ Moose o Why do you think a charging moose (one running towards you) would be very dangerous? ______

 Black Bear o What do black bears eat? ______

 Kingfisher o Why do you think watching the kingfisher made Brian think about making a spear?

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 Ruffled Grouse (Fool Bird) o What common bird is the Ruffled Grouse roughly the same size as? ______

o What do young ruffled grouses often do in fall and early winter that might make people call them “fool birds”? ______

 Chokecherry (Gut Cherry) o What animal loves to eat chokecherries? ______

6. Tools

Uses: ______

7. Survival Score: ______8. Other Books by Paulsen

To find out more about Paulsen's books, go to www.amazon.com and search for "Gary Paulsen".

1. Browse through the books he's written by scrolling through the page. 2. Pick one book to research and click on the title. 3. Scroll through the page to see what kind of information is available about this book. 4. If there's an Editorial Review on the page, read it. Does the review recommend the book? 5. Scroll down further to find out what the Reading Level is and how many pages this book has. 6. Now, scroll down further to see if there are any Customer Reviews. If there are, write down how many people gave it 5 stars, 4 stars, 3 stars, 2 stars, and 1 star. 7. Read one of the Customer Reviews. Does this customer agree with the Editorial Review? 8. Scroll down a little further. Look at the section called Customers Also Bought Items By. List two authors from this section on your activity sheet.

Title: ______Editorial Review recommend?: ______Reading level: ______Number of pages: ______Customer reviews: 5 stars ___ 4 Stars ____ 3 Stars _____ 2 Stars _____ 1 Star _____ Customer agree with Editorial Review? : ______Other authors: ______

9. Other books you might enjoy (Circle the icon to indicate your interest in the book.)

Touching Spirit Bear

Hunger Games

Shipwrecked