A NOVEL BY GARY PAULSEN

Complete all of the following activities.

As You Read

1. At the end of each chapter write a brief (3-5 dot point) summary

of the events of the chapter. Also write a brief description of

how you think Brian is feeling at that point.

Survival in the Wilderness

2. RESEARCH: Investigate a real life survival or disaster story where

someone has survived against incredible odds and present it as a

short report.

• You will need to visit the library and Internet to gather the

necessary information so that the report is accurate and factual.

• In your report you will need to explain where the incident

occurred, who was involved, why it occurred and what made it an

incredible story of survival.

• You may need to use maps, illustrations and diagrams to assist in

presenting the information.

• Include the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

 questions.

• Write 1 page, with an Introduction, two Body Paragraphs and a

Conclusion.

3. Speak Out: Present this information to the class as an oral

presentation. Your speech should last for a minimum of 2 minutes.

You may use support material, such as photographs and maps to

support your speech if you wish.

Finding Textual Reference

4. Brian changes significantly as a person over the course of the

novel. His experiences in the wilderness make it necessary for him

to change in order to survive. Show Brian’s development by finding

one (minimum, up to three) quotes or events in the novel that

highlight his development. Quote these references, with page

numbers. Underneath each quote write at least 2 sentences

outlining what each quote tells us about how Brian is changing.

5. Draw and label a detailed diagram that shows Brian’s campsite and

the terrain around it. Include as many details as you can find, using

the text as a reference point. Make your drawing as accurate as

possible.

TEL – Template for analysis of themes and issues in the Year 8 novel
INTRODUCTION
CONTENTION – (Rewrite the question in your own words in the form of a statement)
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

ARGUMENTS
Using dot points indicate the three arguments that you will use to support your contention. These will form
the basis for your topic sentences in the body of the essay
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

BODY
Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence (Directly supports your contention and summaries the argument of the paragraph)
______________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Evidence/ Explain (Gives specific examples/quotes that support the topic sentence and explains why the
quote supports the contention)
______________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

Link (Ties the paragraph back to the contention – does not necessarily link to the next paragraph)
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2
Topic Sentence (Directly supports your contention and summaries the argument of the paragraph)
______________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Evidence/ Explain (Gives specific examples/quotes that support the topic sentence and explains why the
quote supports the contention)
______________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

Link (Ties the paragraph back to the contention – does not necessarily link to the next paragraph)
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSION
(Reiterates main points, similar to intro., does not include any new information)
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
 Hatchet
Reflection Task
Element 2
Think back over your learning. Circle the numbers to give yourself a rating for each of the
following learning behaviours:

I really enjoyed learning about the different issues faced by the characters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I tried my hardest

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I helped others

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I stayed on task

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I finished on time

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I tried to solve my own problems before asking for help

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I understood what I was doing

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Habit of Mind
Which Habit of Mind did you use when completing your work in this novel study? How did you use it?

Feedback to your Teacher

Help your teacher by giving an idea of how they can improve this unit of work.