Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________ Advisory: ______________________

Grade 5 Quiz #10

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Excerpt from Hatchet

By Gary Paulsen
1 Brian Robeson stared out the window of the small plane at the endless green northern
wilderness below. It was a small plane, a Cessna 406—a bush plane—and the engine was so loud, so
roaring and consuming and loud, that it ruined any chance for conversation.
2 Not that he had much to say. He was thirteen and the only passenger on the plane with a
pilot named—what was it? Jim or Jake or something—who was in his mid-forties and who had been silent
as he worked to prepare for take-off. In fact since Brian had come to the small airport in Hampton, New
York to meet the plane—driven by his mother—the pilot had spoken only five words to him.
3 “Get in the copilot’s seat.”
4 Which Brian had done. They had taken off and that was the last of the conversation. There
had been the initial excitement, of course. He had never flown in a single-engine plane before and to be
sitting in the copilot’s seat with all the controls right there in front of him, all the instruments in his face
as the plane clawed for altitude, jerking and sliding on the wind currents as the pilot took off, had been
interesting and exciting. . . .
5 Now Brian sat, looking out the window with the roar thundering through his ears, and tried
to catalog what had led up to his taking this flight.
6 The thinking started.
7 Always it started with a single word.
8 Divorce.
9 It was an ugly word, he thought. A tearing, ugly word that meant fights and yelling, lawyers
—God, he thought, how he hated lawyers who sat with their comfortable smiles and tried to explain to
him in legal terms how all that he lived in was coming apart—and the breaking and shattering of all the
solid things. His home, his life—all the solid things. Divorce. A breaking word, an ugly breaking word.
10 Divorce.
11 Secrets.
12 No, not secrets so much as just the Secret. What he knew and had not told anybody, what
he knew about his mother that had caused the divorce, what he knew, what he knew—the Secret.
13 Divorce.
14 The Secret.
15 Brian felt his eyes beginning to burn and knew there would be tears. He had cried for a time,
but that was gone now. He didn’t cry now. . . .
16 The pilot sat large, his hands lightly on the wheel, feet on the rudder pedals. He seemed
more a machine than a man, an extension of the plane. . . .
17 When he saw Brian look at him, the pilot seemed to open up a bit and he smiled. “Ever fly
in the copilot’s seat before?” He leaned over and lifted the headset off his right ear and put it on his
temple, yelling to overcome the sound of the engine.
18 Brian shook his head. . . .
19 “It’s not as complicated as it looks. Good plane like this almost flies itself.” The pilot shrugged.
“Makes my job easy.” He took Brian’s left arm. “Here, put your hands on the controls, your feet on the
rudder pedals, and I’ll show you what I mean.”
20 Brian shook his head. “I’d better not.”
21 “Sure. Try it......”
22 Brian reached out and took the wheel in a grip so tight his knuckles were white. He
pushed his feet down on the pedals. The plane slewed suddenly to the right.
23 “Not so hard. Take her light, take her light.”
24 Brian eased off, relaxed his grip. The burning in his eyes was forgotten momentarily as the
vibration of the plane came through the wheel and the pedals. It seemed almost alive.
25 “See?” The pilot let go of his wheel, raised his hands in the air and took his feet off the pedals
to show Brian he was actually flying the plane alone. “Simple. Now turn the wheel a little to the right
and push on the right rudder pedal a small amount.”
26 Brian turned the wheel slightly and the plane immediately banked to the right, and when he
pressed on the right rudder pedal the nose slid across the horizon to the right. He left off on the
pressure and straightened the wheel and the plane righted itself.
27 “Now you can turn. Bring her back to the left a little.”
28 Brian turned the wheel left, pushed on the left pedal, and the plane came back around. “It’s
easy.” He smiled. “At least this part.”
29 The pilot nodded. “All of flying is easy. Just takes learning. Like everything else. Like
everything else.” He took the controls back, then reached up and rubbed his left shoulder. “Aches and
pains— must be getting old.”
30 Brian let go of the controls and moved his feet away from the pedals as the pilot put his
hands on the wheel. “Thank you. ”
31 But the pilot had put his headset back on and the gratitude was lost in the engine noise
and things went back to Brian looking out the window at the ocean of trees and lakes. The burning
eyes did not come back, but memories did, came flooding in. The words.
32 Always the words.
33 Divorce.
34 The Secret.
35 Fights.
36 Split.
37 The big split. Brian’s father did not understand as Brian did, knew only that Brian’s mother
wanted to break the marriage apart.
38 The split had come and then the divorce, all so fast, and the court had left him with his
mother except for the summers and what the judge called “visitation rights.” So formal.
 1 How does paragraph 2 relate to paragraph 17?
A. Paragraph 2 hints about an event that takes place in paragraph 17.
B. Paragraphs 2 and 17 show a contrast in a character.
C. Paragraph 17 resolves a conflict begun in paragraph 2.
D. Paragraphs 2 and 17 describe the changing scenery.

2 Which detail would be most important to include in a summary of the excerpt?

A. The pilot instructs Brian to sit in the co-pilot’s seat at the beginning of the flight.
B. Brian is able to see the controls of the plane right in front of him throughout the entire flight.
C. Brian recalls the Secret that only he knows about his mother and the divorce.
D. The pilot has to yell in order to be heard over the roar of the engine.

3 What new idea is revealed in paragraph 12?

A. Brian’s parents’ divorce has been very difficult for Brian.
B. Brian knows the cause of his parents’ divorce.
C. Brian has cried over his parents’ divorce but can’t cry anymore.
D. Brian’s mother doesn’t know the true cause for the divorce.

4 What do paragraphs 24 and 30 reveal about Brian?

A. Brian wishes he and the pilot could talk more.
B. He is a natural pilot and quickly masters flying the plane.
C. Brian is unable to stop thinking about his parents, even while doing something else.
D. He is grateful to take a break from thinking about his parents’ divorce.

5 Which detail best supports that Brian feels alone in the world?
A. “The thinking started.” (paragraph 6)
B. “When he saw Brian look at him, the pilot seemed to open up a bit and he smiled.” (paragraph 17)
C. “The pilot nodded. 'All of flying is easy. Just takes learning. Like everything else. Like
everything else.'” (paragraph 29)
D. “But the pilot had put his headset back on and the gratitude was lost in the engine noise and
things went back to Brian looking out the window at the ocean of trees and lakes.” (paragraph
31)

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 Attack the Prompt
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6 What is the most likely reason Brian cannot stop thinking about his parents' divorce? Use at least two
details from the text to support your response.
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Reference the rubric on the next page to help you revise your answer!

Generated On May 11, 2017, 10:07 AM PDT Page 4

 2 1.5
Fully answers all parts of the
question and goes beyond a
literal understanding of the
text and accurately reflects the
deeper meaning, to the degree
as indicated by the prompt.
Insightfully supports the claim
with compelling, relevant, and
sufficient evidence that is
elaborated upon insightfully
and connected to the claim.
Response is organized clearly
and logically with fluid
transitions
Stop: You have finished the assessment.
Generated On May 11, 2017, 10:07 AM PDT
Answers all parts of the
question with a valid
assertion
The claim may not be fully
developed or clarified in
the assertion sentence(s),
but developed as needed
throughout the response
Selects sufficient, relevant
evidence to develop
response as required by
the prompt
Satisfactory attempt at
explanation of evidence
and connection to the
assertion/claim
Organization exists, but
may be formulaic or rote
1 .5
Answers the question but the
assertion may be vague and/or
imprecise.
May be a mostly literal
recounting of events or details
from the text without addressing
the deeper meaning, May include
minor misconceptions, or may be
incomplete per the prompt.
The evidence may not be
sufficient or strong or may be
lacking a thorough explanation.
0
Attempts to answer the May be inaccurate, incomplete, or
question, but may not answer off topic. May demonstrate major
all parts of the question misconceptions about the text.
and/or answers may lack May not be supported with
clarity or precision; may evidence or explanations. May be
include slight misconceptions blank or copied directly from the
text.
Mostly literal recounting of
events or details as required
by the prompt
Uses some evidence, facts,
details, information and/or
references to the text to
develop the response
according to the
requirements of the prompt
May lack sense of
organization
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