Gary Paulsen
Lesson plans for Hatchet and other novels

|Biography| |Canyons| |Dogsong| |The Foxman| |Hatchet and the Brian saga| |How Angel Peterson Got His Name |Nightjohn| |The River| |Tucket's Gold| |Woodsong|

Biography & Interview

The official Gary Paulsen site
A message from Paulsen, biography, and an opportunity to ask Paulsen a question about one of his books.

Canyons

Canyons Teacher CyberGuide
Students design brochures, create bioboards, write a found poem, construct a diorama, and write a researched biographical essay. Designed to be used over a two- to three-week period, this SCORE guide is based on California standards.

Dogsong

Dogsong Teaching Guide
Summary of the book, opening discussion and writing activities, crosscurricular suggestions, and research assignments.

Foxman

The Foxman
Review, discussion questions, activities.

Hatchet

CIMC Integrated Units: Hatchet
This file has a wealth of activities: reading/writing connections, vocabulary, science/math connections, social studies connections, English/language arts connections, arts connections. The first set is designed for grades 5 and 6; scroll down to find activities for grades 4 and 5. Requires Adobe Reader or compatible application for access.

Fiction Elements in Hatchet
Lesson includes reading a story, identifying elements of fiction, creating a project about survival, and making a PowerPoint presentation to demonstrate student comprehension. It was designed for special education students using a block schedule; it includes suggestions for adapting it to other situations.

Focusing Activity to begin novel: Hatchet by Paulsen
Students will visualize how Brian feels when he crash lands on the deserted island at the beginning of the novel, Hatchet. This whole class period will be spent using prior knowledge of survival skills.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Students write a report on flight, present an oral report on orienteering, and write a report on Canadian wildlife and survival. These activities are intended for sixth graders to use after reading the novel.

Hatchet
Chapter-by-chapter comprehension questions available in two formats: printable or online (interactive, self-correcting). Suggested activities accompany each chapter. Scroll down for vocabulary activities. An excellent site!

Description as Mind Control: Using Details to Help Readers Visualize Your Story
Students listen to passages from Hatchet, draw one of the images from the passage, and identify which details Paulsen uses to create these images.

Survival Kit
After reading Hatchet students investigate emergency kits and construct one of their own.

Survival as a Bridge to At-Risk Readers: Applications of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet to an Integrated Curriculum
This article by Cynthia G. Unwin and Brian Palmer offers chapter-by-chapter discussion questions and interdisciplinary activities.

Survival of the Fittest
Students compare events in the novel with researched accounts of survivors. This extensive, standards-based unit is designed for 9th graders.

How Angel Peterson Got His Name

How Angel Peterson Got His Name
Summary, discussion questions, and followup activities.

Nightjohn

Nightjohn
A variety of ideas to support the novel, including thematic and cross-curricular connections.

The River

The River
Students examine online maps, then write a poem about Brian's journey.

Tucket's Gold

Tucket's Gold
Summary and 12 discussion questions.

Woodsong

Alaska Podshow
The Iditarod begins the first Saturday in March, and your students can research the race and listen to podcasts using resources at this site.

A Geopoem about Alaska
Students gather information on the physical and human characteristics of Alaska. They organize this information on a concept map and then write a geopoem about Alaska. Downloadable handouts available at this site.

The Iditarod, One's Will to Live
This unit plan uses both Woodsong and The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto by Natalie Standiford. It integrates E/LA with social studies, math, technology, and physical education.

Where's the Boss? -- A Scripted Play About the Iditarod
This Readers Theater script tells the story of one musher and his loyal sled dog team.

Woodsong
Chapter-by-chapter questions and activities, an extensive collection of related links.

Woodsong
This lesson develops skills in both reading and memoir writing.

Woodsong
Interdisciplinary activities to accompany reading the novel.

Woodsong Reading Guide
Vocabulary and journal prompts, map activity, guide and grading scale for an essay comparing the novel with the movie Balto.