Hatchet Novel Study – Gary Paulsen Unit

Product description

From the author

Engage your students with this comprehensive novel study for Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. This resource includes over 300 pages of activities to support learning for the entire book, including chapter comprehension questions, vocabulary practice, exit quizzes, collaborative group projects, and a summative test. The materials can be easily implemented for whole class, small group, or independent assignments. With answer keys included, educators will appreciate the ability to assign practice both in class and for homework. This novel study encourages critical thinking and analysis of the text in a way that is accessible for grades 5-6.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Answer chapter-level comprehension, vocabulary, and historical-context questions for each of Hatchet's 20 chapters.
Use context clues to decode mystery vocabulary words drawn from the text.
Identify figurative language (similes, metaphors, idioms, hyperbole, personification) within the novel.

Teaching tips

Use the Student English Reference Page (definitions of context clues, figurative language, theme, main idea, point of view) as a standing reference students keep in a folder throughout the unit.
Administer the four vocabulary/spelling/homophone checkpoints after each five-lesson block (the final block includes the epilogue), as the unit is structured, before assigning the cumulative 50-question test.
Have students keep all worksheets, quizzes, and tests in a dedicated folder to prepare for the final summative test, as the included teacher instructions suggest.

Skills covered

Reading comprehension — students answer 16 chapter-specific items per lesson covering plot, vocabulary, and historical context.
Context-clue vocabulary decoding — students solve 'mystery vocabulary' blanks using surrounding text clues.
Figurative language identification — students recognize similes, metaphors, idioms, hyperbole, personification, and onomatopoeia within the novel's language.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Can students use their historical reference page while taking each chapter's exit quiz?

It's the teacher's choice: the instructions note you can let students reference the page for textual evidence during the quiz, or have them study it beforehand with a partner and quiz them without it.

Does the final 50-question test only recycle questions from the 20 chapter worksheets, or does it include new material?

It includes new material: items 1-30 draw from the worksheet comprehension questions, but items 31-33 come from a brand-new historical reference page and items 34-50 draw from the pre-chapter vocabulary.

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Curriculum

Standards, concepts & topics

Standards

RL.5.1

Core concepts

Novel study
Reading comprehension
Figurative language
Vocabulary in context
Textual evidence

Topics

Hatchet Gary Paulsen Novel study Chapter questions Reading comprehension

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