Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
5th grade reading
Connections
 Text to text (T-T): these are connections
you make between what you are reading to
something you have read before.
 Text to self (T-S): these are connections
you make between what you are reading
and something that has happened to you.
 Text to world (T-W): these are connections
you make between what you are reading
and the bigger issues and events of the
world.
Discussion questions
Chapters 1 & 2
 What memory do you think was
troubling Brian?
 What are some ways that Brian might
use his hatchet?
Prediction
 Using observations or experiences to
make a reasonable guess about what
will happen.
Author’s Purpose
 Persuade: wants to convince you to
do something, buy something, or
believe in something.
 Inform: wants to give you
information, facts, or ideas about
something.
 Entertain: wants you to enjoy what
you read
Discussion questions
Chapters 3 & 4
 Do you think Brian should have kept
the secret about his mother to
himself or should he have talked to
her about what he had seen?
 What do you think Brian should do
first to ensure his survival?
 What do you think Brian might find in
his surroundings to help him survive?
Compare and Contrast
 When you compare two things, you
look at them to see how they are
alike.
 When you contrast two things, you
notice how they are different.
Drawing conclusions
 Drawing conclusions means
combining clues from what you are
reading with clues from your own
experiences to make a decision.
Discussion questions
Chapters 5 & 6
 Do you think Brian had the skills and
temperament to survive alone in the
wilderness?
 Do you think you could survive in a
similar setting?
Figurative language
 Simile: comparing two unlike things
using like or as.
 The skating rink was like glass.
 Metaphor: comparing two unlike
things without using like or as.
 The tree was a giant soldier.
 Personification: giving human
qualities to a non-human thing.
 The sun smiled down on me.
Personification
 The eggs had awakened his hunger
fully, roaringly, so that it tore at him.
 What two objects are being personified?
 Why is better than just saying Brian was
hungry?
Inferences
 Authors don’t always tell their readers
exactly how the story characters are
feeling or what they are doing.
Sometimes the authors give clues
about what is happening. Then it is
up to the reader to make inferences
based on the clues and their own
experiences to figure out what is
happening.
Cause and Effect
 As in real life some things cause other
things to happen.
 A cause is why something happens.
Look for words like because, so, as a
result.
 The effect is what happens.