Hello everyone. When I was student teaching I had the opportunity to teach and work with a group of fifth graders in a special education class during the novel study of *Hatchet*. I had the students pretend to be Brian and keep a journal of his various experiences. This was a "fun" way for the students to reflect on the reading, but also allowed them to develop a deeper understanding of exactly what the character was experiencing/feeling. One other activity that stands out goes along with the chapter when Brian finds his bag in the plane. After reading this chapter, I had the students predict how Brian may use the various items that were in the bag and revisit these predictions as they continued to read. Another great novel the students read prior to this novel was *My Side of the Mountain* by Jean Craighead. Reading these two novels one after another was wonderful because they have the same theme of survival, but in *Hatchet* Brian is forced to live in the wild whereas in *My Side of the Mountain* the character chooses to leave his crowded apartment and live in the wild. The novels are great for a compare/contrast activity. I hope this helps. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.
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