Exploring Characterization in Hatchet, Written by Gary Paulsen

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Need a way to hook your readers? Try using Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. This wildly popular middle school novel will capture your students. Your students will climb into this high-interest novel which is filled with survival, perseverance, and self-discovery. Not only will this novel suck your students in, you will love teaching characterization and watching your students use textual evidence to support it using this text!

Why Teach Characterization?

Teaching characterization successfully can open up a whole new world for your students. If your students can identify textual evidence that supports character traits and descriptions, they will hopefully develop emotional connections to the text. In my opinion, Brian Robeson’s development in Hatchet is exemplary of this.

Exploring Characterization In Hatchet, Written by Gary Paulsen. Your students will climb into the high-interest novel, filled with survival, perseverance, and self-discovery. Teaching characterization successfully can open up a whole new world for your students. If your students can identify textual evidence that supports character traits and descriptions, they will hopefully develop emotional connections to the text. Brian Robeson's development in the text is exemplary of this. #hatchet #characterization #iteach678

Gary Paulsen writes the most engaging young adult novels, especially for male readers. Are we able to talk about genders and reading preferences? Don’t get me wrong, all students love this novel. But there’s something about the wilderness and survival that excites my male students. Taken from my own personal classroom experiences in teaching with literature, I have been in more challenging classrooms with a larger male presence. This challenge didn’t have to do necessarily with classroom management. It stemmed from the lack of being able to hook-them-in as active listeners and readers. One reason male readers like to read Hatchet is simply because they can relate to the character.

Introducing Hatchet

I love introducing fun collaborative activities to get students out of their seats. The strongest and most prevalent literary device the novel Hatchet delivers is Paulsen’s descriptive character analysis of the novel’s only principle character, Brian Robeson. The descriptions are so vivid, the young adult reader actually feels and experiences what Brian encounters during his plight of the plane crashing in the Canadian Wilderness.

Characterization: Creating Character Biographies

Remember the character body biography teaching strategy? Well, I updated it for today’s learner. Back in the day, I would lay large bulletin board paper on the floor, I watched my students trace each other on the paper, and spend days adding artwork, and textual evidence. I loved this part! But, the time, supplies, space, and unmotivated students, dragged the project on way too long.

What can you find in the updated version? I give you everything you need. Your students will find plenty of opportunities for creativity. Your students will experience the unique approach of using a collaborative poster, Hatchet, textual evidence, research, and the body biography project!

Exploring Characterization In Hatchet, Written by Gary Paulsen. Your students will climb into the high-interest novel, filled with survival, perseverance, and self-discovery. Teaching characterization successfully can open up a whole new world for your students. If your students can identify textual evidence that supports character traits and descriptions, they will hopefully develop emotional connections to the text. Brian Robeson's development in the text is exemplary of this. #hatchet #characterization #iteach678

This updated characterization project gives your students a relevant and modern experience while promoting the 4 C’s and achievement. Leave the body biographies up all year long! I adapted the body biography concept to align with citing textual evidence, character traits, research, and inference skills.

The 4 C’s For Teaching Characterization

  • Communication: They are working together to problem-solve. Students need to be able to communicate their ideas and thoughts to one another in order to complete their body biography.
  • Collaboration: Students form roles within the group. They learn how to work together towards a common goal, not against each other. They learn how to bounce ideas off one another, and not shut down other students’ thoughts.
  • Critical Thinking: Encourage students to analyze, organize, evaluate, and implement strategies they have previously learned in order to complete their projects.
  • Creativity: This allows students to think outside the box to come up with possible assets to embellish their projects. The ideas won’t just jump out at them- they will need to use a little creativity to depict their notable person’s body biography.
Exploring Characterization In Hatchet, Written by Gary Paulsen. Your students will climb into the high-interest novel, filled with survival, perseverance, and self-discovery. Teaching characterization successfully can open up a whole new world for your students. If your students can identify textual evidence that supports character traits and descriptions, they will hopefully develop emotional connections to the text. Brian Robeson's development in the text is exemplary of this. #hatchet #characterization #iteach678

Characterizing Brian Robeson

As earlier stated, this novel centers around one character, Brian Robeson. Teaching about this character and how he develops is vital. The biography characterization work includes:

  • Fun but mature images- appealing to all grades. The printable comes in line art for your students to add color and design.
  • The Poster is 32 inches high by 10 inches wide. It requires 4 pages of 8.5 x 11 inches recommended white regular weight paper. I love card stock but it’s not always accessible. Regular weighted paper works great.
  • Rubric and Reflection Questions
  • Bonus – characterization graphic organizer pre-planning sheet.
  • Student handout that explains each part of the body biography project (there are 12 parts).
  • The teacher set up directions, learning objective/learning outcomes, background, tips, and CCSS.

What’s The Student Objective?

In order to ensure you are being explicit about your purpose, you’re going to want to define a student objective. This objective should directly state the need for students to use characterization to increase their understanding of the novel. This is done by having students:

  • Review what is supportive evidence.
  • Define the literary term “character trait” and explore how to provide details that support their inferences (apply this skill similar to exploring a fictional text).
  • Use the novel, class notes, and web resources to research the character (subject), then cite evidence to find accurate and descriptive word choice.
  • Fill out the Hatchet Body Biography graphic organizer/poster.
Exploring Characterization In Hatchet, Written by Gary Paulsen. Your students will climb into the high-interest novel, filled with survival, perseverance, and self-discovery. Teaching characterization successfully can open up a whole new world for your students. If your students can identify textual evidence that supports character traits and descriptions, they will hopefully develop emotional connections to the text. Brian Robeson's development in the text is exemplary of this. #hatchet #characterization #iteach678

Group work should promote:

While this working individually is fine, working with a group to get several ideas on the character and their overall characterization can be a game changer. Group work gives students more:

  • Intellectual understanding, abilities, and skills.
  • Communication, cooperative and teamwork skills such as planning. management, leadership and peer support.
  • Personal growth (increased self-esteem and self-confidence).

So what should you do now? The body biography is perfect for your upcoming Hatchet novel study. Forget about boring character charts where you have your students fill in traits. Students will thrive working in a small group that is driven by creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration. This assessment allows students to show their understanding of the novel while practicing their textual evidence, characterization, inference, and writing skills.

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I’m so glad you are here! My name is Danielle. I am passionate about helping teachers and homeschool parents promote critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication with their students. 

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