"Hatchet" - Literature Unit

Since we've finished our Wordly Wise vocabulary workbooks I have been taking vocabulary/spelling words from the kids reading books.  We will probably do this for the rest of the school year.  It can be a little tedious for me to go through their books to find words but it's forcing me to read their books- and I like that!

I had just picked out the first set of words for Jared's book when I stumbled upon a free literature unit, including vocabulary exercises, for the book he's reading- Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.  I love freebies!  This unit is full of neat ideas & activities to reinforce what's being read.  For each set of chapters there are questions, activities, story elements and a descriptive writing lesson.

Hatchet is an adventure book about a boy, Brian, who is forced to land a small plane by himself after the pilot has a heart attack in mid-air.  He survives the plane landing and finds himself alone trying to survive in the Canadian wilderness.  He has to learn how to find food and shelter and how to keep himself safe from all sorts of wild animals in the hopes that he will soon be rescued.  It's a good book.

One of the activities suggested is to compile your own survival book.  So, each time Brian comes across a wild animal we are adding that animal and all it's characteristics (habitat, what their tracks look like, dangers of that animal, etc) to our survival book.  We're doing the same with wild plants, berries and foods and how to find safe drinking water, how to build a fire, how to make a spear for fishing, building a shelter...all sorts of stuff!

Just thought I'd share my exciting freebie with anyone who might want to use it also! You can find the unit here.