Hatchet
Chapter 11 — Teaching Companion
Gary Paulsen · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
Brian keeps telling himself there are things to do, and says the work keeps the depression away. Is staying busy a way of facing his trouble, or of not facing it?
The tension Work lifts Brian's mood and makes him stronger, yet it is also what he reaches for whenever he thinks of how long no one has found him.
Today's focus
Notice how Brian keeps busy, and what the busyness does for him.
Two core ideas
- Work steadies Brian's mind: a list of things to do keeps the sadness about the searchers from taking hold.
- Brian is changing: he sees and hears more, and the lake shows him food that was in front of him all along.
The shape at a glance
Brian reburies the eggs, cleans the camp, and fetches wood, and notices how his body and his senses are changing. He prepares a signal fire on the rock bluff. From the top he watches a kingfisher catch a fish, and realizes the lake is full of food. Back at the shore he sees how many fish there are and plans a spear.
A way in
Start with the repeated line. Ask what the words "there were these things to do" do for Brian.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the eggs, the camp, the wood, the changes in Brian, the signal fire, the kingfisher, and the fish.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: a long one about a worry that goes away when someone is busy, then a short plain one.
Debate Take sides on the big question: is staying busy a way of facing his trouble, or of not facing it? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Paulsen keeps repeating the line about things to do.
Easier Read the changes in Brian aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 4 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where Brian turns something he sees into a plan, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Brian laughs that "cleaning the camp" is only shaking out his windbreaker and smoothing the sand. Why does he say it was still "a mental thing"?Inference
What it asks It asks what a small, almost silly chore does for Brian beyond keeping the camp neat.
One reading
The chore gives his mind something to hold, which keeps the dark thoughts away.
But it was a mental thing.
when he was busy and had something to do the depression seemed to leave
Another reading
It gives him a sense of order in a place that has none.
With the camp squared away he brought in more wood.
smooth the sand where he slept
Listen for
- Says what the chore does for Brian, not just what it is.
- Uses what the chapter says about the depression.
If stuck
- What does Brian actually do when he cleans the camp?
- What does he say happens to the depression when he is busy?
A strong answer The cleaning is tiny: he shakes out a windbreaker and smooths some sand. But Brian says it was a mental thing, because when he has something to do the depression seems to leave. So the chore gives his mind somewhere to put its attention, and it also makes the camp feel a little more his own. A strong answer says what the chore does and uses what Brian says about it.
- Brian says "I am not the same" and "I see, I hear differently." What do you think is changing in him, and why?Character
What it asks It asks the student to name what has changed in Brian and what is causing the change.
One reading
He is learning to pay attention, because his life depends on it.
when a sound came to him now he didn't just hear it but would know the sound
he would truly see that thing, not just notice it as he used to notice things in the city
Another reading
Hunger and work have changed his body, and his mind has followed.
his stomach had caved in to the hunger and the sun had cooked him past burning so he was tanning
his mind and his body, had come together as well
Listen for
- Names a change in how Brian sees or hears.
- Says what Brian's days out here have to do with the change.
If stuck
- How did Brian used to notice things in the city?
- What does he do now when he hears a sound?
A strong answer Brian describes a new kind of attention: he does not just hear a sound but knows what it is, and he sees whole things instead of just noticing them. The chapter ties this to his life, since without thinking he moves to face a sound or a sight. It also says his body is changing, with the extra weight gone and his face looking like leather. A strong answer says what has changed and what causes it.
- Brian decides to keep a signal fire ready rather than light one every day. Was that a sound choice?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to weigh the plan against what Brian wants most, which is to be found, and what it costs him.
One reading
Yes: he cannot keep the wood supply going, and a ready fire still lets him signal fast.
he couldn't—he would never be able to keep the wood supply going
if he heard an engine, or even thought he heard a plane engine, he would run up with a burning limb and set off the signal fire
Another reading
No: a ready fire only helps if he hears the plane in time, and a pilot might pass without him knowing.
if he heard an engine, or even thought he heard a plane engine
Initially he had thought of making a signal fire every day
Listen for
- Weighs the cost of wood against the risk of missing a plane.
- Uses Brian's own reason for the change.
If stuck
- Why can Brian not light a fire every day?
- What would he have to do the moment he heard an engine?
A strong answer Brian first thinks of a signal fire every day, then sees he could never keep the wood supply going. A ready fire solves that. But it depends on his hearing the engine in time and getting up the rock with a burning limb, so it carries a risk he cannot measure. A strong answer weighs the cost of wood against the chance of missing a plane.
- Brian sees the kingfisher catch a fish and thinks "Of course." Why might it have taken a bird to show him?Theme
What it asks It asks why Brian missed the fish in the lake until he saw a bird eating one, and what that shows about how learning happens.
One reading
He had only looked at the surface, so he needed something to point at what was underneath.
Somehow it had never occurred to him to look inside the water—only at the surface.
It was, he saw after a moment, literally packed with life.
Another reading
He needed to see it done: a bird doing it made it seem possible for him.
Of course, he thought. There were fish in the lake and they were food. And if a bird could do it...
It took the fish to a limb, juggled it twice, and swallowed it whole.
Listen for
- Says what Brian had been looking at and what he had missed.
- Notices that the bird both shows him fish and shows him a way to get them.
If stuck
- What does the kingfisher do?
- What does Brian say about where he had been looking?
A strong answer Brian had looked at the lake only at the surface, so the fish were there all along. The kingfisher shows him both that there are fish and that a hunter can get them: if a bird could do it. A strong answer says what Brian had missed and what the bird shows him.
- Paulsen ends the chapter with Brian's plans rolling together, then repeats "There were these things to do." Why might he end that way?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the repeated line does to the chapter's mood and to our sense of Brian.
One reading
It shows how full his days are, and how much he has grown.
Spearwood, he thought, and it all rolled together, just rolled together and rolled over him...
Another reading
It sounds like a reminder to himself, the way someone keeps going so as not to stop and think.
There were these things to do.
Things to do.
Listen for
- Names what the repeated line does, not only that it repeats.
- Compares how the line sounds each time.
If stuck
- Where else in the chapter does the line appear?
- What is Brian planning in the last sentence?
A strong answer The line opens the chapter, sits in the middle, and closes it, so the day is a string of jobs. It can sound like a boy full of plans, with everything rolling together. It can also sound like a reminder that keeps him from stopping to think. A strong answer says what the repetition does for the reader and gives a reason from the chapter.
Critical thinking
- On the bluff Brian feels a moment of terror and then is caught up in the view. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what carries him from one to the other.
What it asks It asks what pulls Brian out of his fear on the bluff: how fast the fear passes, or how much there is to look at.
One reading
The view is what pulls him out: it is full of things to see and hear.
it was full of life. Birds, insects—there was a constant hum and song
It was so incredibly beautiful that it was almost unreal.
Another reading
The fear is brief on its own and he is ready to move past it.
Remembering the crash he had a moment of fear, a breath-tightening little rip of terror, but it passed
Listen for
- Two different moments, not one told twice.
- Says what the fear is about and what replaces it.
If stuck
- What does he remember when he sits on the point?
- What does he see and hear from up there?
A strong answer The fear comes from remembering the crash, a breath-tightening little rip of terror, and it passes quickly. What fills its place is the view: a green carpet full of life, with a constant hum and song, so beautiful it seems almost unreal. A strong answer says what carries him from fear to wonder and uses two different moments.
- Brian moves the eggs and does not eat another. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how he holds himself back.
What it asks It asks how Brian manages to keep from eating the eggs when he is starving: by willpower, or by putting them out of sight.
One reading
He does it by will, since the temptation is strong the whole time.
It took all his will to keep from eating another one as he moved them, but he got it done
Another reading
He does it by taking away what tempts him, and that is what makes it easier.
He transferred all the eggs from the small beach into the shelter, reburying them near his sleeping area.
when they were out of sight again it was easier
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what Brian does to the eggs and what that does for him.
If stuck
- What does Brian do with the eggs?
- When does it get easier for him?
A strong answer Brian holds himself back in two ways. It takes all his will while he handles the eggs, so he has to fight the urge. Then he reburies them near his sleeping area, and once they are out of sight again it is easier. A strong answer says which matters more and uses two different moments.
- Brian tries to grab a fish and fails. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he decides to do next.
What it asks It asks what Brian takes from the failed grab, and how he turns a failure into a plan.
One reading
He learns the fish are too fast, so he needs a tool.
They exploded away in a hundred flicks of quick light, so fast that he had no hope of catching them that way.
make a spear, a small fish spear
Another reading
He notices the fish are curious and plans to use that.
But they soon came back, seemed to be curious about him
he tried to think of a way to use that curiosity to catch them
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what Brian notices after the fish scatter.
If stuck
- What do the fish do when he grabs?
- What do they do a little later?
A strong answer The fish explode away so fast that Brian has no hope of catching them by hand. But they come back, curious, and he tries to think of a way to use that curiosity. So the failed grab leads to a plan: lure them into the shallows and strike with a spear. A strong answer says what he decides and uses two different moments.