Hatchet
Chapter 3 — 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 steers, brakes and braces his way toward a lake, yet the chapter says his luck held as the trees closed in. Which counts for more in how the crash goes: what Brian does, or what simply happens to him?
The tension Brian's careful steering and bracing pull against the chapter's own words that his luck held just as he was about to hit.
Today's focus
Notice how the chapter shows Brian acting at every step of the crash while also saying that his luck held.
Two core ideas
- Brian acts under terror: he holds the nose down, steers for a lake, braces, and fights his way out of the plane.
- Paulsen shows fear through the sentences themselves: short bursts, repeated words, a stillness, and an ending that cuts off.
The shape at a glance
The engine has died. Brian glides toward the lake he finds, loses it above the nose, then comes into an open lane just as he is about to hit. The plane tears through the trees and slams into the lake, and Brian fights free of the seatbelt and the front window, swims to the shore, and is gone from it all.
A way in
Start with the moment the lake slides above the nose. Ask what Brian does next and how the chapter lets us feel it.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the silence, the glide, the lake and the lane, the crash, the water, and the shore.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: a short one saying what someone needs, then a longer one that repeats it and adds what they actually see.
Debate Take sides on the big question: what counts for more in how the crash goes, what Brian does or what simply happens to him? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Paulsen tells the crash in short bursts and repeated words instead of calm sentences.
Easier Read the glide and the crash aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 2 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 the chapter shows what Brian does and what happens to him side by side, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- When the controls go loose and frighten Brian, he pushes the wheel back in. Was that the right choice? What makes you think so?Character
What it asks It asks whether pushing the wheel in was a sound answer to fear or a costly mistake, and how Brian weighs speed against the lake.
One reading
It was a mistake: fear made him give up the lake.
The controls became very loose-feeling and frightened Brian, making him push the wheel back in.
put the lake well above the nose and out of reach
Another reading
It was sound: the plane was nearly stopping, and speed kept it flying.
almost seem to stop and wallow in the air
This increased the speed a bit
Listen for
- Says what the push gains and what it costs.
- Uses Brian's fear, not only the plane's speed.
If stuck
- What happens to the plane when Brian pulls back on the wheel?
- What does the push put back in the windshield?
A strong answer The push has two sides. When Brian pulled back the plane slowed dramatically and seemed to wallow in the air, and the loose controls frightened him, so more speed was a way to keep flying. But the same push filled the windshield with trees and put the lake well above the nose and out of reach. A strong answer can call it both sensible and costly, and gives a reason for which side weighs more.
- Everything seems to hang, and Brian sees a moose standing in a pond. Why might Paulsen slow the chapter down for that moment?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the stillness does to the reader just before the crash, and why the author breaks up the action here.
One reading
The pause is a calm before the crash that makes the crash hit harder.
All so still looking, so stopped, the pond and the moose and the trees
Then everything happened at once.
Another reading
The pause shows Brian's mind: in terror it notices small things and everything feels slow.
For a space of three or four seconds things seemed to hang, almost to stop.
The plane was flying, but so slowly, so slowly
Listen for
- Compares the still moment with what comes right after it.
- Says what the pause does for the reader, not only that it is there.
If stuck
- What does Brian see out the side window?
- What comes right after the stillness?
A strong answer For three or four seconds things seem to hang, and the pond, the moose and the trees look all like a picture. Placing that stillness just before everything happened at once makes the crash feel sudden. It also fits a mind that notices small things when it is afraid: a large animal standing out in the water. A strong answer says what the pause does for the reader and gives one reason from the text.
- In the water someone screams, and Brian does not know the sound is his own. What does that tell you about the state he is in?Inference
What it asks It asks what it means that Brian cannot tell his own scream from a stranger's, and what state of mind the author is showing.
One reading
He is acting on pure survival instinct, with his thinking switched off.
tight animal screams of fear and pain
pulling without knowing what he was, what he was doing
Another reading
He is so overwhelmed that he is cut off from himself.
Somebody was screaming, screaming as the plane drove down into the water.
he did not know that it was his sound
Listen for
- Notices the words somebody and someone, and what they hide.
- Connects the scream to what Brian is doing with his hands.
If stuck
- Who does the chapter say is screaming at first?
- What is Brian doing with his hands while the sound goes on?
A strong answer The chapter first says somebody is screaming, then someone, and only then tells us the sound is Brian's. He is so deep in fear and pain that he cannot tell his own voice from a stranger's. That could mean pure instinct, since he still tears at the seatbelt, or it could mean he is cut off from himself. A strong answer says which state of mind it shows and how it matches what his hands are doing.
- Brian sees "green death trees," and the water is "trying to kill him." Is the world against him here, or is it his fear talking?Theme
What it asks It asks whether the danger in this chapter lies in the world or in how Brian sees it, using the words he uses for trees and water.
One reading
The world really is against him: the trees and the water can kill him.
water that tore the windshield out and shattered the side windows
the water trying to kill him, to end him
Another reading
It is his fear talking: the same forest and lakes looked beautiful from a distance.
glittering blue in the late afternoon sun
All so still looking, so stopped, the pond and the moose and the trees
Listen for
- Separates what the water does from what Brian thinks it wants.
- Notices how the lakes are described before the crash.
If stuck
- How are the lakes described in the late afternoon sun?
- What does the water actually do to the plane?
A strong answer The water does tear the windshield out and shatter the side windows, so the danger is real. But "green death trees" and "trying to kill him" are Brian's words; earlier the same lakes were glittering blue in the late afternoon sun, and the pond looked like a picture. A strong answer can say the world is dangerous and still notice that fear is choosing the words.
- The chapter ends on the single word "Nothing." Why might Paulsen end it there?Plot structure
What it asks It asks what the last word does to the reader, and why the chapter stops with Brian cut off.
One reading
It makes the reader feel the same blackout that Brian feels.
he was gone, gone from it all, spiraling out into the world, spiraling out into nothing
Another reading
It leaves the reader unsure what comes next, which pulls us on.
he stopped, everything stopped
a color that exploded in his mind with the pain
Listen for
- Names what the reader knows and does not know at the end.
- Connects the ending to the word stopped, used earlier.
If stuck
- What is the last thing Brian feels before he is gone?
- What does the chapter not tell us about what happens to him?
A strong answer The chapter ends the way Brian's mind does: everything stopped, a color exploded, and he was gone. Ending on the single word Nothing makes the reader feel that cut-off. It also tells us nothing about what comes next, so we are left hanging. A strong answer says what the last word does and keeps in mind that the chapter does not say what happens to Brian.
Critical thinking
- Brian's brain screams that he is going to die, yet he holds the nose down and hunts for a lake. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what that shows about him.
What it asks It asks the student to weigh Brian's panic against his actions in the first moments after the engine stops.
One reading
He keeps control: terror does not stop him from doing the next useful thing.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and held the nose down.
Not quite in front but slightly to the right he saw a lake.
Another reading
He is close to being overcome: his body and mind are nearly beyond him.
his whole brain screamed it in the sudden silence
His stomach tightened into a series of rolling knots and his breath came in short bursts
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what the evidence shows about Brian, not only what he does.
If stuck
- What does Brian do with the nose of the plane?
- What does his stomach do as he looks at the trees?
A strong answer Brian is terrified and still acts. His whole brain screams that he is going to die, and his stomach tightens into rolling knots, yet he wipes his mouth, holds the nose down, and keeps searching until he sees a lake to the right. A strong answer can say that his fear and his steadiness are both real, and backs each with a different moment.
- Using two pieces of evidence, explain how well Brian handles the plane in the last seconds before it hits the trees.
What it asks It asks the student to judge Brian's handling of the plane in the final seconds, using what he does and what the plane does.
One reading
He handles it well: he eases back, braces, and the nose comes up toward the lake.
Brian eased back on the wheel and braced himself for the crash
when he pulled on the wheel the nose came up and he saw in front the blue of the lake
Another reading
He cannot control it: the plane drops and then tears through the trees.
fell into the wide place like a stone
There was a great wrenching as the wings caught the pines at the side of the clearing and broke back
Listen for
- Says what Brian does and what the plane does.
- Uses two different moments from the last seconds.
If stuck
- What does Brian do as the plane falls into the wide place?
- What happens to the wings?
A strong answer In the last seconds Brian does what he can: he eases back on the wheel, braces himself for the crash, and when he pulls the nose comes up so he can see the blue of the lake. But the plane still falls into the wide place like a stone and the wings catch the pines and break back. The chapter also says his luck held just as he was to hit. A strong answer weighs what Brian does against what the plane does, and gives two different moments.
- Using two pieces of evidence, explain how hard Brian has to work to get out of the plane and reach the shore.
What it asks It asks how much of Brian's escape is his own effort, using the seatbelt, the window and the swim.
One reading
It is almost all effort: he fights the seatbelt, the window, the water and his own lungs.
he raked at the seatbelt catch, tore his nails loose on one hand
But so far! So far to the surface and his lungs could not do this thing
Another reading
The crash itself helps, since it has already broken the way out.
water that tore the windshield out and shattered the side windows
he pulled himself out of the shattered front window
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Notices how the chapter describes the pain and the distance.
If stuck
- What does Brian do to the seatbelt catch?
- What has the water already done to the front window?
A strong answer Brian works very hard: he rakes at the seatbelt catch and tears his nails loose, then must go so far to the surface that his lungs cannot hold and he sucks water. But the crash has already shattered the front window, which gives him a way out. A strong answer says how hard the escape is and uses two different moments to show it.