We are going to read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen together in the library.

The librarians and teacher will read aloud, and the students will follow along in the text.

We will continually discuss the content of the book as well as the vocabulary.

Hatchet was published in USA in 1987 and is a young-adult wilderness survival novel. It is the first book of a series of five, but can be read as a stand-alone novel.


Gary Paulsen, born in 1939, is an American writer.

He grew up with his mother who was an alcoholic.

He was forced to fend for himself a lot as a child and preferred nature and animals to people.

As an adult he became an accomplished hunter and

has entered into dog-sledding competitions.

He and his wife Ruth lives a modest life

despite his success as a writer.

Many of Gary Paulsens books are so called

coming-of-age novels and often highlight the

importance of nature and the outdoors.  


The main character, Brian, is a 13-year-old boy from New York.

His parents are divorced and Brian is going to Canada to visit his dad.

His mother gives him a hatchet as a good-bye present.

Brian is upset about the divorce. He has a secret about his mother that he has not yet decided if he is going to tell his dad or not.

During the trip in a small plane a terrible accident happens.

The plane crashes in to a lake in the middle of the Canadian wilderness.

Brian survives but all he has got with him is the hatchet his mother gave him.

To survive, he must mentally and physically prepare himself for the worst.








The Canadian wilderness

Peaceful reading

Effects of reading/listening


We read for approximately 15 minutes, then take a short break, then we read for another 15 minutes.




We need to set up a few ground rules.

Let's discuss!

Reading strategies











Abdomen = stomach

Pit = kärna

Pit = grop, hål



Recede = dra sig tillbaka


abate, die off, diminish, taper, wane, dwindle, retract, drone, reduce, 

To scatter = sprida

Tart = sura

Crude = enkel


snags = rötter

Cluster = klase

Tang = bismak, surhet

Gorge = vräka i sig

Hind legs


= to eat while snorting or making noises

Squirrel rustled = ekorrn rassla, prassla

onomatopoetiska ord

Walk, trot, galop

The rain roared down in sheets.


Rivulets = rännilar

Cobwebs =

Nostrils =

Musty rot = unken lukt av förruttnelse

Big foot

kallas även för Sasquatch

Porcupine =

Quills =

Quill =


Jerk = rycka

Jerk = idiot

self-pity = självömkan

doze = slumra

to look cross = att se sur ut

Charcoal = grillkol

Grocery sack = varupåse

Scootched up = sätta sig upp försiktigt

Scramble = rusa

Sore = öm

chalk = kalk

tinder = fnöske

kindling = tändved

twigs = kvistar

birches = björkar

tendrils = remsor

fluffs = tussar, dun

flammable = brännbar

wad = tuss

sliver = spån

fuel = bränsle

Skilj på


flue = skorsten, rökkanal


flu = influenza

"A friend and a guard from a tiny spark."

Interior - exterior

Chapter 10-

Crackle =

smoke eddied and swirled

eddy= luftvirvel, ström

Dusk and dawn

Skymning och gryning

Squat = knäböj

runny eggs







seize = seizures


Onomatopoetic words

Hiss     Eeyore    Boing     Yip     Splat

Screech    Whisper    Plop    Brouhaha   Tsk

Yikes   Achoo  Ping Pong  Ahem   Meow

Clip clop  Whoosh  Zing  Tweet  

The wolves howled at the moon.

The ball swished into the net.

The snake hissed its warning.

Chapter 11

soak = blöta igenom

"staggering amount of Wood"

to stagger = vackla, stappla, förbluffa

Please note the Spelling of "although" =  fastän

tree limbs = trädgrenar

Note the difference between:




ganska, nog, helt

body limbs =


ripple = 

bluff = brant

bluff = luras

Initially = initial, till att börja med

scenery = landskap

Birds, insects - there was a constant hum and song.

Snaggly pine

bent and gnarled



lure = locka

the shallows = grundare vatten

willows = pilträd, vide

Chapter 12

lunge = utfall

to flail = vifta

to prop = stödja

to taper= smalna av, bli till en spets

two=pronged = två uddig

speckled = fläckig

vicious = dålig, ond, osund, elak, ilsken, etc...

persistent whine = ihållande visslande

Whine = vissla, vina, gny, gnälla

British English = Whinge

Book circle project

Due to the great success following the release of Paulsen's book "Hatchet", he felt

obliged to write a few more books about Brian.

"Hatchet" won the Newbery medal  in1988

“The original was not going to have a sequel, but I get so many letters from hundreds of thousands of young people, wanting more Brian.”

 The Baltimore Sun reported, 12-year-old Michael Auberry became separated from his camping group in 2007 and survived in the North Carolina wilderness alone for four days—a feat his father credited, in part, to Michael’s having spent a few weeks reading Hatchet when he was younger.

Real Life consequences

Fans of all ages on different platforms

Daniel Pagan





Take inventory of your supplies

Get your head right

Learn to S.T.O.P.

Small mistakes are magnified in the wilderness

Always carry a good tool

Know how and where to get Clean water

Make a safe shelter

Find food

Know how to start a fire without matches

Prepare a signal






10 survival tips

we learned because

we read Hatchet

The sequels and alternative storyline books

Alternative ending book, what would have happened if Brian wasn't rescued.





Assignment EE18

  • You will be divided into 5 groups.
  • Each group will get a subject.
  • You will find at least 10 words in the book on your subject that you will write down in English.
  • You will then translate them into Swedish.
  • You will also find a picture online for each word.


You will start with this assignment next year.

V. 2


Work in Word. Send in email to Emma.

We will share everyones completed assignments with the class.

  1. Fauna (wild animals, insects, birds)
  2. Flora (plants, trees, berries, flowers)
  3. Tools (building tools, hunting tools etc.)
  4. Emotions (what Brian experince and feels)


Assignment BA18

Choose between:

1. Summary - Write a summary of the book "The Hatchet"

2. Creative Writing - Write your own  story

on how to survive in the wilderness. 2 -3pages




Choose between:

1. Describe  at least 3 things/objects that Brian built to survive.

​Use Tools and materials to show how he constructed them.
2. Creative Writing - Imagine what you would have built to be able to survive in the wilderness.

How would you build it?
What Tools and materials would you use for your Construction?


How to write a summary

Let's do a kahoot about The Hatchet!

Go to kahoot.it


Enter the game PIN

Use your name or initials as username

Kahoot: flora + animals + Tools vocabulary and images


Feelings and emotions (inner dialogue)

Family situation




Every day emotions

Self pity/self confidence

Emotional growth


Synonymer antonymer similies metaphores for glädje och sorg


10 - 15 ord/kohoot

Koppla bild till rätt ord

Bild och ord på eng i sliden först, eleverna söker upp svenska översättningarna själva

Environment/Nature/Wheather conditions

Animals/Wood (flora and fauna)

Survival/ Man vs. nature as well as other situations

Personal growth/ personal developement

Inner dialogue/ Emotional values

+ Vocabulary according to each topic


Link pictures of animals in English and Swedish

Link pictures of trees in English and Swedish


Check points (structure) what we know now - kahoot/mentimeter/group discussions with cards


Timelines - online together


By Emma Lindgren


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