Homeschooling mom and engineer with a passion for STEM education.
Holes Novel Study Activities - resources for teaching a novel study on Holes by Louis Sachar - graphic organizers, questions, and projects!
Holes Novel Study Activities - resources for teaching a novel study on Holes by Louis Sachar - graphic organizers, questions, and projects!
Teaching the Novel Hatchet can be enjoyable for many classrooms, but some students may struggle to get through the book.
Project-Based Learning for a Unique Hatchet Novel Study Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, is a classic survival story that resonates with tweens and teens alike. It lends itself well as a middle school read aloud or book club choice, and offers ample project-based learning activities so that your students can experience Brian's adventures right alongside him. I have read and reread this book multiple times, each time exploring ways to make this book really come alive for kids. While there are many possibilities for STEM challenges, I have narrowed it down to three building challenges that can be done either full scale or small scale. If you can get out in nature to do this it will make even more of an impact and give the kids a real feel for what it might be like to solve problems with items found in nature. Watch the video or read on! Disclaimer: I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you downloads of value and information about educational resources. The link below is an Amazon affiliate link. You can read my full disclosure here. I also wanted to make sure to add in some math and science activities that could have helped Brian in his isolation. **Spoiler Alert** If you have not yet read this book, you may want to stop here. I will be referring to several happenings in the book, so be forewarned. How Far Off Course Could Brian Have Gotten? When we aren't yet too far into the book, and Brian has successfully survived the first leg of his adventure (crash landing), he at first thinks a search and rescue team will find him before long. At one point, though, he realizes that he could be quite far off course of his original flight path. How far off course? This is the first exercise in the Hatchet STEM resource I created to accompany this book. The page shown above is one of three options so that kids can work at the level that is appropriate for them. Brian quickly realizes he needs a shelter, so the first STEM challenge is to create a lean-to shelter. Design a Shelter for Brian STEM Challenge for Hatchet This one is amazing to do outside if possible! It can be quite challenging to create one that will hold up to weather and animals. In addition to shelter, the other main important survival issue is food. Can you design and create a bow? Design a Bow for Brian Hatchet STEM Activity The bow ties in nicely to two science experiments, springs and refraction (when Brian tries to catch the fish but they are at a different location than they appear). Science Activities for the book Hatchet For these, I created a simple Hooke's Law experiment that you can do with springs or rubber bands to measure the deflection of a spring and calculate the spring constant, and then a refraction experiment to explore how light bends through water. Measure the Deflection of a Spring for Hooke's Law For the Hooke's Law experiment, measure the deflection of a spring depending on the weight applied. You can do this as I've shown above, hanging a spring off a craft stick supported be two cardboard tubes. Explore Refraction of Light Science Activity For the refraction, use a laser pointer to shine a light on graph paper or a coordinate plane, record the results, then place a glass of water in the line of the laser light and see where the light lands. The final STEM challenge ties in to the end of the book when the plane's tail becomes visible and Brian seeks out the survival pack in the plane. Design a Raft STEM Activity for Brian in the Read Aloud Hatchet Design and create a raft: In addition to the challenges, there are engineering vocabulary cards and background information to go with the challenges. Another great challenge to do after this one is to create an FM receiver/radio. It could be fun to create a transmitter too, but likely not a good idea based on local laws in your area. You can find a few simple FM radio kits, such as this Snap Circuits one (which I favor, because you can build and rebuild it over and over): or this one from WeMake if you are doing this as a homeschool project or group science fair project: I hope you can use some of these activity ideas while studying Hatchet. If you would like the supporting resources that I have created, please click on the image below to head to my Teachers pay Teachers shop, where you can purchase them: Not interested in the paid version? No problem! Pin this post so you can come back later to remember all the challenges I've shared above:
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Holes Novel Study Activities - resources for teaching a novel study on Holes by Louis Sachar - graphic organizers, questions, and projects!
We are currently reading the book, Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. We focus on several skills while reading the book. One of these skills is visualization. In this book, Gary Paulsen uses a ton of des…
Project-Based Learning for a Unique Hatchet Novel Study Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, is a classic survival story that resonates with tweens and teens alike. It lends itself well as a middle school read aloud or book club choice, and offers ample project-based learning activities so that your students can experience Brian's adventures right alongside him. I have read and reread this book multiple times, each time exploring ways to make this book really come alive for kids. While there are many possibilities for STEM challenges, I have narrowed it down to three building challenges that can be done either full scale or small scale. If you can get out in nature to do this it will make even more of an impact and give the kids a real feel for what it might be like to solve problems with items found in nature. Watch the video or read on! Disclaimer: I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you downloads of value and information about educational resources. The link below is an Amazon affiliate link. You can read my full disclosure here. I also wanted to make sure to add in some math and science activities that could have helped Brian in his isolation. **Spoiler Alert** If you have not yet read this book, you may want to stop here. I will be referring to several happenings in the book, so be forewarned. How Far Off Course Could Brian Have Gotten? When we aren't yet too far into the book, and Brian has successfully survived the first leg of his adventure (crash landing), he at first thinks a search and rescue team will find him before long. At one point, though, he realizes that he could be quite far off course of his original flight path. How far off course? This is the first exercise in the Hatchet STEM resource I created to accompany this book. The page shown above is one of three options so that kids can work at the level that is appropriate for them. Brian quickly realizes he needs a shelter, so the first STEM challenge is to create a lean-to shelter. Design a Shelter for Brian STEM Challenge for Hatchet This one is amazing to do outside if possible! It can be quite challenging to create one that will hold up to weather and animals. In addition to shelter, the other main important survival issue is food. Can you design and create a bow? Design a Bow for Brian Hatchet STEM Activity The bow ties in nicely to two science experiments, springs and refraction (when Brian tries to catch the fish but they are at a different location than they appear). Science Activities for the book Hatchet For these, I created a simple Hooke's Law experiment that you can do with springs or rubber bands to measure the deflection of a spring and calculate the spring constant, and then a refraction experiment to explore how light bends through water. Measure the Deflection of a Spring for Hooke's Law For the Hooke's Law experiment, measure the deflection of a spring depending on the weight applied. You can do this as I've shown above, hanging a spring off a craft stick supported be two cardboard tubes. Explore Refraction of Light Science Activity For the refraction, use a laser pointer to shine a light on graph paper or a coordinate plane, record the results, then place a glass of water in the line of the laser light and see where the light lands. The final STEM challenge ties in to the end of the book when the plane's tail becomes visible and Brian seeks out the survival pack in the plane. Design a Raft STEM Activity for Brian in the Read Aloud Hatchet Design and create a raft: In addition to the challenges, there are engineering vocabulary cards and background information to go with the challenges. Another great challenge to do after this one is to create an FM receiver/radio. It could be fun to create a transmitter too, but likely not a good idea based on local laws in your area. You can find a few simple FM radio kits, such as this Snap Circuits one (which I favor, because you can build and rebuild it over and over): or this one from WeMake if you are doing this as a homeschool project or group science fair project: I hope you can use some of these activity ideas while studying Hatchet. If you would like the supporting resources that I have created, please click on the image below to head to my Teachers pay Teachers shop, where you can purchase them: Not interested in the paid version? No problem! Pin this post so you can come back later to remember all the challenges I've shared above:
Novel Studies that Promote Higher-Order Thinking Have you been following along our novel study journey? If so, you may have seen my posts about using interactive novel workbooks instead of typical novel studies. Novel workbooks are
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Holes Novel Study Activities - resources for teaching a novel study on Holes by Louis Sachar - graphic organizers, questions, and projects!
Hatchet is a great choice for your students' literature circle or book club. It is an engaging survival story that captures readers from the early chapters. This no-prep Hatchet Novel Study Unit helps students build comprehension skills through this award-winning survival story by Gary Paulsen without handing them
Homeschooling mom and engineer with a passion for STEM education.
This bundle includes 10 of our novel studies selected for sixth grade students in printable and digital formats. The 10 novel studies included in this bundle are: • A Wrinkle in Time • Freak the Mighty • Hatchet • Holes • Maniac Magee • Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh • Rules • The Giver • Walk Two Moons • Wonder The following worksheets are included with EACH novel study: • Novel study title page for students • Dictionary Look-up sheet for each section • Vocabulary Study sheet for each section • Understanding the Story comprehension worksheet for each section • Chapter Summary worksheet for each section • Time for a Test! assessment sheets (2 pages - includes multiple choice, short answer and long answer questions) • 20 Comprehension worksheets (includes Before Reading, Author Research, Character Chart, Making Predictions, Plot Mountain, Story Timeline, Conflict, Setting, Theme, Problem Solving, Cause and Effect, Character Types, Character Map, Facts and Opinions, Persuasive Writing, Quotations, Character Comparison, Story Comparison, Making Connections) • Reading Log for students to record novels read • Answer key • Common core standards sheet - outline of standards met Bonus Digital Versions - Google Classroom compatible! Included in the download are PowerPoint files for each section of the novel study. Use these files right in PowerPoint, or upload them to your Google Drive / Google Classroom account to share with your students! Your students will be able to fill in their answers and submit their work, all online. Please note that the print and digital versions are not identical. The digital versions of our novel studies have mostly the same content as our print versions, but the format of some activities differ in order to make them easier for students to complete digitally, and some questions and activities have been altered or eliminated. For example, drawing activities have been eliminated. ************************************************************************ Aligned to common core - RL4.1, RL4.2, RL4.3, RL4.4, L4.4, L4.5, RL5.1, RL5.2, RL5.3, RL5.4, L5.4, L5.5, RL6.1, RL6.2, RL6.3, RL6.4, RL6.5, L6.4, L6.5, L6.6., RL7.1, RL7.2, RL7.3, RL7.4, L7.4, L7.5, RL8.1, RL8.2, RL8.3, RL8.4, L8.4, L8.5 (varies by novel study) ************************************************************************ © The Book Umbrella
As teachers, we're always searching for creative and effective ways to bring literature to life for our learners. The magic happens when we can mesh the world of fiction with real-world applications, fostering a deeper understanding and making learning more enjoyable for our students. When it comes to Gary
Homeschooling mom and engineer with a passion for STEM education.
This is the most creative method I've ever seen for doing a book report! It's perfect for children because it gives very specific parameters, and it involves the enjoyable creativity that art brings. No specific skill level is required as it is easy to scale back the five to seven sentences to fewer if your student is overwhelmed with more. You might find that this is one report your student proudly keeps on display all year!
Subject English Language Arts, Science, Engineering Grade Levels 3rd, 4th, 5th Resource Type Lesson Plans (Individual), Activities, Novel Study File Type PDF Files 12 MB|97 pages
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Holes Novel Study Activities - resources for teaching a novel study on Holes by Louis Sachar - graphic organizers, questions, and projects!
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Do you have trouble teaching characterization? Use fun collaborative posters to teach how to use textual evidence to discover characterization!
STEM Engineering Challenges and Ideas for the Elementary and Middle School Classroom | Check Out Photos and Ideas to grow your classroom with STEM
Matchbook chapter summaries super simple and fun project that you can have your students complete during your next novel study.
Matchbook chapter summaries super simple and fun project that you can have your students complete during your next novel study.
Description What's Included Related Resources Reviews Description This novel study for Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, contains 136 pages of resources, including comprehension and vocabulary by chapter, reading response activities, assessments, and more. Focus standards include figurative language, opinion writing, character analysis, plot, and point of view. No-prep, predictable, and extremely user-friendly, this literature guide is perfect for whole class, small group, or independent study. Click here to PREVIEW this resource! ♥You're free to use the printable OR digital version; BOTH are included with your purchase! ♥Eye-catching digital version contains full-color, interactive adaptations of all resources. ♥Excellent for school or homeschool. No-prep and so easy for teachers, parents, and students to follow! ♥Perfect for distance learning. Students can access the digital version from home or school. Teachers and students can easily send this back and forth using Google Drive or Google Classroom! (The minimum that's needed is a free Google account. However, you may also contact me for help using this product on many other digital learning platforms!) ** NEW ** An additional version of the assessments is now included as Google Forms, which are self-grading. Students can complete these easily on their computers and laptops, and you get instant data! Easy instructions included. (Note: You will need to manually grade the written response questions only.) What's Included 1) Student Chapter Work •Every section covers 2 chapters and contains the following six parts. →Quickwrite: Freewriting that helps the student relate to the text. →2 sets of True/False, Sequencing, and/or Multiple Choice questions. →Standards Focus: an activity focused on Reading Literature standards. →Comprehension and Analysis: 4 written response questions. →Vocabulary: Practice with 3 new words for each section of reading. →Beyond: Creative activity that might include art, brainstorming, or writing. 2) 21 Common Core-aligned Reading Response Activities •Questions and Answers •Theme Thoughts •Lessons Learned •Main Events •Mistakes (focus on plot) •How to Make a Fire •Cause and Effect (2 versions) •The New Brian •Hatchet: Brian's Changes •You vs. Character •Brian's Wilderness (focus on setting) •Similes •Dear Diary •My Book Cover •Reading Strategy: Predictions •Would You Rather...? (focus on opinion writing) •My Survival Kit •EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it! •My Survival Brochure •What if...? (focus on narrative writing) 3) Setting Anchor Poster •Comes in color and b/w •Complements included Setting activities 4) Free-writing Journal •3 decorative posters containing thought-provoking quotes from Hatchet •Free-writing journal template for students to write about the quotes 5) Vocabulary Focus •Two Vocabulary Reviews to use throughout the study •Practice with definitions, synonyms, antonyms, context clues •Vocabulary Lists that come with and without definitions •Three challenge words chosen for you from every 2 chapters •Vocabulary Word Wall cards in full color include definitions, parts of speech, and illustrations •Vocabulary Flashcards in b/w 6) Culminating Project Options •9 creative project choices for students to complete after they finish the book 7) Two Assessments •Test comprehension and vocabulary with a variety of question types •Test #1-Chapters 1 to 10 •Test #2-Chapters 11 to 19 & Epilogue •Assessments provided in 3 versions: printables, Google Slides, AND Google Forms! 8) Student Bookmarks •Serve as reference tools •Highlight plot, setting, and characters •Attractive art 9) Easy planning and Low Prep •Unit Map lays it all out for you •Table of Contents for easy navigation •Common Core Codes included for all activities •Student Packet Covers •All Answer Keys 10) Instructions for digital Google Slides Version 11) Instructions for digital Google Forms Tests Related Resources Don’t need the whole thing? For smaller components out of this novel study, click below. Hatchet | Comprehension & Vocabulary Hatchet | Activities Hatchet | Tests Do you need the book that this resource accompanies? Click here to purchase. Reviews
By purchasing the 10 Month ALL YEAR BUNDLE, you will be receiving TWO MONTHS of Storybook STEM Novels for FREE! This provides a savings of $20.00!★FULL NOVEL LIST★Charlotte's Web★Wonder★Out of My Mind★Charlie and the Chocolate Factory★Number the Stars★Mr. Popper's Penguins★Fish in a Tree★The Tale of...
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Tips and tricks for a novel study or book study on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Hatchet Novel study activities to make your next novel study successful
Your complete guide to the essential library for boys and young men. Start your learning process here and build a great library.
I recently was talking to a family friend, a teacher of 5th grade, about Interactive Student Notebooks. She said that while she loves looking at all the great pins on Pinterest regarding ISNs, she just knows that they are not her "thing" and never will be. "They are just too much of a commitment!" she said. This isn't the first time I've heard this. I know lots of teachers that are intrigued by the concept of ISNs and enticed by all the fun pins on Pinterest, but just know that committing to using one isn't for their classroom. All the cutting and gluing, keeping track of the table of contents, collecting them and grading them! I can see how it comes off as an overwhelming process!! I suggested to my friend that she try creating a lapbook for her next novel study. Lapbooks are a great way to sample life with ISNs, but without the commitment of using one full time. And novel studies make perfect fodder for lapbooks!! Check out how we put this one together for the novel, Tuck Everlasting. All the foldable organizers come from my Tuck Everlasting Novel Study for Interactive Notebooks. Start with a plain file folder and fold each side in toward the middle. It will look like this after you fold both sides. This is the cover of our lapbook. Next, we will make the pages for the inside of the lapbook. Take several large (12x18) pieces of construction paper (we used white) and fold in half. Then, take one of the pieces of folded construction paper & place several dots of glue all over the top. Take another piece of your folded construction paper and lay it on top of the glue. Press them together firmly. Now, put glue dots on top of the second piece of construction paper and place a third piece of folded construction paper on top of that. Continue gluing and stacking your paper until you have the desired number of pages for your lapbook. We used eight pieces of construction paper. Constructing the book this way makes each page two papers thick, making for nice sturdy pages!! Next, open up your lapbook cover and place several glue dots inside. Lay the construction paper book you just made directly on top of the glue dots. Now your book is constructed... all that's left is decorating and filling it up with lots of fun foldable organizers! Typically, I will leave the decorating of the outside up to the student. They can get as creative as they wish!! Here, we covered the back of the lapbook with glue... ... and covered the back with a piece of scrapbook paper that looks like an old book! We did the same with the front. This is a cover that I made on the computer for students to use. If students wanted one, I printed it out on a piece of card stock. You could also put a cover on the inside on top of the construction paper book. The next thing I have the students do is glue a piece of notebook paper to the front of the construction paper book to serve as the Table of Contents for the lapbook. Then, you get to fill your book with pictures, writings, and foldable organizers!! One of my favorite Pinterest finds was a teacher who prints Literary Analysis Questions on address labels. Students can glue a piece of notebook paper into their book next to the appropriate foldable organizer and I can stick the label right on the notebook paper. Then, students answer the question using the organizer they just completed! So, the lapbook gives you all the great benefits of using the ISN without a long-term commitment! Can you see yourself making one of these lapbooks for your next novel study? If you try it, I'd love to hear about it!! Happy Teaching!! The Tuck Everlasting Novel Study for Interactive Notebooks is available here! **P.S. The cover that you see for my lapbook is not included in this package, so I'm posting a copy here:
Focusing on Survival Skills with Gary Paulsen's 'Hatchet'
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen is one of my very favorite novels to teach. I am always on the hunt for ways to pull in my struggling boys, and the male protagonist and survival theme really seems to suck them in. The book is also one of my eleven year old daughter's all time favorites, so I can say with all honesty that the story is really appealing to adventurous young girls as well. There is so much that you can do with this novel. It makes a great literature circle book, as it pairs really nicely with other survival themed novels, such as Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins, Jean Craighead George's Julie of the Wolves or My Side of the Mountain, Shipwreck or Everest by Gordon Korman, Deathwatch by Robb White, The Cay by Theodore Taylor, or The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelsen. The similar themes of these stories would make for some great class discussion and compare/contrast activities. Youtube has some great videos about the novel. I usually use an interview with Gary Paulsen that I found on youtube to introduce the author. I like the way he talks about his life as a writer and his reasons for writing. To keep the kids focused while we watch, I like to handout a few quick questions for them to complete while watching. We glue these in at the beginning of our Hatchet Interactive Notebooks, and discuss the answers as a class. If you would like a set of the questions we use (with answer key and video link), you can download it for free at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store here. As the theme of the novel revolves around survival, I like to introduce the novel by discussing some wilderness survival tips. I have collected a variety of tips on a handout, and we go over the tips and discuss them as a class. After discussion, I have the kids brainstorm and write about the tip they think is most important. The kids always enjoy this, and I find it to be a fun pre-reading activity to get them excited about the book. We usually get some pretty good class debates going on, as the kids like to argue over which tip is most important. In the past, I have had the kids complete chapter questions when we complete each chapter of the novel. I like these questions in particular because they include vocabulary words and opportunities for the kids to express their learning in an artistic way. This has been a good way to work on their vocabulary and to make sure they are understanding what they are reading. This past year, however, I decided to switch things up a bit. We had been learning about summarizing, and I really wanted the kids to get some practice with these skills while reading through the novel. To do this, I decided to have them summarize and illustrate what happens in each chapter. This was a nice break from chapter questions, and the kids like the opportunity to show their understanding in artistic form. I also really loved how the completed projects looked! We hung them on the wall outside our classroom for a bit, and then glued them into our Hatchet Interactive Notebooks. The little image on the left of Brian with mosquito bites makes me giggle every time I see it. The kids had so much fun with these and I really love how they turned out. As we progress through the novel, we spend a significant amount of time brainstorming the ways Brian has changed from the beginning of the novel towards the end. I have them do a compare and contrast organizer in small groups, which we then go over and add to as a class. When we are done, I have them glue them into their Hatchet Interactive Notebooks, as they will need to refer back to them for the next activity. For this activity, the kids are required to illustrate and discuss the changes that Brian went through during the novel. It makes for a great visual representation of Brian before and after. I like the way this assignment forces kids have to look at the changes that occurred in Brian both on the inside and outside. Again, the kids loved being able to use art to show their understanding, and I love how they turned out. Once they were complete, we glued them into our Hatchet Interactive Notebooks. If you are interested in picking up any of the resources shown in this post, you can pick them up at my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking here or on one of the images below. Do you teach this novel in your classroom? I would love to hear about some of the activities that work for you!
Do you have trouble teaching characterization? Use fun collaborative posters to teach how to use textual evidence to discover characterization!
Labor Day Sale - This NO PREP generic novel study guide can be used for ANY novel! I’ve included 16 worksheets to help students dive deeper into the book. This resource is ideal for 3rd – 6th grade students. Fellow educators say… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Katherine B. said, “This is a fabulous set of activities that can be used with any novel. After teaching the activities and expectations once, they can be used over and over again for our independent work time. Thanks!” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Maria C. said, "This is a great resource when you have several students in different novels at the same time." This novel study includes: •Setting •Vocabulary work •One sentence summaries for each chapter •Character study •Problem / Solution •Literary Elements •Book Review •Novel Study – Reflection •Author Study ✦✦✦ This resource can now be assigned as a standard no prep printable -OR- as an digital resource using Tpt's text boxes and Google Classroom! ✦✦✦ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ WE STRIVE FOR 5 STARS! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ NEED HELP? Before leaving feedback: Visit the FAQs section submit a help ticket ask a question on the Q& A tab ✨ Customer Tips: ✨ Stay updated on discounts, freebies, and product launches by following our store. One purchase grants access for one teacher or homeschool parent; for sharing, kindly purchase an additional license. Only to be printed or placed on password-protected websites like Google Classroom™ or SeeSaw and not made available on public platforms or district servers. Leave feedback on your purchases to earn TPT credits for future savings! Your insights help us tailor our resources to better serve your classroom needs. ✏️ Connect with Peas in a Pod Lessons! ✏️ Don't miss upcoming FREEBIES! Follow Peas in a Pod by clicking on the green star on any of my pages. You'll receive in app notifications when we post new resources! We appreciate all that you do for your students! Melissa (Peas in a Pod) Copyright: Copying any part of this product and placing it on the internet in any form (even personal/class website) is forbidden and is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In purchasing this resource, you are agreeing that the contents are the property of Peas in a Pod and licensed to you only for classroom/personal use as a single user. I retain the copyright, and reserve all rights to this product. Thank you!
It seems stories of survival always peak the interest of young readers. I can't tell you how many times I've encountered reluctant readers in my classroom. Then suddenly, with the right adventure in their hands, they LOVE reading. If you find yourself in the same situation, I'd love for you to try one of the stories below. I've collected 10 of the BEST survival stories for upper elementary students. Check out these classics below! 1. Refugee By: Alan Gratz This novel masterfully weaves the stories of 3 refugee children: a Jewish boy, a Cuban girl, and a Syrian boy. Each story displays the struggles of 20th and 21st century refugees in a powerful way. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 2. A Night Divided By: Jennifer A. Nielsen Gerta’s family wakes up one morning to be divided by the Berlin Wall. For the next few years, the family risks their lives to find a way to reunite. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 3. The War that Saved My Life By: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley This Newberry Honor book is set during WWII. Young Ada is hidden away by her cruel mother because of a “twisted foot.” As the story unfolds, Ada escapes from her mother, learns to trust others, and plays an important role in the war effort. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 4. Esperanza Rising By: Pam Munoz Ryan Esperanza is a young Mexican girl who faces many tragedies and difficulties. But, as her name suggests, she grows and learns to have hope for the future. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 5. Island of Blue Dolphins By: Scott O'Dell Karana lives with her native tribe on a remote Pacific island. When her tribe is forced to flee, Karana notices her brother is missing and stays behind to find him. The scenes that follow are of true strength and determination as the pair survives on the island alone. 6. The Hunger Games By: Suzanne Collins In the ultimate game of survival, Katniss and her peers are forced to fight to the death. But she learns that her fight is not against her competition—it is against something much larger. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 7. The Wild Robot By: Peter Brown Roz is a robot that awakes alone on a deserted island. She learns to survive and learns more about her past while dealing with her harsh surroundings. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 8. Among the Hidden By: Margaret Peterson Haddix In Luke’s world, parents are only allowed to have 2 children. So what is to happen to him—a 3rd child? Follow Luke as he moves from a place of fear and hiding to realization about the world. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< 9. Hatchet By: Gary Paulsen Brian, the victim of a plane crash, is alone in the Canadian wilderness. He has nothing but the clothes on his back and a hatchet. Readers watch Brian grow from self-pity to a self-aware survivor. 10. Holes By: Louis Sachar A classic for the middle grades, the main character of this book is Stanley Yelnats. He is mistakenly sent to a camp for troubled boys and finds himself fighting for survival in the desert. >>View my read aloud companion for this title on Teachers Pay Teachers!<< Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics, or posts made in this blog.
