Teaching
Ideas and Units - Teaching Units
Survival
Gail
Harris and Prue McCausland designed this unit for grade 9 students
at Exeter High School, using Gary Paulsen’s popular novel, Hatchet,
as a focus text. The related activities grab students’ attention
and help them to develop skills across the language modes.
Focus:
To broaden students’ understanding of how people cope in a dangerous
or life threatening situation, including the physical and improvisation
skills needed, the emotional strength and courage required. To read
about, research and respond to such experiences.
Intentions
for students:
-
To
be engaged, especially the boys
-
To
develop research skills using a variety of sources including the
Internet
-
To
develop oral skills through reporting to the class
-
To
develop group work skills through researching and reporting back
with a partner and through participation in cooperative group
work.
-
To
read a novel and engage in related activities
-
To
write creatively while developing individual survival stories
Assessment
Criteria:
-
Speak
and listen in a range of situations
-
Read
and view a variety of texts in order to explore issues, values
and experiences
-
Write
achieving appropriate accuracy of expression including spelling,
punctuation, syntax and structure.
-
Use
technologies to access information, compose texts and communicate
with different audiences.
-
Work
with others in a variety of situations for a range of purposes.
ACTIVITIES:
Tuning-in
The
students begin by brainstorming the qualities of a survivor. They
share stories about what is already known. As a class, students draw
up a profile of a survivor, listing personal qualities and characteristics.
Research
Next,
they research real life survival stories in pairs. (Focus questions
are provided on the ‘Real Life Survivor’ proforma in Resources
below.) Pairs report back to the class. The class reviews the earlier
profile in light of the research now completed.
Reading
and response
Hatchet
is read as a class novel and related activities are completed. (The
two Hatchet websites in Resources include suggested
ways of working with the novel.) The students focus in particular
on Brian’s characteristics as a survivor. The class profile of
a "typical" survivor can again be reviewed in the light
of Brian’s example.
Group
discussion activity
"Desert
Survival". Students work in groups to plan how they would cope
in the scenario outlined (in Resources below). They have to
decide which items to salvage and what to do to maximize their chances
in the first 24 hours. The students use cooperative learning strategies
such as allocating specific roles of note taker, time- keeper, reporter,
leader.
Vocabulary
extension
Students
learn to use the following set of words associated with the topic:
barren
challenge
compound
dangerous
environment
exposure
fracture
helicopter
hypothermia
improvise
injury
isolated
ration
safety
salvage
strategy
survival
survivor
tarpaulin
weather
Writing
a survival story
The
Survival Challenge package in Resources helps students to create
their own survival story. The scenario provided is that students are
alone in an isolated army training compound in the Tasmanian Highlands
and must survive from Sunday to Friday with limited resources. After
making entries about their initial experiences, students are given
chance cards for each of the next four days that change their circumstances.
They must record their diary entries, showing how they coped with
the changing conditions.
Negotiated
tasks/ Extension Activities
-
Read
another text about survival
-
Research
on bush walking, snow caving or similar activity
-
Biography,
newspaper article, interview with a survivor
-
"This
is your Life" script
Reflection
Students
reflect on what they have learned about survival and survival stories.
They could compare what they’ve learned about survival in extreme
circumstances with ‘survival’ of more everyday dramas, such
as losing friends, moving home and changing schools. They could reflect
on how the stories of survival affected them throughout the unit,
and why the stories have such appeal.
RESOURCES
Support
materials
Note: These files are in Publisher 98'
Real
Life Survivors pro-forma
Desert
Survival scenario
Survival
Challenge package
Websites
Survival
of the fittest http://English.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/units/survival
An English unit from New Zealand developed by Lynne Keen for year
9 students. Suggested activities are provided for Hatchet.
Hatchet
- lesson plans developed by Mary Beth Jones
http://online.coled.mankato.msus.edu/dept/ci/matz/rdgwld/Books/Hatchet.html
Random
House teacher’s guide to the Brian novels
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/guides/bria.html
Nova
on-line adventure survival stories http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/surviving/stories.html
Four true stories about survival in Antarctica
Non-fiction
— real life stories
Beck,
Jennifer Crash! The search for the Stinson
Charley, CJ Extreme expeditions: the big freeze
Dowsell, Paul Tales of real survival
Hall, Allan Rescue!
Masters, Anthony Ocean tomb
Storm, Rory Extreme survival guide
Hiddins, Les Cannibal convict (Alexander Pierce) (Episode of
Bush Tucker Man)
Non-fiction
— survival techniques
Frauca,
Harry Bushwalking
Klinge, Sven Don’t die in the bush
Lannoy, Lex The Australian bushcraft handbook
Lembit, Roger and Noble, David Bushwalking
Stilwell, Alexander The encyclopedia of survival techniques
Fiction
Baillie,
Allan Adrift
Brassi, G Attacked
Disher Gary Walk twenty, run twenty
Duey, K and Bale, KA Survival: Earthquake
Evans, Russell Survival
George, Jean Julie of the wolves
George, Jean My side of the mountain
George, Jean River rats
O’Dell, Scott Island of the blue dolphins
Paulsen, Gary Mr Tucket
Paulsen, Gary My fourteenth summer
Read, Piers Paul Alive
Roth, Arthur Avalanche
Roth, Arthur Crash landing
Taylor, Theodore The Cay
