Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hatchet

I love the phrase "love/hate relationship" (and the phrase "Amen, sister/friend" -- but that's another post). But, sometimes I worry I over use it -- someday someone is going to ask me if I love/hate everything. And I will be stuck with nothing to say. But until I'm found out, I'm going to continue to overuse it.

One of the few things I have a true love/hate relationship with is the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulson. I love it when kids (especially reluctant tweenage boys) get excited to read about Brian and his quest. I love how Hatchet fits perfectly into my Katie Wood-Ray genre study of adventure. I love that we can go out to the Kuehn conservation area in Dallas County and watch the kids build a shelter or make fire the way Brian did.

But as a general rule, I hate Hatchet. I hate that it's too choppy and has too much internal monologue to read out loud. I hate that kids get very excited to read Hatchet and go check out The River, Brian's Winter, Brian's Hunt, and Brian's Return but I have to pull them back to discuss plain, old Hatchet in class. And, I hate that we have to make it last 9 long (excruciating) weeks to get from the first adventure genre lesson to Kuehn.

This week, my kids go to Kuehn and we (my team included) get a 10 month Hatchet vacation. Is it wrong for me to change the words of Ding, Dong the Witch is Dead to "Ding, Dong Hatchet's dead..."? I may or may not be humming that tune through the wilderness.

1 comment:

  1. Change it up, then =) It HAS to last 9 weeks? Allow students to jump into other Gary books. Where in the Iowa Core does it say you have to teach Hatchet? =)

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