The
Book
Nook
Books by Author
Gary Paulsen
If natural disasters and fighting to survive against the forces of nature sound appealing, you will enjoy reading stories written by author Gary Paulsen.
Some Books by Gary Paulsen     
  • Hatchet
  • Brian's Return
  • Brian's Winter
  • The River
  • Father Water, Mother Woods
  • My Life in Dog Years
  • Puppies, Dogs and Blue Northers
  • Soldier's Heart
  • Mr. Tucket
  • The Boy Who Owned the School
  • The Schernoff Discoveries
  • Call Me Francis Tucket
  • Tucket's Ride
  • Nightjohn
  • Sarny
  • The Transall Saga
  • The Voyage of the Frog
  • The Crossing
  • Canyons
  • The Winter Room
  • Harris and Me
  • The Tent
  • The Car
  • A Christmas Sonata
  • The Cookcamp
  • Dogteam
  • The Haymeadow
  • The Island
  • The Monument
  • The Night the White Deer Died
  • The Rifle


 
Activities:  (Starred examples are a required task.) 
*1.  Choose a book from the choices listed above, and read it.
2.  Visit Gary Paulsen's website.  Spend some time exploring the links.  Think about a question that you would like Mr. Paulsen to answer, and send it in.  Print off a copy and give it to your teacher.
3.  Many of Gary Paulsen's books deal with surviving out in the wilderness. Find one or two other classmates who have read one of Gary Paulsen's books, and design a survival kit that would be helpful if you were stranded.  Visit the Survival Kit site to get some ideas and instructions.
4.  Before reading Hatchet, go to the following web site. Scroll down to the Reading/Writing Connection.  Answer questions 1, 2, 3, and 6.  After finishing the novel, choose 3 more questions from the list, and answer them.  Turn you paper in to you teacher when complete.
5.  Read Paulsen's novel The River. Do some research on the Mississippi River.  Visit these sites for information: Oldman River, Great River, and Mississippi River Watch.  Design a model of the Missippi using an aluminum pan, sand, gravel, and water.  Share it with your class.
6.  Read Paulsen's story Canyons.  Visit the Canyons Activity Site.  Scroll down until you come to the Outline of Activities section.  Choose an activity to complete.  Share your finished product with your teacher.
7.  After reading some of Gary Paulsen's "survival" books, read The Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott O'Dell.  List some of the likenesses and differences in what  the main characters did to survive.  Share your thoughts with another student who has read these two novels, and see if he/she comes up with the same thoughts.
8.  Read  Paulen's novel Nightjohn. To better understand the condition of slavery that Sarny had to deal with in the story, take a friend with you on the Nightjohn Webquest.  Some of the links on this site do not work, but it is still a good site with valuable information.  Skip the links that are not working, and continue through the quest.  When you have finished, open this document and choose one of the closing activities listed.
9.  Interested in maps? If so, follow this link to some map-making in conjunction with Paulsen's book The River.
10.  After reading Soldier's Heart, click on this link and complete 3 activities listed.
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