Conflict in Hatchet

Overview

Year Level: Year 8
Duration: 50 minutes
Unit Focus: Survival Through Words
Lesson: 8 of 30
Lesson Title: Conflict in 'Hatchet'
Text: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Class Size: 20 Students
Curriculum Area: English – Level 8
Relevant Content Descriptions (Australian Curriculum – Version 9.0):

• AC9E8LE01 – Analyse and explain the ways that characterisation, events and settings are combined in narratives, and how they reflect human experiences.
• AC9E8LE02 – Explain how language features and language patterns contribute to the construction of characters, settings and events.
• AC9E8RU01 – Analyse how texts draw on readers’ knowledge of texts and language to interpret and create meaning.

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Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify and differentiate between internal and external conflicts in Hatchet.
• Analyse how conflict contributes to Brian’s development as a character.
• Explain the broader significance of conflict in survival narratives.

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Success Criteria

Students can:

• Provide examples of internal and external conflicts in the text.
• Discuss how these conflicts shape Brian’s decisions and growth.
• Present a visual representation (e.g., Conflict Map) that shows connections between types of conflict and character development.

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Required Materials

• Copies of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (students’ own or classroom set)
• Whiteboard or SMART Board
• Sticky notes (two colours per student: one for internal, one for external conflict)
• Conflict Map Worksheet (provided for each student)
• Highlighters
• Timer or stopwatch
• A3 paper and markers (group activity)

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Lesson Sequence

1. Warm-Up: Conflict Quick Write (5 minutes)

Purpose: Activate prior knowledge and link to previous lessons on survival.

Task: Students respond in their journals to the prompt:

“Think of a time you faced a difficult situation alone. What were you thinking and feeling? What did you do?”

Teaching Strategy:

• Think-Pair-Share: Students write silently for 2 minutes then share with a partner, followed by a few volunteers sharing with class.
• Highlight similarities between students’ experiences and Brian’s journey.

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2. Explicit Teaching: Understanding Conflict (10 minutes)

Purpose: Clarify the concept of internal vs. external conflict and link it to Hatchet.

Direct Instruction:

• Using the whiteboard, define Internal Conflict (Man vs Self) and External Conflict (e.g., Man vs Nature, Man vs Society).
• Provide literary examples from Australian young adult texts where possible (e.g., Tomorrow, When The War Began by John Marsden).
• Ask students to recall moments in Hatchet illustrating both types.

Teacher Example:

External: The plane crash – Brian vs Nature
Internal: Brian’s self-doubt about being able to survive alone

Student Note-Taking: Students copy definitions and examples into their English notebooks.

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3. Guided Practice: Conflict Mapping (15 minutes)

Activity:
Students complete a Conflict Map Worksheet in pairs.

Instructions:

• Re-read key passages (Chapter 4 - Plane Crash, Chapter 7 - Survival struggle, Chapter 12 - Reflection on change).
• Use sticky notes to identify conflicts:
  • Blue Sticky for internal conflicts
  • Green Sticky for external conflicts
• Place sticky notes on a large Conflict Map (quadrant graph with axes "Internal/External" vs "Physical/Emotional")

Teacher Role: Circulate and prompt deeper thinking.

• “Is this moment about Brian’s abilities or his mindset?”
• “What is at stake in this conflict?”

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4. Group Collaboration: Conflict Web Creation (10 minutes)

Activity: Groups of 4 students create a Conflict Web on A3 paper, showing how different conflicts are interconnected.

Instructions:

• Label key conflicts (up to 6) on the web.
• Use arrows to show cause-effect relationships.
• Add symbols or colour to show impact level on Brian’s character growth.

Example:

Plane crash → Loneliness → Self-reliance

Visual Literacy Element: Use of diagrams reinforces multimodal comprehension.

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5. Individual Reflection and Exit Slip (8 minutes)

Task: Students complete an exit slip answering:

“Which conflict do you think was most important in Brian’s survival, and why?”

Extension Challenge:

“How would the story change if Brian never experienced internal conflict?”

Assessment Opportunity:

• Review exit slips for understanding of conflict types and their effect on narrative structure.

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Differentiation

• Support: Provide scaffolded Conflict Map template and sentence starters for students needing literacy support.
• Extension: Invite capable students to compare Brian's conflicts to those in another Australian survival text.
• EAL/D Students: Visual supports and bilingual dictionaries permitted; focus on one key conflict with simplified guiding questions.

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Assessment for Learning

Strategy	Evidence Collected
Conflict Map	Grasp of conflict types and examples from text
Group Conflict Web	Depth of understanding; ability to synthesise
Exit Slip Reflection	Critical thinking and personal interpretation

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Teacher Reflection (Post-Lesson Prompt)

• Did students understand the distinction between internal and external conflict?
• How effectively did they connect conflict to Brian’s character arc?
• Were the group activities inclusive of all abilities?
• What misconceptions or gaps do I need to revisit next lesson?

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Next Steps

Lesson 9 Preview:
Diving into how language and descriptive imagery build tension during conflict scenes in Hatchet. Focus on crafting sensory-rich responses.

Homework Task:
Students will find a real-world survival story (from news, documentaries, or family history) and identify one internal and one external conflict in it. Bring notes or a short paragraph for next class.

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Wow Factor for Teachers 🌟
This lesson actively engages students with visual tools (Conflict Map and Web), encourages personal connection, and promotes synthesis through drawing and writing. It uses higher-order thinking and layered multimodal comprehension, aligned tightly to Australian Curriculum standards.