Building literacy survival skills in 4th Grade

Intertwining five different disciplinary studies, fourth graders in Jessie DellaFera's class brought the Newbery-Award winner story of Hatchet to life as they embarked upon their own adventure of survival skills through this engaging unit in literacy.

"Hatchet talks a lot about perseverance and resilience," explained Mrs. DellaFera, "and also the steps that are crucial to developing a growth mindset. It is an extreme example of environmental challenges, but also one for the main character's mind and how he learns to push through. We see a huge character change when he starts to believe in himself," she added. Through moments of silence, quotes, and journaling, fourth graders are also examining their practice of growth mindset in and out of the classroom.

In Hatchet, author Gary Paulsen propels his readers into 13-year-old Brian Robeson's 57-day survival, following a plane crash that kills the pilot and leaves Brian stranded in the Canadian wilderness. Facing hunger and needing to protect himself from the elements, he slowly begins to acclimate, developing resourcefulness, and ultimately, an appreciation for the beauty, serenity, and peacefulness of the wild.

To engage her students in more meaningful and deeper ways, Mrs. DellaFera combined several academic strands, including a social studies unit on National Parks, ornithology, FA's Forest Program, and scientific methodology. "In social studies, we are studying the landforms, flora, and fauna of National Parks, as well as the birds of North America. In the book, Brian carves out his shelter from a pre-formed glacier, and by studying the habits of birds he learns how to forage for his food," said Mrs. DellaFera.

To truly emulate the experiences of Brian, as well as teach students how to make book predictions and create character connections, fourth graders were challenged to build their shelters from natural elements found around campus and in Friends Academy's Forest Program. Each student was paired with a "Thinking Buddy" and a "Bag Buddy," and this Quaker-based collaboration enabled students to iterate ideas in real-time. "Through the layering of our Quaker Testimonies of Simplicity and Community, students were asked to build only with natural elements in their simplest forms and then once their shelter was built, visit their classmates to offer ideas, insights, and improvements," shared Mrs. DellaFera. 

With shelters completed, the final touches of testing scientific hypotheses and iterating with design thinking commenced. "In the book, Brian is tested by a tornado and small predators, which invade his shelter. Consequently, he was forced to redesign and reconstruct; from reading about this experience, our students learned to live into the phrase, 'mistakes I learned from," said Mrs. DellaFera.

A hair dryer and spray bottles transformed into havoc-wreaking storms and tornadoes. "With our wind test, we set the hair dryer to first its lowest setting, and then inching up to maximum levels," described Mrs. DellaFera. "The spray from two bottles became a simple storm... but a big storm? That required all four bottles and the hair dryer!" While most students' shelters passed the natural elements test, for Mrs. DellaFera, the exercise revealed how students adopted engineering practices to fortify their shelters. "Some put leaves on the outside of the shelter, using different leaf patterns and set at multiple angles to help repel the rain," she added.

A well-known literary study, this was Mrs. DellaFera's first experience combining hands-on shelter building with a read of the text. "I went better than I expected," she said. "And it created a much stronger engagement with the book, so much so, that I had students who couldn't wait to tell me their new ideas the next day and sharing how much they love literacy."

Watch what happens (in real-time and slow motion) when fourth graders test one of their shelters with the biggest storm they can create.