ALICE’S ADVE NTU RE S I N WONDE RLAND
ST U DY G U ID E
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
L I T E R AC Y O B J ECT I VE S ACTIVATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE MAKING SELF-TO-TEXT CONNECTIONS VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT REFLECTING & EVALUATING
THEMES & CO N C E P T S IMAGINATION CURIOSITY WORDPLAY NONSENSE ADVENTURE
Written by Lewis Carroll
Illustrated by John Tenniel
Adapted by Barbara Lachman
Directed by Myra Platt
HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE Book-It Repertory Theatre’s Arts and Education Program closely aligns its performances and learning materials with research-based reading instruction. The purpose of this study guide is to engage students in literacy objectives and hands-on activities that support the comprehension of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
• FIRST: READ THE BOOK As part of Book-It’s touring package, your school has received a copy of the story that serves as a permanent resource for your library. • SECOND: SELECT ACTIVITIES Select one or all of the activities and adjust them to fit your students and classroom needs. Some activities are designed for teachers to lead students through an interactive process; directions and support materials are included for successful facilitation. Others are handouts for independent student work or to be used for whole-class instruction; these pages do not have directions for the teacher. • THIRD: KEEP READING! Extend the joy of reading with the “Book-It Book List”—stories with similar themes for readers grades K-6. Standards for the Study Guide and Performance: Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts*: R.CCR.1, R.CCR.2, R.CCR.3, R.CCR.4, R.CCR.6, L.CCR.4 Washington EALRs in Theatre: 1.1, 1.4, 3.1, 4.3 *Exact standards depend upon grade level, reading the text, and instructional shifts to meet the standard.
Literacy & Theatre Alignment by Gail Sehlhorst and Natasha Ransom. Activities by Katie McKellar, Natasha Ransom, and Amelia Reynolds. Design by Shannon Erickson Loys. Based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Illustrations by John Tenniel, 1865. Study Guide © 2014 Book-It Repertory Theatre. No parts of this guide may be reproduced without express permission.
Table of Contents Information on Book-It, the Story, and the Author Words of Imagination Activating Prior Knowledge Alice & Alice Making Self-to-Text Connections Curiosity Making Self-to-Text Connections The Language of Wonderland Vocabulary Development Found Poem Vocabulary in Context What Happens Next? Reflecting and Evaluating Book-It Book List & Book-It’s Mainstage Season
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INTRODUCTION TO BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE’S ARTS & EDUCATION PROGRAM
Book-It’s Arts and Education Program is dedicated to inspiring people of all ages to read. We tour a diverse range of stories to schools, libraries, and community venues throughout Washington State, conduct long-term residencies in schools, offer teacher professional development for school staff, and present low-cost student matinées of our mainstage shows. What you will see and hear at a Book-It performance is literature spoken by the characters as if it were dialogue in a play—actors speak both the narration and the dialogue. Book-It takes the written word back to its roots—storytelling!
OUR MISSION To provide an interactive relationship between youth and literature through diverse theatrical productions and educational programs that promote the joy of reading, enhance student and teacher learning, and inspire the imagination.
THE STORY: ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND One afternoon, Alice sees something amazing—a White Rabbit dressed in clothes running around muttering to himself! She runs after him and tumbles down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world called Wonderland. There, Alice encounters Lewis Carroll’s unique characters including the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts. To navigate through this tangled realm of misdirection and confusion, Alice must rely on her own logic. This book is the first in a pair, the second being Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.
THE AUTHOR: LEWIS CARROLL Lewis Carroll is the pen name of Reverend Charles L. Dodgson, born in Daresbury, Cheshire, England in 1832. He graduated from Christ Church College in 1854 where he later became a lecturer in mathematics. Over the course of his life, he had many interests including photography and creating stories for his friends’ children. In 1862, Dodgson created a story to entertain three sisters on a boating trip, and named the main character of the story after one of the sisters, Alice Liddell. He put it in writing and a year later it was published. Dodgson wrote a sequel: Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. Dodgson passed away of influenza in 1898 at the age of 65.
Author Lewis Carroll
Sources: www.biography.com/people/lewis-carroll-9239598#synopsis www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/lewis-carroll www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/lewis-carrolls-shifting-reputation-9432378
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PRESHOW
ACTIVATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE “Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and wonder what was going to happen next.”
WORDS OF IMAGINATION
WHAT WOULD YOUR WONDERLAND LOOK LIKE? Time 5-8 minutes Purpose Words of Imagination is a word association activity designed to activate prior knowledge for the theme of “imagination.” Other relevant themes include: adventure, curiosity, wonder, dreams, and nonsense. Preparation Read through the directions and dialogue before leading the activity. Feel free to adjust the theme for the level, age, and background of students. Directions Students stand or sit in a circle, or sit at their desks. Tell students they will activate prior knowledge around a theme in the story they will see performed. Give examples of the theme and have general discussions before beginning the activity. Explain how the activity is played. Feel free to play another round with a different theme. After the activity, reflect and make connections to the performance they will see. Dialogue Just like good readers think about what they already know before reading, we’re going to think about our own experiences before seeing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in an activity called Words of Imagination. In the story we’re about to see, the main character, Alice, dreams of a place called Wonderland where she interacts with talking animals who do not make a lot of sense. If you could imagine your own Wonderland, what would it look like? What types of people or creatures exist in your Wonderland? It could be a planet made of spaghetti, a castle filled with talking marshmallows – whatever you want! Take a moment to think of this place. In Words of Imagination, - We go around the circle and each person says one word that relates to the theme we’re thinking about. For example, I might say “spaghetti” or “castle.” - Only the person sharing their words speaks and everyone else listens without commenting. - What you say only needs to make sense to you. - You can repeat what other people say. - If you can’t think of anything or don’t feel like sharing, you can say “Wonderland.” Let’s begin. I’ll start…
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PRESHOW
MAKING SELF-TO-TEXT CONNECTIONS “She generally gave herself very good advice, though she seldom followed it. She was very fond of pretending to be two people.”
ALICE & ALICE
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF?
In the show you’re about to see, Alice sometimes imagines that there are two of her. She gives herself advice and tells herself what to do when things are hard. Think about a time when you were lost, had a hard time doing something, or were upset. Write or draw about that time in the space below.
Now imagine that there are two of you! What would you tell yourself to do in that situation? Write or draw what you’d say or do in the space below.
Find the parts of the story where Alice gives herself advice! Does she follow her own advice? Does it help?
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PRESHOW
MAKING SELF-TO-TEXT CONNECTIONS “I think you might do something better with the time, than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.” —Alice
CURIOSITY
SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS In the story you’re about to see, the characters that Alice meets can be hard to understand. They talk in riddles, ask lots of questions, and confuse Alice. Sometimes when she asks them questions, their answers don’t make any sense. Take a look at the riddles and questions below. If you were a creature in Wonderland, how would you respond? Write or draw below.
W H O A R E YO U ?
WHY IS A RAVE N L I K E A WRIT ING DE S K?
AY
ULD YOU TELL WO UGHT TO G ME W O FR H IO OM ICH HE W RE ?
What questions would you ask the creatures of Wonderland?
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PRESHOW
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT “Oh, you can’t help that, we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” —The Cheshire Cat
THE LANGUAGE OF WONDERLAND
In the book, the author Lewis Carroll uses a lot of words that we don’t use very much today. You may already know some of these words and one of their meanings. Below are some words and definitions that will help you understand the story better.
CHESHIRE A county in Northwest England, and also the name of a cheese that’s made there.
CHRYSALIS A butterfly in the stage between being a caterpillar and the time when it grows wings.
CROQUET An outdoor game where each player uses a mallet to hit a wooden ball through a series of small metal loops stuck into the ground.
CURRANT A small, dried grape used in baking and cooking.
DORMOUSE
MAD Insane, foolish, or not sensible.
“OU EST MA CHATTE?” French for “Where is my cat?”
TELESCOPE
An animal like a large rabbit.
A tube-shaped instrument with lenses inside that you look through with one eye to make far objects appear bigger and nearer. Some telescopes collapse to become a smaller tube.
HATTER
TREACLE
A large mouse with a long furry tail.
HARE
A person who makes and sells hats.
KID GLOVES Gloves made of leather from baby goats, also called “kids.”
A sugary syrup used for making candy.
WAISTCOAT A vest, worn over a shirt and under a jacket.
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T PRE/POS W O H S
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT “Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way.”
FOUND POEM
SOMETHING FROM NONSENSE A “found poem” is a poem created with words and phrases from an existing story. You’ll create a five-line found poem with a message using words and phrases from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Step 1: Pick one of the themes from the stories and circle it:
CURIOSITY
NONSENSE
IMAGINATION
ADVENTURE
Step 2: Pick words and phrases from these lists to create your own found poem about the theme you circled. Under each line there is a direction about what to write. Have fun—in a found poem, there are no wrong answers.
Words Rabbit-hole Somewhere Strange Falling Garden Time Play
Croquet Splash! Thump! Down Size Scurried
Phrases What size do you want to be? I shall be late! The Cat only grinned Burning with curiosity So long as I get SOMEWHERE Down, down, down We’re all mad here Pretending to be two people It’s always tea time What nonsense Why not? THAT’S the great puzzle! Who are YOU?
Write the theme word you have selected
Write one phrase from the list
Write three words from the list
Write one phrase from the list
Write one word from the list Step 3: Now that you’ve composed your found poem, copy it onto the “My Found Poem” page.
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MY FOUND POEM BY
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P O ST SHOW
REFLECTING & EVALUATING “As she listened, the whole place around her became alive with the strange creatures of her little sister’s dream.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? In the performance of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the story ends with the Queen declaring “Off with her head!” to Alice, then Alice suddenly wakes from a dream in her sister’s lap.
IS
H A P P E N B EC AU SE ..
IT HI N
TH
LL WI
.
K
What do you think will happen next and why? Write or draw the end of the story.
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Book-It was here!
A d v e s ’ n e t c i l Ain Wonderlanudres -IT BOOK
K O O B
LIST
If you liked Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, you might also like… KINDERGARTEN
The Secret Box by Barbara Lehman Julia’s House for Lost Creatures by Ben Hatke 1ST GRADE
Journey and Quest by Aaron Becker The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat 2ND GRADE
Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo Out of the Everywhere: Tales for a New World by Jan Andrews 3RD GRADE
Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales for Strong Girls by Jane Yolen 4TH GRADE
Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu 5TH GRADE
The Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess by Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams Wildwood by Colin Meloy 6TH GRADE
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
Book list prepared by Sara Lachman, Timberland Regional Library System
JUST FOR ADULTS!
In addition to Book-It’s children’s touring stories, we offer a mainstage season of literature. For our Silver Jubilee Season we’re celebrating by giving everybody a discount! All tickets are just $25; advance purchase recommended.
The Dog of the South
by Charles Portis February 11 - March 8, 2015
Little Bee
by Chris Cleave April 22 - May 17, 2015
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut June 9 - July 3, 2015
FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! Family Fun Days Bring the whole family to enjoy a live theatre performance of a great children’s book, book-themed crafts, live music, and an imaginative workshop where you jump into the world of the story. • Crafts at 10:30 a.m. • Performance at 11:00 a.m • Workshop at 12:00 noon
STAT: Standing Tall and Talented
by Amar’e Stoudemire Saturday, February 28, 2015
Get 50% Discou
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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Saturday, May 9, 2015 Saturday, May 16, 2015
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Reg a r e $ u1 l a r t ic k e t 2 adul p t s , $ 1 r0 ic e s k id s
TO BUY YOUR TICKETS… Contact Book-It’s box office: 206.216.0833 or visit our website: book-it.org. All shows are at the Center Theatre at the Seattle Center Armory.
BOOK-IT.ORG | 206.216.0833 | CENTER THEATRE, SEATTLE CENTER | 305 HARRISON ST, SEATTLE, WA 98109