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.

HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDEBook-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.

Written byLewis Carroll

Illustrated byJohn Tenniel

Adapted byBarbara Lachman

Directed byMyra Platt

L I T E R AC YO B J ECT I VE S

ACTIVATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

MAKING SELF-TO-TEXT CONNECTIONS

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

REFLECTING & EVALUATING

ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND

STUDY GUIDE

T H E M E S & CO N C E P T S

IMAGINATION

CURIOSITY

WORDPLAY

NONSENSE

ADVENTURE

Alice’s Adventuresin Wonderland

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!

INTRODUCTION TO BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE’S ARTS & EDUCATION PROGRAM

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.

Table of ContentsInformation on Book-It, the Story, and the Author Page 2Words of Imagination Activating Prior Knowledge Page 3Alice & Alice Making Self-to-Text Connections Page 4 Curiosity Making Self-to-Text Connections Page 5The Language of Wonderland Vocabulary Development Page 6Found Poem Vocabulary in Context Pages 7-8What Happens Next? Reflecting and Evaluating Page 9Book-It Book List & Book-It’s Mainstage Season Pages 10-11

THE STORY: ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND

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. Sources: www.biography.com/people/lewis-carroll-9239598#synopsiswww.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/lewis-carrollwww.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/lewis-carrolls-shifting-reputation-9432378

THE AUTHOR: LEWIS CARROLL

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.

OUR MISSION

Author Lewis Carroll

PAGE 2

WORDS OF IMAGINATION

ACTIVATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Time5-8 minutes

PurposeWords 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.

PreparationRead through the directions and dialogue before leading the activity. Feel free to adjust the theme for the level, age, and background of students.

DirectionsStudents 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.

DialogueJust 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…

PRE-SHOW

PAGE 3

“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.”

WHAT WOULD YOUR WONDERLAND LOOK LIKE?

PAGE 4

ALICE & ALICE

MAKING SELF-TO-TEXT CONNECTIONSPRE-SHOW

“She generally gave herself very good advice, though she seldom followed it.She was very fond of pretending to be two people.”

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.

Find the parts of the story where Alice gives herself advice! Does she follow her own advice? Does it help?

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.

PAGE 5

CURIOSITY

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

SEARCHING FOR ANSWERSIn 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.

PRE-SHOW

What questions would youask the creatures of Wonderland?

WHO ARE YOU?

WOULD YOU TELL ME WHICH WAY

I OUGHT TO GO FROM HERE?

WHY IS ARAVEN LIKE AWRITING DESK?

THE LANGUAGE OF WONDERLAND

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENTPRE-SHOW

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.

“Oh, you can’t help that, we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” —The Cheshire Cat

CHRYSALISA butterfly in the stage between being a caterpillar and the time

when it grows wings.

PAGE 6

CROQUETAn outdoor game where each

player uses a mallet to hit a wooden ball through a series of small metal

loops stuck into the ground.

CURRANTA small, dried grape used

in baking and cooking.

DORMOUSEA large mouse with a long furry tail.

HAREAn animal like a large rabbit.

HATTERA person who makes and sells hats.

KID GLOVESGloves made of leather from baby

goats, also called “kids.”

CHESHIREA county in Northwest England,

and also the name of a cheese that’s made there.

MADInsane, foolish, or not sensible.

“OU EST MA CHATTE?”

French for “Where is my cat?”

TELESCOPEA 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.

TREACLEA sugary syrup used

for making candy.

WAISTCOATA vest, worn over a shirt

and under a jacket.

PAGE 7

FOUND POEM

VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT

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:

“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.”

PRE/POST

SHOW

SOMETHING FROM NONSENSE

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.

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

Words Phrases

Rabbit-holeSomewhere

StrangeFallingGarden

TimePlay

CroquetSplash!Thump!DownSize

Scurried

I shall be late!Burning with curiosity

Down, down, downPretending to be two people

What nonsenseTHAT’S the great puzzle!

Who are YOU?

What size do you want to be?The Cat only grinned

So long as I get SOMEWHEREWe’re all mad here It’s always tea time

Why not?

Step 3: Now that you’ve composed your found poem, copy it onto the “My Found Poem” page.

MY FOUND POEMBY

PAGE 8

I THI

NK THIS WILL HAPPEN BECAUSE...

PAGE 9

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

REFLECTING & EVALUATINGPOSTSHOW

“As she listened, the whole place around her became alive with the strange creatures of her little sister’s dream.”

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.

What do you think will happen next and why? Write or draw the end of the story.

Alice’s Adventuresin WonderlandBOOK-IT BOOK LIST

If you liked Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, you might also like…

KINDERGARTENThe Secret Box by Barbara Lehman

Julia’s House for Lost Creatures by Ben Hatke

1ST GRADEJourney and Quest by Aaron Becker

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

2ND GRADELouise, The Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo

Out of the Everywhere: Tales for a New World by Jan Andrews

3RD GRADEZita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales for Strong Girls by Jane Yolen

4TH GRADEOphelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

5TH GRADEThe Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess

by Alice Randall and Caroline Randall WilliamsWildwood by Colin Meloy

6TH GRADEUn Lun Dun by China Mieville

Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

Book list prepared by Sara Lachman, Timberland Regional Library System

Book-It was here!

Alice’s Adventuresin Wonderland 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 PortisFebruary 11 - March 8, 2015

Little Bee by Chris CleaveApril 22 - May 17, 2015

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt VonnegutJune 9 - July 3, 2015

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

FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!Family Fun DaysBring 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 StoudemireSaturday, February 28, 2015

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollSaturday, May 9, 2015Saturday, May 16, 2015

Get 50% off! D i s c o u n t C o d e : fundayR e g u l a r t i c k e t p r i c e s a r e $ 1 2 a d u lt s , $ 1 0 k i d s

BOOK-IT BOOK LIST

Book-It was here!