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A Trip to Wonderland: The Nursery 'Alice'
Introduction
Let your students tumble down the rabbit hole into Wonderland,
where their imaginations will soar to new heights. From Lewis Carroll to Dr.
Seuss, from fantastic creatures to funny foods, these activities are bound to
excite and delight. This lesson plan explores elements of wonder, distortion,
fantasy, and whimsy in The Nursery "Alice," Lewis Carroll's
adaptation for younger readers of his beloved classic Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland. After exploring their concepts about Wonderland, students
listen to the opening chapters of the story and view Sir John Tenniel's illustrations
from the original edition. Using images of "big" and "small"
from Alice's experiences, students develop these concepts in their own drawings.
Students then compare Carroll's fantastic animals with creatures from other
children's stories and use computers to craft images of their own fantasy creatures.
Guiding Questions
- What is Wonderland and how is it different from everyday life?
- How can we enter our own Wonderlands through reading, drawing, and writing?
Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson students will be able to:
- Recount principle plot points from the story after listening to a young
readers' version of Lewis Carroll's classic text Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- Describe and understand fantastic imagery, both visual and textual, in various
works of children's literature
- Understand how size affects a person or creature’s interaction with
their environment
- Use the work of published illustrators and authors as inspiration for their
own visual arts and poetry
Background Information for the Teacher
As Karoline Leach articulates in “Lewis Carroll: A Myth in the Making,”
“Charles Dodgson was born on January 27 1832. He lived his life and eventually
died on January 14 1898. "Lewis Carroll" was born on March 1 1856,
and is still very much alive” (via the EDSITEment-reviewed Victorian Web).
Lewis Carroll, of course, is Dodgson’s pseudonym, the name associated
with the wonderful tales of Alice and her adventures. The teacher of this lesson
might review this
brief biography of Dodgson at the EDSITEment-reviewed Victorian
Web. The biography details some known facts—as well as thoughtful
speculation—about Dodgson’s upbringing, his employment as a mathematical
lecturer at Oxford, and his eventual friendship with a new Dean of Christ Church,
Henry Liddell, his wife, and three daughters—including Alice—that
led to the now legendary afternoon in which he sketched out the framework for
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Though Dodgson had published
under the name Lewis Carroll before Alice’s Adventures was released in
1865, it was then that the persona of Lewis Carroll was truly born. Dodgson
continued to write until his death from pneumonia in 1898, increasing the legend
of “Lewis Carroll” and further obscuring Dodgson’s true life
from fans and biographers.
Many
of the illustrations by John Tenniel from the original Alice’s Adventures
in Wonderland are available at Victorian
Web (note: there are three pages of images—click on “Next Section”
at the bottom of the page for the next page of images).
Preparing to Teach this Lesson
- Review the lesson plan and the websites used throughout. Locate and bookmark
suggested materials and websites. Download and print out documents you will
use and duplicate copies as necessary for student viewing.
- Students can access the primary source materials and some of the activity
materials via the EDSITEment LaunchPad.
- If computer access is limited, procure or print out a copy of The Nursery
Alice to read with students before and after any scheduled computer time.
- The Nursery Alice is written in an engaging and interactive manner,
often asking questions of its reader. Be sure to give your class the opportunity
to answer and consider these questions throughout the reading experience.
- The Original Alice (click on link at the bottom of the "Turning the Pages" page) is the hadwritten manuscript of the first version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with 37 illustrations by Dodgson available through the British Library website.
Suggested Activities
1. Entering Wonderland
Write the word "Wonderland" on the blackboard in large letters and
ask students if they have ever heard of it. While some students might be familiar
with the title of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
others may have different associations. Ask students if they think Wonderland
is a place (like, for example, Disneyland). Why does the name of this place
include the word "wonder"? Ask the children to close their eyes and
try to imagine Wonderland. What do they see? To some students, Wonderland might
be a place in their dreams or imaginations, while others might think of it as
similar to an amusement park. Would they like to visit Wonderland? Why or why
not?
Tell students that there is a famous book called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
written more than a hundred years ago (1865) by a man who called himself Lewis
Carroll. Explain to them that Carroll wrote two versions of his story—one
for older children and one for children their age. Tell students that the version
of the story that he wrote especially for younger children is called The
Nursery "Alice," and that they are going to listen to it together
in class.
An electronic version of The
Nursery "Alice," is available via the EDSITEment-reviewed
website The Victorian Web.
2. Down the Rabbit-hole
Read aloud the first three chapters of The Nursery "Alice."
In Chapter One, Alice dreams of seeing the White Rabbit and falling down the
rabbit-hole. Emphasize that this event and all subsequent events and creatures
in Wonderland are part of Alice's dream.
In Chapter Two, Alice drinks the potion marked "Drink Me" and becomes
"smaller, and smaller, till at last she was just the size of a little doll!"
She then eats the cake marked "Eat Me" and becomes very tall: "She
grew, and she grew, and she grew. Taller than she was before! Taller than any
child! Taller than any grown-up person! Taller, and taller, and taller! Just
look at the picture, and you'll see how tall she got!"
Have students think of situations in which they have felt very big (e.g., inside
a playhouse or tree house) or very small (e.g., beside a large building). Have
they ever seen themselves become bigger or smaller (e.g., in a house of mirrors,
or in a reflection or shadow)? How did these experiences make them feel?
Allow students, individually or in groups, to explore the EDSITEment interactive,
Sizing
Up Alice. This interactive tests their listening skills by asking
them to help Alice grow tall or short by providing the objects—the key,
the bottle, the cake, and the fan—that help Alice enter Wonderland. The
activity reinforces their understanding of the story’s basic plot points,
as well as allowing them to explore Alice’s world and how she must change
size to follow the white rabbit.
Finally, show students the pictures of Alice and ask them the question that
Carroll poses at the end of the chapter: "Which would you have liked the
best, do you think, to be a little tiny Alice, no larger than a kitten, or a
great tall Alice, with your head always knocking against the ceiling?"
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being small or big (an idea that
will resonate for most young children).
3. Aiding Alice
Tell students that they are now going to "help" Alice by making things
for her to use during her trip to Wonderland. Remind them of the story
of Thumbelina, in which the tiny girl sleeps in a walnut shell with the petals
of violets as her mattress and a rose petal as her cover. What objects could
the "little tiny Alice" and the "great tall Alice" use,
and how? (The small Alice might use a mushroom as an umbrella or a shoe as a
boat, for example, while the big Alice might use a mixing bowl as a drinking
cup or a rake as a comb.)
Divide the class into groups of three to five students each. Give each group
a supply of sturdy construction paper or oaktag, pencils, erasers, scissors,
and a set of colored pencils or markers. Assign each group to imagine five objects
that could be used in different ways by either the "little tiny Alice"
or the "great tall Alice." After students have drawn their objects,
have them cut them out (younger students might need help with this) and put
all of their group's objects in a manila folder or envelope.
Redistribute the envelopes so that each group has a collection of objects that
were created by another group. Have students try to guess how each of the objects
could be used by either the big Alice or the small Alice. If time permits, you
can continue the game by passing the envelopes of objects from group to group.
Note: if time is limited, consider having students make suggestions
that the instructor writes on the board. As another alternative, have students
write down—with help if necessary—simple objects (e.g., rake, mushroom,
etc.) and then pull each out of a hat, asking “how might Alice use this?
Is she big or small?” Students can then answer orally.
4. “Wonder”-ful Creatures
Read aloud the next two chapters of the story, in which Alice grows small and
then large again. In addition to the White Rabbit, who is introduced in Chapter
One, several other creatures enter the story in Chapters Four and Five: the
Dodo, the Duck, the Lory, the Eaglet, and the Lizard. Show students the illustrations
so they can see what these animals look like. You might also wish to show them
pictures of other creatures that appear later in the book (the Dear Little Puppy,
the Blue Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, the Gryphon, and the Mock Turtle). Compare
these animals to creatures found in other familiar children's stories, such
as Where the Wild Things Are, The Rainbow Goblins, James
and the Giant Peach, The Wind in the Willows, Winnie-the-Pooh,
Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, or the many books of Dr. Seuss.
Discuss the ways that these creatures are similar to or different from animals
the students might encounter in real life.
Have students describe how the animal normally behaves: a rabbit is fast; a
turtle is slow; a cat is independent; a dog likes attention. Then discuss with
students how Lewis Carroll’s text personifies animals by giving them human
traits—part of Wonderland’s charm is that these animals
behave like people do. Examine with students, for example, how the rabbit is
dressed—is he anxious, relaxed? Explain that to give human qualities to
animals is called personification. Ask the class members if they have pets—if
so, what would their pets be like if they were human? How do the animals of
Wonderland personify human traits that relate to their animal traits?
Consider
using the illustrations by John Tenniel, available at Victorian Web in this
exercise (note: there are three pages of images—click on “Next Section”
at the bottom of the page for the next page of images). Project on a screen
or share printed-out copies of the images and ask students to first name the
animal and share words that come to mind when thinking about that animal. Next,
recall (or reread) the section from Alice that the animal appears. Finally,
ask students to share words that describe the animal’s human-like personality.
What makes the animal interesting or funny?
Assessment
- Have students share their favorite fantastic creatures from the story with
their classmates. Ask them to imagine both large and small versions of the
creatures—how would they react differently to the creature if it were
big or small? How would the creature move through a city if it were the size
of a mouse, an elephant, or a skyscraper? What would their personality be
like—always late? In the mood for a tea party?
Extending the Lesson
- Have students perform segments of the story, assigning students the roles
of Alice and the creatures she encounters. Have two students join hands and
form an archway to play the role of the “door” – as Alice
grows or shrinks, have the door crouch or stand to create the relative size.
- Have students visit the EDSITEment-reviewed website Art
Safari, where they can explore animals and art. After examining Rousseau's work,
students can use a specially designed computer drawing program to create their
own fantastic animals.
If you have limited computer access in your classroom, students may use crayons,
colored pencils, markers, or found materials to create two- or three-dimensional
creatures, drawing upon images from children's literature for inspiration.
Finally, have students describe their animal creations in human terms.
- The EDSITEment lesson plan Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Nonsense Poetry and Whimsy continues the discussion of Alice’s adventures, including Lewis Carroll’s fun poetry that easily and clearly illustrates the basic concepts of personification, rhythm, and onomatopoeia.
Selected EDSITEment Websites
Standards Alignment
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