A Study Guide For Alice In Wonderland

Alice In Wonderland is my Very Favorite Book! So of course I am going to share it with my children. They have been exposed to it before - by my reading it and watching the Disney movie.
It is my feeling that this novel is very challenging for each of their comprehension levels. I did not teach any of the psychology, symbolism, or politics that would be discussed with older children. The only theme I touched on was "Alice Growing up"
I tapered our curriculum to focus on comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and logical/illogical responses. I also encouraged them to make connections between themselves, "our world" and "Wonderland". We read the novel together and they worked on their study questions individually.
There are 13 Lessons -- The ones in normal text I used for Trinity 6th grade. The ones in BOLD I used for both her and for Griffin, 4th grade. Drake did not do these lessons-- he is 2nd grade and we focused on comprehension, setting, characters and plot. He made a coloring book book from pics I found online and either acted out scenes or paraphrased what we read everyday.


A Study Guide for Alice In Wonderland

Introductory Activities: Before you begin Alice, you must complete these activities in your Alice journal:
´ make a list of 10 things which you know for a fact
´ make a list of 10 rules which you follow without hesitation
´ complete this sentence in 10 ways: Adults are....
´ complete this sentence in 10 ways: Growing up is...



**Down the Rabbit-Hole -

1. Define and write a sentence illustrating the meaning of: antipathy.

2.Complete these assignments:
>Select a word from the dictionary which begins with "anti" and imagine it is the name of a country; describe the people who live there in a good paragraph.
> Select any one "simple rule" you learned as a child; write a paragraph which describes what happens to the child who breaks it; this should be fanciful and not too bloody!
> Because you are older than Alice, you might have been able to get that key; describe what you would have done.
>Do you think you would have jumped down the rabbit hole as Alice did? Why or why not? Respond in a well thought out long paragraph.


**The Pool of Tears -

1.Define and write a sentence illustrating the meaning of: inquisitive, soothing, commotion

2.Can you figure out under what algorithm (set of logical steps) Alice's mathematics is correct?

3. Illustrate the following expressions literal meaning with a drawing or an imaginative paragraph, and attach an explanation of the figurative meaning:

> It brought down the house.
> He is up to his ears in debt.
> She flew into a rage.
> Get to the heart of the problem.
> A bad idea

4.If you could change yourself into another human being, who would it be and why? Respond in a well thought out long paragraph.


**A Caucus-Race and a Long Tail -

1.Define and use in a good illustrative sentence - caucus, insolence, adjourn, audibly, melancholy

2.Write a very long and dry sentence about any topic of your choice.

3.Carroll uses a version of a Tom Swifty when he writes: "'Hold your tongue, Ma!' said the young Crab, a little snappishly." It is the adverb which creates the humor. Here is another: "I'm done, I'm done!" said the coffee pot perkily.
Write 5 of your own. Illustrate each.




**The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill -

1.Explain the pun Carroll makes on "grown up."

2.What is ironic about Alice's meeting with the puppy? What do we learn about Alice in this incident?

3.Write a paragraph expressing your answer to this question: Is it better to know what needs to be done before you know how to do it, or to know how to do it before you decide what is to be done? Develop your paragraph with at least one good example.

4. Alice impulsively drinks from another bottle in this chapter. Describe a time when you chose to do something without thinking of the consequences. Respond in a well thought out long paragraph.

5.Which would you choose to be - large or small and why?

**Advice from a Caterpillar -

1.Define and write a good sentence illustrating the meaning of: languid, contemptuous, gravely, timid, contradict, wretched, piteous, subdued, contempt

2.Alice continues to "stick her foot in her mouth." Cite examples from this chapter and explain the result of each.

3.How does the caterpillar help Alice?

4.What "growth" do we find in Alice at the end of the chapter?

5.In a good long paragraph, answer these questions: Why? Who are you?
6.Create an if - then logical statement which proves that: The Queen is only happy when she is eating broccoli pizza.

**Pig and Pepper -

1.Define and use in a good illustrative sentence: livery, uncivil, variations, cauldron
2.This chapter could easily be a "What's Wrong with this Picture." Make a list in your journal of the things in the chapter "which do not belong." Pay attention to words and actions as well as to objects.

3.Explain why, after its last appearance, the Cat "vanished slowly."

4.Add 2 verses to the lullaby: one beginning "speak roughly to your little girl" and the other beginning "speak kindly to your little child"
5. The Cheshire Cat speaks in logical deductions. Pratice this by stating your point on 3 subjects- with me, using this method.

6. What part of this book has been your favorite so far?


**A Mad Tea-Party -

This is a chapter about language. We are going to read it aloud. Select the character whose part you would most like to read: Alice, Hatter, Dormouse, Hare, author. Read with inflection and emotion - become the character you chose.



**The Queen's Croquet Ground -

1.Define and use in a good illustrative sentence: courtier, harried (why is this a pun?), knave, procession, giddy, a furrow, a dispute, impertinent
2.Write in your journal at least 3 conclusions you can draw about "law and justice" at the Queen's court. For each, cite a specific passage from this chapter.

3.Select from the chapter 1 question asked and 3 assertions made by Alice, either to herself or aloud, and explain in your journal how they illustrate a growth in her as a character.
4.Here is a riddle: What has a head upon which many can stand, but which can not stand on its head?
5.Imagine that baseball were to be played at the Queen's court. Describe the game.


**The Mock Turtle's Story -

1.Define and use in a good illustrative sentence: stingy, unruly, moral, mock
2.What has been the state of "rules" in Wonderland? List at least 4 specific examples in your journal of rules learned.

3.What is mustard, botanically? Look it up in Encarta.

4.Open any other novel or short story book, at random, and select a line of dialogue. Copy it into your journal and then add this sentence: "And the moral of that is...."
5.What have we seen so far about the value of Alice's education to her experience in Wonderland?




**The Lobster Quadrille -

1.List all of the puns that you find in this chapter.
2.What exactly is a quadrille? Answer this in your journal, using any good reference source. Then create and describe -your own quadrille- for a different set of animals, in a different habitat, using two verses to the dance poem, introducing another sea creature which is not mentioned as being part of the dance. Be prepared to present your work to the family.



**Who Stole the Tarts?

1.Define and write a good sentence illustrating the meaning of : suppressed. Then tell me why this word was used to describe the treatment of the cheering guinea-pigs.



**Alice's Evidence -

1."It doesn't matter a bit," Alice says, and again, "I don't believe there's an atom of meaning in it." Soon afterward, she takes charge of the situation and "stands up for herself." In the eyes of many critics and readers of Alice, this assertion/growing is the meaning of the story. What do you think? Respond in a well thought out long paragraph which gives examples of actions and words throughout the book.

2. Where did the note come from and who do you think wrote it? Respond in a well thought out long paragrah.

3.Does Alice's sister think Wonderland is important to Alice? Why or Why not?

4. What was your favorite part of the story? Why? Respond in at least two well thought out long paragraphs.