PENGUIN READERS

Teacher’s notes LEVEL 2 Teacher Support Programme

Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll size, and a smiling cat that can vanish when it wants to. As
Alice continues to explore this strange world, she meets a
duchess with a baby that changes into a pig and she takes
part in a very strange tea party. Finally she meets the King
and Queen of Hearts. The Queen is a strange woman,
who always wants to cut off the heads of the animals and
people around her. Then the Knave of Hearts has to stand
trial for stealing some tarts. When Alice is told to leave the
trial room because she is getting too big, she refuses. She
begins to fight the cards, but suddenly she wakes up. It
was all a dream after all!
Chapters 1–2: One day Alice is sitting under a tree. She
sees a white rabbit and follows it down a rabbit hole.
About the author After landing on the ground, she follows the rabbit and
Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Lutwidge arrives in a room. Alice sees a table, on which there is a
Dodgson, was born in 1832, the third of eleven children. small key that unlocks a small door. She opens the door
Charles was a clever boy, educated first at home and then and sees a beautiful garden, but she can’t go in because she
later at Rugby School, a well known English boarding is too big. Alice then drinks from a small bottle labelled
school, where he was not very happy. In 1851 he went ‘DRINK ME’ and she shrinks. Now she is small enough,
to study at Oxford. There he won a lectureship in but she can’t reach key, which is on the table again. She
mathematics from which he was able to earn a living. As then discovers a cake that says ‘EAT ME’ and she eats it.
a young man, he wrote funny and satirical poetry and The cake makes Alice grow very tall. She cries and makes
short stories. In 1856, he published his first piece of work, a pool of tears. The White Rabbit comes into the room
a poem, under the name of ‘Lewis Carroll’. That same and drops his white hat. Alice holds it in her hand and it
year, he took up photography, and he also met the new makes her shrink again. She swims through the pool of
Dean of Christ Church and his family, who became close tears, and finds a mouse. They get out of the water and
friends of his. He spent a lot of time with the mother and meet many birds and animals.
the children, Ina, Alice and Edith, who he photographed. Chapters 3– 4: The birds and animals are cold and wet,
They used to go out on the river for picnics and on one so a Dodo suggests running a Caucus Race. Half an hour
such expedition in 1862, Dodgson told them a story. Alice later, the race ends and everyone wins. Alice gives out
Liddell begged him to write it down. The story became chocolates as prizes. Alice misses her cat, Dinah, but when
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and was immediately she talks about it, the birds and animals go away. The
very successful. In 1871, Dodgson published Through White Rabbit appears again and thinks that Alice is Mary
the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found There. He died Ann, his housemaid, so he tells her to fetch his white
suddenly of pneumonia in 1898. hat. Alice goes into his house, and she finds a bottle. She
drinks from it and grows so big that the White Rabbit
Summary can’t get into the house and she can’t get out. A cake is
Alice is a little girl who is sitting under a tree with her thrown through the window and Alice eats it, gets small
sister one sunny day. She is starting to feel bored when again and runs out of the house. She runs into a wood and
she sees a white rabbit and follows the rabbit down a sees some mushrooms. There is a large green caterpillar on
rabbit hole. When she arrives at the bottom of the very top of one of them.
long hole, her adventures start. First she drinks something
Chapters 5– 6: The Caterpillar is not very friendly and
from a bottle and changes size. Next she meets some
asks Alice difficult questions, which make her angry. Alice
animals who talk and she joins in a strange kind of race
wants to get bigger, so the Caterpillar shows her two types
with them, where everyone is the winner. Then there is a
of mushrooms, one kind to make her bigger and the other
rather rude caterpillar, who teaches Alice to control her
to make her smaller. Alice eats from both and reaches

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 PENGUIN READERS
Teacher’s notes LEVEL 2 Teacher Support Programme

Alice in Wonderland
her normal height. She continues walking through the cannot restrain from crying, but by the end she is
wood again and comes to a little house. She eats from self-possessed and able to face the baffling Wonderland
the brown mushroom and becomes very small again and logic. Alice’s experiences in Wonderland are similar to
goes into the house. Inside, she meets an ugly woman, the those of children who have to try to make sense of the real
Duchess, with a baby. Near the fire there is a cook and a world controlled by adults and the rules they make.
Cheshire cat with a big smile. Alice is worried because the Identity: The story also reflects some of the confusions of
cook throws plates, cups and spoons at the Duchess and growing up, during which children have to come to terms
the baby. The Duchess tosses her baby up and down and with who they are. Alice struggles with the importance
before she leaves she throws the baby to Alice. To Alice’s and instability of personal identity. She is constantly
surprise, the baby turns into a pig, so she lets it go off ordered to identify herself by the creatures she meets,
into the woods. The Cheshire Cat tells her about the Mad but she herself has doubts about her identity as well.
Hatter and the March Hare and disappears. Alice decides Alice keeps getting either very big or very small (children,
to go to the March Hare’s house. When she arrives, she of course, get bigger all the time). At first this seems to
sees that it’s bigger then the Duchess’s house and she eats happen by chance and she is upset by it. But the caterpillar
some more mushroom to grow again. helps her to take control of her changing size, and she is
Chapters 7–8: Alice joins the Mad Hatter, the March then more comfortable in her strange environment.
Hare and a mouse at a mad tea party. She thinks they are
so impolite and they play so many jokes on her that she Discussion activities
feels insulted and leaves. Then she finds a door in a tree,
Before reading
goes through it and finds herself once again in front of 1 Pair work: Tell students to look at the picture on the
the small door that leads to the garden. She shrinks and front of the book and answer the following questions
walks through the door. In the garden, Alice comes across in pairs: Who is the girl in the picture? What does she
three cards painting white roses red because the Queen look like? Where is she? Who are the woman and the
man in the picture? What is the woman doing? How does
of Hearts hates white roses. When the Queen and the
the girl feel? What do you think will happen in the story?
King arrive, she orders her men to cut off the gardeners’ 2 Find and discuss: Write the following words on
heads. The Queen condemns them and other people to the board: a white rabbit, a strange bird, a cat, a tree
death, but nobody ever loses their heads. Alice meets the with flowers, an angry woman, a table, cups and plates.
Cheshire Cat and when the King sees it he asks the Queen Ask students to find these things in the pictures in
the book. Then get them to make a list of ten other
to order her men to chop off the Cat’s head. The Cat
things they can see in the pictures. Get feedback
vanishes and then Alice meets the Duchess again. from the whole class and then have a class discussion:
Chapters 9–10: Everyone goes into a house for a trial. What is going to happen in the story?
The Knave of Hearts is accused of stealing some tarts. The Introduction
White Rabbit calls the witnesses. The first witness is the After reading
Mad Hatter, and the second one is the cook. Neither of 3 Pair work: Ask students to answer the following
them can help with the case at all. Next comes Alice, who questions: Who wrote Alice in Wonderland? When did
he write it? How was Alice in Wonderland different
is growing taller and taller all the time. The King asks her
from other stories for children? Do you think you are
to leave the room, but Alice is not afraid of them because going to like it? Why?
they are only cards. Suddenly, Alice’s sister wakes her
up. Alice has been asleep for a long time and it was all a Chapters 1–2
dream. Both girls go back home for tea. While reading (after Chapter 1)
4 Discuss: Get students to discuss the following
Background and themes questions in small groups: Why did Alice follow the
rabbit? Do you think this was a good idea? Why can’t
Growing and adulthood: Alice’s adventures parallel the Alice get through the little door into the garden? Why
journey from childhood to adulthood. She encounters does Alice drink from the bottle that says ‘DRINK ME’
a number of new situations in which she needs to show and why does she eat from the cake that says ‘EAT ME’?
How does Alice feel after all these changes? What do you
adaptability in order to succeed. At the beginning she think is going to happen next?

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 PENGUIN READERS
Teacher’s notes LEVEL 2 Teacher Support Programme

Alice in Wonderland
After reading Chapters 7–8
5 Write: Ask students to imagine they are Alice. Tell Before reading
them to remember in pairs what has happened to her 13 Discuss and guess: Put students in small groups
since she followed the White Rabbit. Encourage then to discuss the following questions: What normally
to discuss how she feels. Get feedback and then asks happens at a tea party? What do people eat and drink?
students to write a page of Alice’s diary about her What time do people have tea parties? How long do
experience so far. people stay? Now remind students that everything is
very strange in Wonderland. Ask them to guess what
Chapters 3– 4
might happen at the tea party in small groups. Get
Before reading feedback from the whole class.
6 Research: Get the students to find out what a ‘dodo’
is using the Internet or books. While reading (after Chapter 7)
14 Check: Ask students to check to see if the predictions
While reading (page 7, after ‘let’s have a race – they made in activity 13 were right or wrong.
a Caucus race.’)
7 Pair work: Put students in pairs to discuss the After reading
following questions: What normally happens in a race? 15 Write: Divide the class into two groups, A and B, and
Do you often race? Are you good at racing? Why/why not? ask one group to look at the illustration on page 22
What do you get when you win a race? How could a and the other to look at the illustration on page 27.
Caucus race be different from normal races? In pairs, students write a description of the picture
and what is happening, but making five changes.
After reading Now put a student from group A with a student from
8 Write and ask: Write ‘Why does the Dodo want group B and have them read their descriptions to each
to have a race?’ on the board and elicit the answer other and spot the mistakes.
(Because all the animals want to get warm). Ask
students to write another question about something Chapters 9–10
in Chapters 3 and 4. Check their work as they do Before reading
this. Now have students stand up and mingle, asking 16 Discuss: Ask the students to discuss what normally
and answering each other’s questions. happens at a trial in small groups: Who is normally at
a trial? Why are they there? What questions do people
Chapters 5– 6
ask? What happens at the end of a trial?
Before reading
9 Guess: Get students to look at the pictures in After reading
Chapters 5 and 6 and ask them to describe in pairs 17 Role play: Put students in pairs to role play a
what they can see and guess what strange things will conversation between Alice and her sister. Alice tells
happen to Alice. Will she change size again? Will she her all about the trial and her sister asks her a lot of
meet friendly people or animals? Will she feel afraid? questions.
While reading (after Chapter 5) Vocabulary activities
10 Discuss: Ask students to discuss the following: For the Word List and vocabulary activities, go to
Is the caterpillar good or bad to Alice? Why/why not? [Link].
After reading
11 Check: Ask students if the predictions they made in
activity 9 were correct.
12 Write and guess: Write ‘The Caterpillar showed Alice
a white mushroom and a black mushroom.’ on the
board. Elicit the mistake from the class (one white
and one brown). Now ask students to choose a
sentence from Chapters 5 and 6 and rewrite it
changing one word. Students mingle reading out
their sentences so that the others can guess which
word is wrong.

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