Introduction to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

CS Lewis's novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is on the approved/recommended reading list for Middle School Language Arts with the Department of Defense Dependents Schools.

I enjoy teaching the Hero's Quest pattern in literature to 8th graders. This novel fits the Hero's Quest mold, and fits well into the same quarter or semester. I usually teach the pattern after the CS Lewis novel, but refer to the novel frequently as examples as we come to grasp the pattern.

This novel is ideal for teaching students how to develop mental images while they read.

It is also a great novel for reading aloud. That's why I mix the homework reading with reading out loud. I will often read an entire chapter to the students, then have them share the next chapter in the "bump" or "popcorn" method.

Here are some notes on the 4 sections of the webquest and my reasoning behind them.

1:  I always like to start a novel with some background and historical context. It can be difficult for students to grasp what it was like to be alive during WWII. I think this quick look at the children who were evacuated from the cities to the countryside will help the students to put themselves in the characters' shoes. It's a nice way to expand their grasp of history as well.

2:   The first time I taught The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it was only my second year with middle schoolers. I discovered that the students didn't imagine things well. They simply couldn't fathom things such as a house that is large enough for a ten minute walk inside of it. The book became a vehicle for teaching students to create mental images of what they read. This is why the students will visit English country houses in this webquest.

3:  I found that it was a very successful activity to have students read up on CS Lewis and his life. Everyone seemed fascinated by this man. That's why I have included an element of my original activity in this webquest.

4:  Vocabulary is always something I emphasize in my Language Arts classroom. We have a routine of looking up words on Dictionary.com and then doing later activities with the words. The list in this webquest looks rather elementary compared to words we normally use for our vocabulary units, but there is sometimes confusion in this novel with the British English terminology. I use this particular list to address some of these words. I deleted one vocabulary word from the list: queer. It's a dated, British term. Unfortunately, because of the age and maturity levels of the middle schoolers, it's not a good idea to have them look up the term online. They invariably come across the word related to homosexuality, and it would undoubtedly spark inappropriate behavior and a few  phone calls from concerned parents. Instead of making it a vocab word, I simply address it in context of the book. We read a few chapters out loud in the classroom, and students are assigned to read most chapters at home. I make sure to read this chapter in class, I remain in charge of explaining the word as it is used in the book, and we move on quickly. This seems to curb the inappropriate outbursts quite well.