The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth. Bullseye Books, 1961.

Lexile Level: 1,000

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Learning Activity: While reading, the class will focus on learning different types of figurative language that are found in the text, and discussing the difference between literal and figurative meanings. After reading, each student will select one land that Milo, Tock, and Humbug visit and create a pamphlet that illustrates examples of figurative language found in that place as well as their literal meaning

Standards

New York State Common Core Learning Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1:  Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4:  Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone

Empire State Information Fluency Continuum:

Standard 1: Investigate:  Indicator: Uses reading, thinking, and visual literacy strategies to derive meaning from information and monitor own understanding. [Grade 6-8: Identifies multiple levels of meaning]

American Association of School Librarians: 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.

Goal

Students will create a pamphlet that illustrates one land visited by the characters in the text and give specific examples of figurative language, including their literal meaning, used in that chapter.  

Objectives

Students will be able to recognize figurative language within a new text and by sharing at least one example in classroom discussion.

Students will be able to create a pamphlet illustrating one land from The Phantom Tollbooth.

Students will be able to provide at least 3 types of figurative language and give specific examples of each, with the literal and figurative meaning of each example.  

Outcome

Students will recognize that words have multiple meanings and that understand why figurative language is used in a text.