Wolves
of Willoughby Chase
by Joan Aiken, Doubleday, 1962
Activities ©1998 Nancy Polette
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| 1. Work with a partner or
small group to decide if each of the words below
would be found in the manor house (I), outside
the manor house (O), or on the manor house (ON).
Guess if you do not know. Then read the booktalk
to support or deny your guesses. ____ cornices ____ turrets _____ ottoman _____ musket _______ portico ____ valise _____ portmanteau _____ postern _____ chaise The huge manor house stood alone, its cornices and turrets sharp against the dark winter sky. The gameskeeper, musket in hand, stood by the postern gate, keeping the howling wolves at bay. Inside two young girls clung together on the ottoman listening for the wheels of the chaise. And then she appeared, Miss Slighcarp, the new governess with full valise and bulging portmanteau. Even the wolves who roamed the surrounding forest were less dangerous as Bonnie and Sylvia were to discover. And as difficult as life at the manor became, it was even worse when the orphans were sent off to Miss Slighcarp's sister, Mrs. Brisket. With only a young boy to help them the captives face many chilling moments in this dark tale of murder and greed. |
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| 2. Pre-Reading Journal Sentence
Starters. Select one of the open-ended sentence starters to write about for five minutes in your pre reading journal. Be prepared to read aloud what you have written to a small group. A. Living in an English manor house surrounded by a forest full of wolves would be.. B. Cruel and unjust punishment is ... C. Characters with names like Slighcarp, Grimshaw, Brisket and Moleskin might be... |
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| 3. Place students in groups
of four. Each group has a secretary to write the
main ideas of the group. In ten minutes each
group will respond to one of the following open
ended questions: How many ways... If you were ... What if ... Suppose that ... How is ____ like ____ ? Example: How many ways can your group list that The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is like the story of Rapunzel? |
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| 4. Find three facts about
wolves for each of these categories: Where they live. What they eat. What they look like. What they have. What they do. Use the information in this pattern: If I had the ________ of a wolf, I would ________and ______________ and I'd _______________. But I wouldn't sleep in a cave in winter because bears to that. |