























1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Elements of Science Fiction, pp. 2-3
Genre Lesson Independent Practice
pp. 9-10: Meg’s parents give her and Charles Wallace tests; science experiments
p. 15: Mrs. Murry has a science lab and is a scientist; science experiments
pp. 21, 23: Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Murry mention the tesseract; time travel
pp. 25-27, 48: Meg mentions that her father is a physicist; scientific experiments
pp. 51-52: Father is on a dangerous, scientific mission; scientific experiments
pp. 54-55: Mrs. Who and Mrs. Whatsit materialize in front of Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace;
outer space or aliens and time travel
pp. 56-59: The Mrs. W’s and the children travel to Uriel; time travel, new societies, outer space
pp. 59-61: On planet Uriel, now is spring, peaceful, air smells sweet; outer space and new
societies
p. 62: Traveled to Uriel by tessering/wrinkling; time travel, outer space
pp. 64-65: Mrs. Whatsit transforms from looking like a human to a creature that looks like a horse
with wings. She carries the children while she files around the planet, Uriel; aliens
p. 66: Granite plains on Uriel; new societies; outer space
pp. 66-68: Creatures on Uriel singing; new societies; outer space
pp. 68-70: The children have to use a special flower to breathe; outer space and new societies
p. 70: The children see Uriel’s golden moon; outer space and new societies
pp. 71-73: The children see the dark Thing; good vs. evil plot line, outer space and aliens, new
societies
pp. 74-75: Mrs. Which and Mrs. Whatsit tell Meg that her father is being controlled by the Dark
Thing, but she feels that Meg can save him; good vs. evil plot line, outer space and aliens, new
societies
p. 75-79: Mrs. Who explains to the children about wrinkling and tessering; time travel; outer space
pp. 79-80: The Mrs. W’s and the children tesser to a planet with no atmosphere; time travel
pp. 81-90: The Mrs. W’s and the three children arrive on Orion’s Belt where they meet with the
Happy Medium; aliens and outer space
p. 84: Mrs. Whatsit says that she is, “2,379,152,497 years old; aliens
pp. 85-90: The Happy Medium shows the children Earth through her crystal ball and it is being
overcome by the Dark Thing; good vs. evil plot line, outer space, and technology
pp. 91-92: The Happy Medium shows the children that a star (light) was giving up its life to help
overcome the Dark Thing; good vs. evil plot line and outer space
pp. 98-99: Mrs. Whatsit and the children tesser again and arrive on Camazotz; time travel, new
societies, and outer space
pp. 103-113: The children walk around Camazotz and see rows of homes. People come out of
the homes simultaneously and act simultaneously; time travel and new societies
Vocabulary Activity: One of These Words is Not Like the Others, p. 4
Chapter 1: “Mrs. Whatsit” — Chapter 3: “Mrs. Which”
excitedly; The remaining words can be used to describe something that is quiet and composed.
average; The remaining words can be used to describe something that is out of the ordinary.
purposely; The remaining words can be used to describe something that is done unintentionally.
calmly; The remaining words can be used to describe something that is very loud and noisy.
pleased; The remaining words can be used to describe someone that is very angry and annoyed.
unquestionably; The remaining words can be used to describe something that is uncertain.
Comprehension Questions, pp. 5-6
Chapter 1: “Mrs. Whatsit” — Chapter 3: “Mrs. Which”
1. S
Meg’s bedroom is in the cold attic of the Murry’s house. The windows in her room rattle
from the storm. The floorboards are made of wood and are cold to walk on. Outside of her room is the
main attic which is used as the Murry’s storage room. On the floor below the attic is Meg’s parents
room with a double bed, her brother Charles Wallace’s room, and then a third bedroom for her twin
brothers, Dennys and Sandy. The kitchen is on the first floor and has flowers on the window sills. A
bouquet of flowers is on the table. There are curtains on the windows with a red, blue, and green
pattern. There is an old stone dairy off the kitchen that has Mrs. Murry’s science lab. A pantry beyond
the lab led outside.
2. Co/Co, C He hardly talked when anyone else was around. When he did talk, he spoke in a very
mature way. He seemed to know what Meg and his mother were thinking. Once Charles Wallace
learned to speak, he started talking in full sentences.
3. C
Meg feels like a delinquent. She is upset about her performance at school as she has been
dropped down to the lowest section in her grade. She tackles some boys on the way home from
school because they say that Charles Wallace is dumb. She is also upset that her father is gone and
that she shows her feelings of sadness about this.
4. S
It is in the woods behind their house. It is where Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which.
The house was surrounded by elm trees. The house was covered with yellow, damp leaves. The
windows were blank and some of the shutters had come unhinged. A board was nailed across the
door. The back door also appeared to be nailed shut, but creaked when opened. It had rusty hinges.
The house was dark. The house had a kitchen with a huge fireplace and a chimney.
5. ViC
b. They are unlike their parents because of a “change in gene”.
6. C, Co/Co d. They both are “sports” and sometimes get a strange feeling to do something.
7. P
a.
Mr. Murry was sent away on a work mission and the family has not heard from him in
a long time.
8. C c. The government.
9. C
Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which all live in the haunted house in the forest behind
the Murry’s house. Mrs. Whatsit wears many layers of clothing, including scarves, a coat, a hat, and
boots. Her clothing is very colorful. She has a small amount of gray hair tied into a knot on the top of
her head. She has bright eyes, a very round nose, and puckered lips. She is very bold and likes to
talk. Mrs. Who had very large and thick glasses. She enjoyed sewing sheets. She was very plump
and cheery. She often quoted famous people instead of having a conversation with others. Mrs.
Which shimmers and she quivers because she cannot fully materialize. She stutters when she
speaks.
10. DC
She was probably going to tell Mrs. Who that just because Mrs. Who is older then her
does not mean that she is smarter or knows more.
Unknown Words and Context Clues, pp. 7-8
Lesson 1 Independent Practice
Unknown words can include, but are not limited to: fluid, retort, fort, wryly, clenched, somber,
judiciously
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Vocabulary Activity: Opposite Meanings, p. 9
Chapter 4: “The Black Thing” — Chapter 6: “The Happy Medium”
gradually, slowly
definable, describable, utterable
distinguishable, unordinary, unique
kindly, sweetly
protected, safe, secure
honest, open, truthful
Comprehension Questions, pp. 10-11
Chapter 4: “The Black Thing” — Chapter 6: “The Happy Medium”
1. S
Uriel is a place that is very light and golden. The ground is covered with new, green
grass. Small, multicolored flowers are growing out of the grass. There is an extremely high mountain
whose top is covered in puffy white clouds. Birds are singing at the bottom of the trees. It is a very
peaceful place. Beyond the fields is a large plateau filled with granite-like objects. There is also a
garden filled with singing creatures like Mrs. Whatsit. The creatures are beautiful and have a marble
white body that looks like a horse. The creatures have a head that looks like a man and beautiful
wings. The garden is filled with flowers and a river. Beyond the garden is cold, dry land. Uriel also has
several golden moons.
2. Th, S c. The light and golden color.
3. C, DC No. When they were on Earth, they changed themselves to look human so that people
would not be suspicious of how they really look. They are from the planet Uriel and can transform
themselves into humans. They are really white creatures that have wings and fly. Their heads look
like a man and their body looks like a horse. They were previously stars that gave up their lives by
battling the Dark Thing.
4. ViC
Students should draw any two-dimensional (flat) shape such as a square, triangle, or
rectangle.
5. C/E, S b. Everything was flat on the two- dimensional planet.
6. ViC, S It is small amount of time. When the group travels to the other planets, Mrs. Whatsit
explains that the amount of time on Earth is different then the amount of time spent on other planets.
She explains that when they arrive back on Earth, it will be about five minutes before they left, so it
will appear as if they were never gone.
7. ViC, S It is a way to travel through space and time by taking a shortcut. It allows for very fast
travel. It is the fifth dimension that allows for the quickest travel between two points that is not a line.
8. C/E, P It can be overcome by good. Since the Dark Thing represents evil, anything that is good
can help to overcome it. Pride, confidence, light, determination, and creativity will help to defeat the
Dark Thing.
9. ViC
It meant that she is reminding Meg that her faults or the things that she does not like
about herself will come in handy when she is on Camazotz and trying to rescue her father. Everyone
on Camazotz acts perfectly and in an orderly way. Meg’s faults or imperfections make her unique and
will help her to save her father.
10. C a. Impatience
Setting Details, p. 12