Teachers notes

LEVEL 3

PENGUIN READERS Teacher Support Programme

Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories

Mark Twain
tell the tales of ordinary American people at this time. The stories are often funny but there is also a serious message in each one.

Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog

The first story is about Jim Smiley, an obsessive gambler who plays tricks on both friends and strangers. He does not think about the consequences of his actions and he often treats animals cruelly to win money. Finally another man plays a clever trick on Jim, who learns how it feels to lose money unfairly.

The Other Side of War

About the author

In 1835 Samuel Clemens was born in a small town on the Mississippi river. He grew up with a love of story-telling that would lead him to become one of Americas bestloved writers, under the adopted name of Mark Twain. Mark Twain started writing at an early age, taking a job with a local newspaper before his curiosity took him further afield. He experienced life as a soldier, goldminer and riverboat pilot before his first successful story, Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog, was published in 1865. Further short stories and writing of his many travels abroad soon established Twain as a leading humorist. His greatness as a writer became apparent with the publication of his most famous novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). Both books are heavily influenced by Twains own Mississippi childhood. Today these books are considered to be two of the finest novels in the English language. Although Twain was popular and influential as a writer, his publishing business collapsed and his later years were plagued by financial worry. This, as well as the death of three of his children, brought a tone of bitterness and cynicism to his later writing. To earn money, he went on extensive lecture tours around the United States, which made him even more popular with the American public. He continued to write until his death in 1910. Today Mark Twain is credited with helping to shape Americas vision of itself and he is regarded as a national treasure.

The Other Side of War tells of a group of young Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War who spend their time trying to avoid fighting but end up killing an innocent man. The men are so sickened that they leave the war and return home.

Is He Living or Is He Dead?
This story is about a group of struggling artists in France who trick the public into paying high prices for their artwork. In an unjust world they find that it is the only way to make a living.

Passport to Russia
In Passport to Russia an old gentleman persuades a student, Alfred, to travel with him to Russia. He promises to take care of the travel arrangements, but the friends he claims will help cannot be found. Alfred ends up in Russia with no passport and the threat of a prison sentence. He is saved only by a strange coincidence.

A True Story
A True Story tells of the dreadful life of Twains own family servant, Aunt Rachel. Despite always seeming jolly and content, Rachel, we learn, was beaten, sold and separated from her family. Peoples appearances can often hide great hardships.

Murder in Connecticut
This is a clever story in which a writers conscience appears as a monster in his own home. After trying unsuccessfully to reason with it, the writer decides to trick the monster and eventually he kills his own conscience. As a result he becomes a monster himself, living cruelly and selfishly for the rest of his life.

Summary
This book contains eight short stories written by Mark Twain. All but two of the stories are set in North America during the second half of the nineteenth century and they
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Ed Jackson Meets Cornelius Vanderbilt

In Ed Jackson Meets Cornelius Vanderbilt Eds friends give him a fake letter of introduction to the richest businessman in the country as a practical joke. But
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Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories - Teachers notes

Teachers notes

LEVEL 3

PENGUIN READERS Teacher Support Programme

Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories

Cornelius Vanderbilt welcomes Ed to his home and soon gives him a management job in his new tobacco company. When Ed rewards his friends with jobs in the company, they cant believe their good luck! around the writers office, but ultimately the story tells a very serious tale about the ease with which many people can commit horrific acts of cruelty.

A Dogs Life
A Dogs Life tells the sad story of Aileen, a faithful and intelligent pet dog who always strives to do the right thing. Despite saving his son from a fire, Aileens owner, Mr. Gray, kills Aileens puppy in a cruel experiment. Aileen pines for her puppy and eventually dies of a broken heart.

Discussion activities
Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog, pages 15 Before reading
1 Guess: Talk about the title. Write Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog on the board. Tell students that this is the title of the story they are about to read. Have them work in groups to predict what the story is about. Ask each group to share their predictions with the rest of the class. Discuss: Talk about the characters. Have students work in pairs. Have each pair choose and talk about one of the following characters: Jim Smiley and Simon Wheeler. Give students the following questions: What do you think of him? Do you like him? Why/why not? Do you know anyone like him?

Background and themes

Mark Twains greatest gift to American literature is his ability to write honestly and simply about all types of ordinary people. He created wonderful characters and used them to portray every aspect of human nature with amazing insight and sympathy. His extraordinary range of characters show great courage, generosity and honor as well as cruelty, weakness, stupidity and selfishness. The right to freedom: Mark Twain believed passionately in the right to freedom for all men. This was an issue of much debate in the United States when he was writing. The American Civil War (186165) was fought between the north (which opposed slavery) and the south (which fought to defend its way of life, including keeping slaves). In The Other Side of War Twain shows us that peoples motives were less clear-cut than history teaches. In A True Story he uses the life story of Aunt Rachel to demonstrate the terrible cruelty of slavery. Trust: Trust is another important theme of Mark Twains work. Often the characters who trust others are cheated and suffer dreadfully (eg Aileen in A Dogs Tale). This might be seen as a more cynical side of Twains writing, but in other stories we see how trust and optimism can be rewarded in the right company (eg Ed Jacksons trusting nature is rewarded by the similarly trusting Cornelius Vanderbilt). Humor: Humor is an important element of many of these stories, and of Mark Twains writing in general. In A Passport to Russia Twain creates an unusual and funny character Professor Jackson who cheerfully pulls his new friend, Alfred Parrish, into stranger and stranger situations. Only when Parrish is faced with ten years in prison does the dangerous side of the storys humor become apparent. Similarly Murder in Connecticut begins humorously, with a funny-looking little monster floating

After reading
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The Other Side of War, pages 614 Before reading

3 Discuss: Talk about the American Civil War. Ask students if anyone knows about the American Civil War. If yes, ask those students to explain to the rest of the class. If not, have them read the bottom of page 6. Have students discuss in groups which side they would take if they were there in those days. Role play: Perform in groups. Have students work in groups of four or five. They should look at the picture on page 9 and imagine the conversation between the young soldiers. Some of the soldiers want to attack the house and some of the soldiers dont want to. What do they do? Have students prepare and act out their own story.

After reading
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Is He Living or Is He Dead?, pages 15 19 Before reading

5 Research: Find out about French cities and towns. Give students an assignment using the Internet or other resources, and have them look for the names of French cities and towns. Students could use Google Earth to see the aerial photos. Then, in class, draw a rough map of France on the board and have students talk about cities and towns in France. Discuss: Talk about paintings and painters. Have students discuss in groups. Paintings are more expensive if the painter is not alive. Why do you think this is so?
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After reading
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Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories - Teachers notes

Teachers notes

LEVEL 3

PENGUIN READERS Teacher Support Programme

Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories

Mr. Smith says, Why dont we help them when they are alive? What do you think?

After reading
12 Pair work: Have students ask each other the following questions: When was the last time your conscience told you not to do something that you wanted to do? What did you do then?

Passport to Russia, pages 2028 Before reading

7 Discuss: Talk about passports and travel. Have students work in groups to talk about their passports. Ask the following questions: Do you have a passport? Which countries can you go to with your passport? Which countries do you want to go to? Why? Do you want to go to Russia? Why/why not? Write: Write about a coincidence. Alfred Parrish is saved by a coincidencethe secretary of the consulate lived in Alfreds family home before he did. Pre-teach the word coincidence to the class and ask them to work in pairs to talk about a strange coincidence in their own lives. Then have them work individually to write about it. This can be done in class or as a homework assignment. Finally, ask some students to read their stories to the rest of the class.

Ed Jackson Meets Cornelius Vanderbilt, pages 4146 Before reading

13 Discuss: Talk about practical jokes. How do you feel if your friends play practical jokes on you?

After reading
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After reading
14 Discuss: Talk about Cornelius Vanderbilt. Do you think he knew that the letter was a joke?

A Dogs Life, pages 4752 Before reading

15 Discuss: Have students talk about dogs in groups. Do you have a dog? If so, what type of dog is it? Whats his/her name? If not, do you want to have a dog? Why/ why not?

A True Story, pages 2933 Before reading

9 Artwork: Make a poster and talk about slavery in the United States. After finishing the book activity 12 (page 58), divide the students into groups. Have each group make a poster display on the facts that they found out about slavery in the United States. When each group is ready, have a poster session where each group makes a presentation, and then give students time for questions and answers later on.

After reading
16 Pair work: Have students exchange opinions about the character. What do you think of Mr. Gray?

Extra activities
17 Research: Find out about famous writers. Tell students that Mark Twain is one of North Americas most famous and best-loved writers. Ask students to tell the rest of the class about a famous writer from their own country. They should explain why the writer is famous and give some background about the types of books he/she wrote and the period in which the books were written. 18 Pair work: Talk about the pictures in the book. Put students in pairs. Have each pair choose a picture from the book and look at it carefully for three minutes. After three minutes, student A takes the book and asks student B questions about the picture. Student B should answer as many questions as possible without looking at the book. 19 Discuss: Talk about the titles. Ask students to look at the Contents page. Have them work in groups to think of a new title for each of the eight stories. Ask each group to read out their titles and write them on the board. Then students can decide which ones are the best.

After reading
10 Role play: Perform in groups. Have students work in small groups. They should imagine that they are different members of Aunt Rachels family (including Rachel and her husband) and they have been reunited after the war. They should ask and answer questions about their different experiences since they were separated. Encourage students to use their imagination to make a different story for each family member.

Murder in Connecticut, pages 3440 Before reading

11 Guess: Predict the story. Have students read the first paragraph on page 34. Then have them guess what the story is about. What will happen to Aunt Mary? What will happen to the story-teller?

Vocabulary activities
For the Word List and vocabulary activities, go to www.penguinreaders.com.

c Pearson Education Limited 2008

Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog and Other Stories - Teachers notes

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