The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

c Pearson Education Limited 2008 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Teacher’s notes � of �

Teacher’s notes LEVEL 1PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

About the authorMark Twain was born Samuel Clemens in the southern United States, in Florida in 1835, but he grew up in Hannibal, Missouri. He spent his childhood in a river town on the Mississippi River. This environment was the main source for some of his best known novels such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). When he was twelve, his father died and he had to give up school to work as a printer’s apprentice. His pen name, “Mark Twain,” means safe waters, a phrase used by Mississippi boatmen. His best books are considered to be skillful re-creations of American life at that time. Clemens died in 1910, but Mark Twain is still remembered as one of America’s greatest writers.

SummaryTom, an orphan who lives with his Aunt Polly, is a playful boy. His close friend, Huck, hasn’t got a family, is homeless and doesn’t go to school. Tom and Huck have several adventures together; they witness Injun Joe kill a doctor, clear Muff Potter’s name when he is accused of murder and see Injun Joe find a lot of money. Tom and his friend, Becky, get lost for three days in a cave. While looking for their way out, Tom sees Injun Joe. Later, Tom and Huck go back to the cave and find the money Injun Joe had hidden there. Huck is adopted by Mrs. Douglas. Now, he has a home and goes to school but he finds it hard to fit in and runs away. Tom, however, convinces him to return.

Background and themes

Multiple intelligence: Tom is often associated with mischief. He doesn’t play by the rules of society and he

is not much of a student. Out by the river or in the cave, however, Tom excels at everything he does. In the end, he always does the right thing.

Life in the past: The adventures take place by the Mississippi River in the mid-1800s. In those times children’s lives were very different from today.

Discussion activities

Before reading1 Research: Ask students to look for information on

the Internet. Where is the Mississippi River? Is it long or short? How did people live in the 1850s in America? Did children have a good life? What did they play with? Is your life now very different?

Chapters 1–3After reading2 Discuss: Is Tom a happy boy? Is he clever? What does he

like? What doesn’t he like? Is Tom a good friend? What is a good friend? What do you like doing with your friends?

Chapters 4–8After reading3 Write, ask and answer: Write What was on the

teacher’s table? on the board and elicit the answer (his new book). Now tell students to write similar questions about Chapters 4–8. Students then mingle as a group, asking and answering each other’s questions.

Chapters 9–13While reading (At the end of Chapter 10)4 Role play: Put students in pairs to act out a

conversation between Tom and Aunt Polly. Student A: You are Aunt Polly. Ask Tom about his adventure in the cave. Student B: You are Tom. Answer Aunt Polly’s questions. Brainstorm possible questions with the whole class first (see key).

After reading5 Game: Write the following characters on the board:

Tom, Huck, Becky, Aunt Polly, Injun Joe, Muff Potter, Mrs. Douglas. Put students in small groups and give them five minutes to think of as many true sentences about these characters as possible without looking back at the book. Each group has to say one true sentence in turn. They cannot repeat. If they can’t think of one or the sentence is wrong, they are eliminated. The group left at the end is the winner.

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

Mark Twain

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Photocopiable

c Pearson Education Limited 2008 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Activity worksheet � of �

Activity worksheet LEVEL 1PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

While readingChapters 1–31 Finishthewordswitheora. Example:b_c_us_–because

a t_ach_r g n_wb m_dicin_ h n_v_rc adv_ntur_ i m__td f_nc_ j _unte _nsw_r k fri_ndf sl__p l _lw_ys

2 Finishthesentences. a Tomcan’tplaywithhisfriendsbecause ………………………………………………. b BengaveTomsomefoodbecause ………………………………………………. c TomwantedtowalkwithBeckybecause ………………………………………………. d Tomdidn’tdrinkthemedicinebecause ………………………………………………. e Beckydidn’tgotoschoolbecause ……………………………………………….

Chapters 4–83 Answerthequestions. a HowdidTom,JoeandHuckcrosstheriver? ………………………………………………. b Wastheteacher’sbookforchildren? ………………………………………………. c Whywastheteacherangry? ………………………………………………. d WhatdidBeckydointhesummervacation? ………………………………………………. e Whywerethepeopleatthetrialsurprised? ……………………………………………….4 Finishwiththerightword. talk for trial bed tore dig day a Theboyscanplayall…………bytheriver. b Tomwentintohisbedroomandunderhis

…………. c Beckywantedto…………toTom. d Becky…………theteacher’sbook. e TomandHucklistenedfortwodaysatthe

…………. f InjunJoebeganto…………withaknife. g Alotofmenlooked…………Tomand

Beckyinthecave.

Chapters 9–135 Arethesesentencesright(3)orwrong(7)? a HuckgoesonBecky’sadventure. c b HucklikesMrs.Douglas. c c BeckysleepsatSueHarper’shouse. c d TomgoestolivewithMrs.Douglas. c e TomhelpsBeckyinthecave. c f TomandHuckgobacktothecave. c g BeckyandTomareinthecaveforfive

days. c h Mr.JoneshelpsMrs.Douglas. c6 Underlinethewrongwordandputtheright

one. a InjunJoewantedtohelpMrs.Douglas.

…………… b Beckydidn’twanttotalkinthecave.

…………… c Tomfoundabigdoorinthecave.

…………… d Afterhisadventure,TomvisitedBeckyand

talkedtohermother.…………… e TomandHuckputonnewshirtsandhats.

……………

After reading7 Lookatthepicturesinthebook.Writethe

nameofonethingyoucansee.Youhavethefirstletteroftheword.

a (p.1)h………… b (p.4)g………… c (p.7)s………… d (p.10)t………… e (p.14)w…………8 Writeinyournotebook. TomandHuckhaveanewadventure.Wheredo

theygo?Whodotheygowith?Whatthingsdotheydo?Aretheyafraid?Howmanydaysaretheyawayfromhome?Howdotheygethome?

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c Pearson Education Limited 2008 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Progress test � of �

Progress test LEVEL 1PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

1 Arethesesentencesright(3)orwrong(7)?a Tom’smotherandfatheraredead. c

b Beckyisn’tverybeautiful. c

c MuffPotterkillsthedoctor. c

d AuntPollylovesTom. c

e Hucklikesschool. c

f Tomdoesn’tliketalkingabouthisadventures. c

g HuckandTomgiveMuffPottersomefood. c

h ThereisanoldhousenearMrs.Douglas’shouse. c

2 Answerthequestions.a DoesBeckylivewithherfamily? ……………………………………………………b WhatdidTomdowiththemedicine? ……………………………………………………c WhodoesTomlove? ……………………………………………………d Whokilledthedoctor? ……………………………………………………e WheredidInjunJoefindtheboxofmoney? ……………………………………………………f DidHuckhelpMrs.Douglas? ……………………………………………………g DoesMr.JoneslikeHuck? ……………………………………………………h Wasthecavedark? ……………………………………………………

3 Putanameontheleftwithasentenceontheright.

A B

a JoeHarper 1 goestothecavewithhissons.

b Becky 2 takesthetreasuretothecave.

c Huck 3 sendsTomtoschool.

d AuntPolly 4 tearsabook.

e Mrs.Douglas 5 isangryaboutabook.

f Mr.Jones 6 doesn’tlikewashingeveryday.

g InjunJoe 7 wantstogiveHuckahome.

h Teacher 8 runsawayfromschoolwithTomandHuck.

4 Finishthewordswitheora.

riv_r thr__

walk_d h_ppy

w_nt _ngry

bo_ts _dv_ntur_

w_t_r tr__sure

c_v_ _nsw_r_d

tod_y plac_

5 Circletherightwordorwords.a Beckyandhermother / friendswentonaboat.b Hucklistened to / walked tothemenwhentheytalk.c TomandBeckywereinahouse / caveforthreedays.d Benpaintedthehouse / fence.e Mrs.Douglasisagood / badwoman.f MuffPotterwent / didn’t gotothegraveyard.g Huckwanted / didn’t wanttobeTom’sfriend.

6 Finishthesentencestodothepuzzle.

A _ _ _

D _ _ _

_ _ V _ _

_ _ _ _ E

N _ _ _ _

_ _ T _ _ _ _ _

_ _ U _ _ _

_ _ _ _ R

_ E _ _

a Tomlovedhis…………Polly.b “Wedidn’tseethembecauseitwas………….”c Tom…………inahouse.d Tomwasafraidinthecaveandhemadea

………….e HuckandTomwenttothegraveyardat

………….f ThedaybeforeSundayis………….g Thechildrenwentto…………onSunday.h Idrink…………andeatfood.i “Let’s…………ateleveno’clocktohaveagood

adventure.”

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

c Pearson Education Limited 2008 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Answer keys � of 2

Answer keys LEVEL 1PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

Book key

1 Mark Twain lived in Hannibal, Missouri, and then in Nevada and New York. Two of his famous books are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

2–3 Open answers4 a cave, church, graveyard b dig, help, kill, paint5 a Aunt Polly b Tom’s friends c Huck Finn d the teacher e Becky f Tom, Huck, the doctor, Muff Potter, Injun Joe g Injun Joe h Becky i Tom j Tom, Joe Harper, and Huck6 a wrong b right c right d wrong e wrong f wrong g right h right i wrong j right7 Open answers8 a boats, river b church, Sunday c book, tore d trial, Muff Potter e money, box f cave, dark 9 a play b happy c Alfred d Becky e don’t talk f Muff Potter g Injun Joe h a lot of i under the cross j come back from k in the cave

10 Open answers11 a At Mr. Jones’s house b In Mr. Jones’s bedroom c In the cave d In the town e In the cave f Under the cross, in the cave g At Mrs. Douglas’s house12 a Because Mr. Douglas was bad to him. b Huck, Mr. Jones and his sons. c Because he is afraid of Injun Joe and his friend. d Because they cannot find the door. e Becky’s dad; because Tom helped Becky in the cave. f Because the cave has a big new door, and Injun Joe

cannot get out. g They look for the cross. h She gives him a new shirt and jeans, some money,

and a home with her. i No, he isn’t. He doesn’t like washing every day,

and he doesn’t like going to school and church.13–18 Open answers

Discussion activities key1 The Mississippi River is in the east of the United States.

It goes from Minnesota in the north to New Orleans in the south. It is about 3,766 kilometers long. Children sometimes had a difficult life. They played with simple things. In the story, they play by the river and in a cave and they have adventures. There were no computers, televisions or mobile phones. Today children’s lives are very different.

2 Suggested answers: He is a happy, clever boy. He loves his aunt and he

likes playing and having adventures. He doesn’t like school. It isn’t interesting because he can’t play or have adventures there. The teacher gets angry with him too. Tom is a good friend. A good friend helps you and plays with you.

3 Open answers4 Suggested questions:Was the cave big? Was it dark?

Was it cold? Were you afraid? Was Becky afraid? What did you eat? What did you talk about? Did you sleep a lot? Where did you sleep? What did you see?

5 Open answers

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

c Pearson Education Limited 2008 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Answer keys 2 of 2

Answer keys LEVEL 1PENGUIN READERS

Teacher Support Programme

Activity worksheet key1 a teacher b medicine c adventure d fence e answer f sleep g new h never i meet j aunt k friend l always2 a he didn’t go to school. b he wanted to paint the fence. c he likes her/she’s beautiful. d he didn’t like it. e she was sick.3 a In a small boat. b No, it wasn’t. c Because a child/Becky tore his book. d She went away with her family. e Because Injun Joe killed the doctor./Because Muff

Potter didn’t do it. 4 a day b bed c talk d tore e trial f dig g for5 a 7 b 3 c 7 d 7 e 3 f 3 g 7 h 3

6 a help > kill b talk > walk c big > small d mother > father e hats > jeans7 a hat b graveyard c shirt d teacher e window8 Open answers

Progress test key1 a 3 b 7 c 7 d 3 e 7 f 7 g 3 h 3

2 a Yes, she does. b He gave it to the cat. c Becky. d Injun Joe. e Under the floor in an old house. f Yes, he did. g Yes, he does. h Yes, it was.3 a 8 b 4 c 6 d 3 e 7 f 1 g 2 h 54

5 a friends b listened to c cave d fence e good f went g wanted6 a AUNT b DARK c LIVED/LIVES d NOISE e NIGHT f SATURDAY g CHURCH h WATER i MEET

river three

walked happy

went angry

boats adventure

water treasure

cave answered

today place

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