The Bell Jar
Click above to access
Click above to access
Reading and Writing Workshop
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Core Text:
Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11
(Public Domain via Project Gutenberg)
Session 1: Down the Rabbit Hole – Introduction to Wonderland
Focus: Introduce students to the surreal world of Wonderland. Analyze the use of nonsense, imagination, and wordplay.
Reading:
Reflective journal: “What would falling into a new world look like for you?” Include a description using imaginative language.
Session 2: Playing with Logic and Language
Focus: Explore how Carroll bends logic and language through riddles, rhymes, and absurdity.
Reading:
Compose your own nonsense poem inspired by Carroll’s style. Include invented words or paradoxes.
Session 3: Power, Rules, and Authority in Wonderland
Focus: Examine satire of Victorian society through the Queen of Hearts, courtroom scenes, and arbitrary rules.
Reading:
Write a short scene where a character tries to follow absurd rules in a fictional society. What’s being critiqued?
Session 4: Dream Logic and Surrealism
Focus: Analyze how dreams and altered states shape narrative structure and meaning.
Reading:
Creative story prompt: “Write a short dream story that seems illogical but expresses something emotional or meaningful.”
Session 5: Banned Books – Why Was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Challenged?
Focus: Explore the reasons Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was challenged or banned and connect them to themes in censorship.
Reading:
The book was reportedly banned in China in the 1930s for attributing human traits (like speech) to animals, which some officials believed was inappropriate and potentially subversive.
Writing Activity:
Write a persuasive argument: “Should surreal or fantastical books be banned from young readers? Why or why not?”
Session 6: Wonderland Through a Modern Lens
Focus: Reimagining Wonderland for today—What would Wonderland look like in 2025?
Reading:
Create a modern-day Wonderland. Design characters, new rules, or digital absurdities. Option to write a scene or draw a map with a description.
Core Text:
Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11
(Public Domain via Project Gutenberg)
Session 1: Down the Rabbit Hole – Introduction to Wonderland
Focus: Introduce students to the surreal world of Wonderland. Analyze the use of nonsense, imagination, and wordplay.
Reading:
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapters 1–2
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11
Reflective journal: “What would falling into a new world look like for you?” Include a description using imaginative language.
Session 2: Playing with Logic and Language
Focus: Explore how Carroll bends logic and language through riddles, rhymes, and absurdity.
Reading:
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapters 5–6 (includes “Advice from a Caterpillar”)
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11 - Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13
Compose your own nonsense poem inspired by Carroll’s style. Include invented words or paradoxes.
Session 3: Power, Rules, and Authority in Wonderland
Focus: Examine satire of Victorian society through the Queen of Hearts, courtroom scenes, and arbitrary rules.
Reading:
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapters 8–11
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11 - Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal (for additional satirical comparison)
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1080
Write a short scene where a character tries to follow absurd rules in a fictional society. What’s being critiqued?
Session 4: Dream Logic and Surrealism
Focus: Analyze how dreams and altered states shape narrative structure and meaning.
Reading:
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, final chapter + entire story review
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11 - Edgar Allan Poe, “A Dream Within a Dream”
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8447
Creative story prompt: “Write a short dream story that seems illogical but expresses something emotional or meaningful.”
Session 5: Banned Books – Why Was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Challenged?
Focus: Explore the reasons Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was challenged or banned and connect them to themes in censorship.
Reading:
- Selected passages from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (animal speech, fantastical transformations)
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11 - John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (excerpts on freedom of expression)
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34901
The book was reportedly banned in China in the 1930s for attributing human traits (like speech) to animals, which some officials believed was inappropriate and potentially subversive.
Writing Activity:
Write a persuasive argument: “Should surreal or fantastical books be banned from young readers? Why or why not?”
Session 6: Wonderland Through a Modern Lens
Focus: Reimagining Wonderland for today—What would Wonderland look like in 2025?
Reading:
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, select chapters of your choice for inspiration
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11 - Lewis Carroll, “The Mad Gardener’s Song”
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11483
Create a modern-day Wonderland. Design characters, new rules, or digital absurdities. Option to write a scene or draw a map with a description.