FOCUSING QUESTION: LESSONS 5–15

 How can writers use wordplay to develop a story’s settings and

characters?
TEXT
 The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster, Map of the Lands
Beyond and Chapter 1

Prepare
FOCUSING QUESTION: LESSONS 5–15
 How can writers use wordplay to develop a story’s settings and characters?
CONTENT FRAMING QUESTION: LESSON 5
 Reveal: What does a deeper exploration of the main character, Milo, reveal
in chapter 1 of The Phantom Tollbooth?
SUMMARY
Students begin reading the module’s anchor text, Norton Juster’s The Phantom
Tollbooth, a classic tale of adventure and wordplay. Stimulate thinking about the
book using the cover illustration and the hand-drawn map by illustrator Jules
Feiffer. In chapter 1, students build critical background knowledge about the
book’s young protagonist, an unmotivated and uninspired boy named Milo who
considers learning “the greatest waste of time of all.” In the final lessons of the
module, students return to this preliminary character analysis as they reflect on
how Milo changes from the beginning to the end of the novel.
MATERIALS
 Chart paper
 Handout 5A: Fluency Homework
PROJECTED SLIDES
Right click here to access projected slides that can support Lesson 5 instruction.

Lesson 5: At a Glance
Agenda
Welcome (5 min.)
 Preview The Phantom Tollbooth
Launch (7 min.)
Learn (55 min.)
 Explore the Book Covers and the Map of the Lands Beyond (13
min.)
 Define and Practice the Module Listening Goal (13 min.)
  Read to Notice and Wonder
(20 min.)
 Make Inferences about a Character’s Traits (9 min.)
Land (5 min.)
 Answer the Content Framing Question
Wrap (3 min.)
 Assign Homework
Vocabulary Deep Dive (15 min.)
 Explore Word Relationships

Learning Goals
 Make inferences about Milo’s traits, based on the illustration and
author’s descriptions in chapter 1 of The Phantom Tollbooth.
(RL.5.1)
 Use sticky notes to flag three details that reveal Milo’s
character and record inferences about Milo, based on these
details.
 VOCABULARY DEEP DIVE
 Explore the relationships between wisdom, knowledge,
and ignorance to deepen understanding of each word’s meaning.
(L.5.5.c)
 Create a circle map to show the relationship
between wisdom, knowledge, and ignorance, and explain how
they relate.

Welcome
Preview The Phantom Tollbooth
Distribute copies of The Phantom Tollbooth to each student.
Invite students to silently study the book’s front and back covers. Display this
question:

 What do you notice and wonder about the book, The

Phantom Tollbooth? Consider the title, the cover
illustration, and the blurb on the back cover.
Students create a two-column Notice and Wonder Chart in their Response
Journals.
Students study the front and back covers of the book and record on their charts
what they notice and wonder about the book, based on its front and back covers.

After several minutes, students share their recordings with a partner.

Launch
Post the Focusing Question.

Ask:

 “What have you learned about wordplay so far in this

module from reading ‘Who’s on First?’ and the riddles and
jokes?”
 I learned that wordplay is how you play with different
words’ meanings, sounds, and spellings. There are lots of
different ways people can play with words.
 I know that wordplay can be humorous and also confusing!
Affirm that as students begin the novel The Phantom Tollbooth, they will
explore how writers can use wordplay with characters, settings, and other ideas in
stories. They will explore this question over the next several lessons.
Post the Content Framing Question.

Remind students that as good readers beginning a new book they must keep their
“antennae” up—in other words, they must approach the book with attention and
curiosity to help them understand the characters they meet, where it takes place,
and what is going on when the story opens.

Share that students will continue to practice the good habit of “noticing” and
“wondering” as they read the first chapter of The Phantom Tollbooth, focusing
attention on the novel’s main character, a young boy named Milo.
Instruct students to take out their Knowledge Journals from Module 1 and review
how students learned about characters in Thunder Rolling in the Mountains.
Then, instruct students to Think-Pair-Share, and ask:

 “How did you learn about characters in Thunder Rolling in

the Mountains, particularly Sound of Running Feet and
Chief Joseph? How might we use this knowledge, and build
 upon it, as we notice and wonder about characters in The
Phantom Tollbooth?”
Invite several students to share their thinking with the group.

 We paid close attention to Sound of Running Feet’s and Chief

Joseph’s words, thoughts, and actions. This helped us learn
about the characters’ beliefs and values.
 We know that to get a deeper understanding of what
characters are like, we should pay attention to what they say,
what they think, and what they do or how they act.
 Characters’ words, thoughts, and actions give us clues about
what they are like on the inside.
Affirm that authors bring characters to life in stories by making them speak, act,
and think. By paying attention to these details, readers can learn a lot about what
characters are like on the inside. Encourage students, as they read today, to pay
close attention to the main character Milo—his words, thoughts, and actions—to
help them understand what he is like.

Learn
Explore the Book Covers and the Map of the Lands
Beyond
WHOLE GROUP

Provide the following definitions for students to add to the New Words section of
their Vocabulary Journals.

Word Meaning Synonyms/

Examples

tollbooth (n). A small building in which

payments are collected so that
passage on or access to a roadway
can be permitted.
phantom (adj.) Seemingly real but actually not imaginary
real.
Teacher Note
Show students a picture of a tollbooth to help them visualize. Share that
historically, tollbooths could be found on some highways and roads, and at some
bridge entrances, where usage required people to pay a small fee. With
changing technology, many tollbooths have been replaced with electronic toll
readers that read license plates or deduct fees from “express” toll accounts.

Facilitate a brief, whole-group discussion about the book, inviting students to

share what they noticed, thought, and wondered about the front and back covers
of the book. Follow up with questions such as the following to prompt additional
thinking about the book:

 Knowing what the words phantom and tollbooth mean, what additional
wondering questions do you have about the story?
 Describe what you see in the cover illustration. Based on the illustration and
the title, what predictions do you have about the story, including its
characters and events?
 What kind of story do you think this will be? What makes you think so?
Teacher Note

Students will have the opportunity to share their predictions at the end of the
lesson. This is where you will be able to facilitate a conversation about the genre
of fantasy.

Instruct students to turn to the map on the first two pages of the book and silently
study the inscription under “The Lands Beyond” in the bottom right corner of the
map and the map as a whole for a few minutes.

Then, instruct students to Think-Pair-Share, and ask:

 “What do you think this map is doing here? What purpose

might it serve in the book?”
 The story might feature an imaginary place where the
characters live or visit.
 The map might help readers keep track of where the
characters in the story go.
 The blurb on the back cover mentioned a journey. Maybe
this map depicts the place where Milo will travel to in the
book.
Invite students to share names of places they notice on the map. Write these on the
board or on chart paper.
Ask:

 “What do you notice, think, and wonder about the names

of different places on the map?”
Instruct students to concentrate on the place names and add what they notice,
think, and wonder about the places on the map in the appropriate columns on the
chart in their Response Journals.

Invite students to share what they recorded with a partner, and then invite several
students to share with the whole group.

 I notice that the place names are mostly words I recognize, like
the Sea of Knowledge, the Foothills of Confusion, the Valley of
Sound, the Forest of Sight, and the Old City of Wisdom.
 I notice that most of the place names (e.g., Knowledge,
Confusion, Sight) are all common nouns.
 I notice that the words I know all have to do with our senses
and with knowing—or not knowing—things.
 I wonder: What kind of land is this, where all of the places have
names like this? What kind of characters will Milo meet in the
Lands Beyond?
Share that you noticed the inscription states that the “Lands Beyond” includes the
whole “Kingdom of Wisdom.” Invite a volunteer to share what wisdom means.
Provide the following definition for students to add to the New Words section of
their Vocabulary Journals.

Word Meaning Synonyms/Examples

wisdom Accumulated knowledge or common sense, understanding,

(n.) learning. intelligence
Instruct students to Think-Pair-Share, and ask:

 “How do some of the words you recognize on the map

relate to wisdom?”
 I think knowledge means almost the same thing
as wisdom.
 I see the word confusion. When you are confused, you don’t
have wisdom.
 I see the word ignorance. I think ignorant means not
understanding something, which is the opposite of wisdom.
 The phrase point of view has to do with how you see things.
Wisdom might depend on your point of view.
 I see the Forest of Sight and the Valley of Sound, which
have to do with our senses. We use our senses to
understand things and gain wisdom.
Encourage students to refer back to this map, as well as their Notice and Wonder
Chart, as they read The Phantom Tollbooth.

Learn
Define and Practice the Module Listening
Goal
WHOLE GROUP

Explain that great readers have academic conversations about books, and that
today, students will examine a new Listening Goal that will help them learn the
most from these conversations.

Instruct students to Think-Pair-Share, and ask:

 “What do you think the goal, visualize what others say,

might mean when we are having an academic
conversation?”
 I see the word visual in visualize, and I know that visual has
something to do with what I see.
 When I visualize I am picturing something in my mind, so
the goal might mean that we should picture what someone
else is saying.
Invite one or two students to share with the whole group.

Affirm to students that the word visualize does relate to sight. Provide the
definition for the following key term; students add this definition to the New Words
section of their Vocabulary Journals.
Word Meaning Synonyms/
Examples

visualize (v.) To see something in your head while you imagine, picture
 think about it or as it is being described.
Ask:

 “What does it look like when someone is visualizing? How

might visualizing help you learn more?”

Select one or two students to share with the whole group.

 When you visualize, you try to paint a picture in your minds of

what you are hearing or reading.
 When you visualize, you try to listen carefully and focus on
what someone is saying without getting distracted. You can’t
be speaking if you are trying to visualize.
 Visualizing can help me learn more because I will be more
likely to remember what I picture in my mind.
 Visualizing when we read or listen to a read-aloud can help us
better understand and make sense of what we are reading
and/or hearing.
Emphasize the importance of visualizing when someone is speaking or reading
aloud. Explain that whenever students are listening to someone speak or read
aloud in this module, they will practice visualizing what others say.

Share that the first read-aloud from chapter 1 of The Phantom Tollbooth will
be a great opportunity to practice visualizing, especially since they will meet the
main character, Milo, for the first time.
Invite students to listen carefully as you read aloud pages 9–11 of chapter 1, to the
line on page 11 ending “Another long afternoon.” Share that for this first read-
aloud, students will focus on listening and visualizing, rather than reading along in
their books. Do not reveal the illustration of Milo on page 10 during this read-aloud.

Teacher Note

Whenever you read aloud during the module, consider pausing to provide brief,
in-the-moment definitions of any high-priority words that your students will
likely not know, to prevent global errors in comprehension. When students are
reading independently or in pairs, support them with a student-friendly glossary
of high-priority words from the reading. Suggestions for words to include can be
found in the “Words to Know” list in Appendix B.
After reading, instruct students to take a few moments to sketch a picture of Milo
as they imagined him in their heads, based on details in the story.

Give students several minutes to draw, and then instruct students to Pair-Share
their drawings of Milo and discuss some of the details in the story that stood out
and helped them visualize Milo.

Bring the whole group back together and ask:

 “How did visualizing help you get the most out of reading
the first few pages of the novel? How did it help you learn
about the main character, Milo?”
Use Equity Sticks to select two or three students to share their responses with the
class.