Charles by Shirley Jackson

Transcription

1 Charles by Shirley Jackson This is a bundle for the short story Charles by Shirley Jackson. Included in this short story bundle are: Two different sets of questions (Good for different levels of students) Vocabulary in Context Inference Chart Answer Keys Two PowerPoint Lessons 2013 Tammy Manor

2 Charles by Shirley Jackson Directions: Answer the following questions from the short story Charles using specific details from the story. 1. Why did Laurie behave as he did at school? Why did he say that it was Charles who was guilty of all this unacceptable behavior? 2. Did you suspect the outcome of the story? Look for the clue given you very early in the story. 3. Notice that Laurie describes Charles as being bigger than he, as wearing no rubbers or jacket. What does this tell you about Laurie? 4. Did you like the way the story ended? Would you have changed the ending? If so, how would you change it? 5. What do you think was going on in the kindergarten teacher s mind as she was talking to Laurie s mother? What do you think was going on in the mind of Laurie s mother as she spoke with the teacher?

3 Charles by Shirley Jackson Directions: Answer the following questions from the short story Charles using specific details from the story. 1) Who is narrating the short story Charles? 2) According to the narrator, how did Laurie change when he started kindergarten? 3) When was Charles first mentioned in Laurie s home? Explain what he had done? 4) Explain how Charles became a household joke at Laurie s home. 5) Why were Laurie s parents looking forward to meeting his kindergarten teacher? 6) Why did Laurie s parents take so long to find out the truth about Charles? 7) Why did Laurie create the imaginary boy Charles? 8) As the story comes to an end, most of us are very surprised to learn the identity of Charles. If you go back and read the story again you may notice that the author plants clues along the way to prepare you. What clue to the identity of Charles can you find in the beginning of the story?

4 Directions: Find the sentence in the story Charles by Shirley Jackson that contains the vocabulary word and enter in the table below. Then use context clues to come up with your own definition. Vocabulary Word renounce Sentence Context Guess Definition The day my son Laurie started kindergarten he renounced corduroy overalls with bibs and began wearing blue jeans with a belt Give up To reject or disown. insolently elaborately simultaneously incredulously maneuvered

5 Name Directions: Read the context for each statement from the story Charles that appears in the chart on the left. Then make an inference in the right-hand column by responding to the question in the left-hand column. An inference in a story is a conclusion drawn from the dialogue or narrative. Dialogue or Narration 1. [Laurie] forgot to stop at the corner and wave goodbye to me. Inference What can you infer about any anxiety in Laurie about going to kindergarten? 2. At lunch [Laurie] spoke insolently to his father... What can you infer about the type of kindergarten Laurie is attending? 3. Charles wanted to color with green crayons so he hit the teacher and she spanked him and said nobody play with Charles but everybody did. What can you infer about how Charles is regarded by his classmates? 4. What are they going to do about Charles, do you suppose? What can you infer about how the father communicates with his son? 5. We don t have any Charles in the kindergarten. What can you infer about who is responsible for the bad behavior in kindergarten?

6 Charles by Shirley Jackson Directions: Answer the following questions from the short story Charles using specific details from the story. 1. Why did Laurie behave as he did at school? Why did he say that it was Charles who was guilty of all this unacceptable behavior? He was most likely looking for attention at home but he didn t want to get in trouble. He wasn t getting enough attention because of the new baby. 2. Did you suspect the outcome of the story? Look for the clue given you very early in the story. Answers will vary but some students will say that the fact that everyone had to stay after school was a major clue. 3. Notice that Laurie describes Charles as being bigger than he, as wearing no rubbers or jacket. What does this tell you about Laurie? Maybe Charles looks like what Laurie wants to look like. 4. Did you like the way the story ended? Would you have changed the ending? If so, how would you change it? Answers will vary 5. What do you think was going on in the kindergarten teacher s mind as she was talking to Laurie s mother? What do you think was going on in the mind of Laurie s mother as she spoke with the teacher? Answers will vary but students might say something about how the kindergarten teacher probably thinks that Laurie s mother is a lousy parent. Laurie s mother is embarrassed but is probably wondering why she wasn t contacted.

7 Charles by Shirley Jackson Directions: Answer the following questions from the short story Charles using specific details from the story. 1) Who is narrating the short story Charles? Laurie s mother is the narrator 2) According to the narrator, how did Laurie change when he started kindergarten? He changed his clothing, he started using bad grammar and he was rude to his father. 3) When was Charles first mentioned in Laurie s home? Explain what he had done? He was mentioned the first day of school. 4) Explain how Charles became a household joke at Laurie s home. When someone in the house did something bad they would say, Looks like Charles. 5) Why were Laurie s parents looking forward to meeting his kindergarten teacher? They were curious about Charles mother and they wanted to hear more about him. 6) Why did Laurie s parents take so long to find out the truth about Charles? They missed the first PTA meeting because the baby was sick. 7) Why did Laurie create the imaginary boy Charles? He probably wanted attention that he hasn t been getting since the baby was born. 8) As the story comes to an end, most of us are very surprised to learn the identity of Charles. If you go back and read the story again you may notice that the author plants clues along the way to prepare you. What clue to the identity of Charles can you find in the beginning of the story? Answers will vary but some students will say that the fact that everyone had to stay after school was a major clue.

8 Directions: Find the sentence in the story Charles by Shirley Jackson that contains the vocabulary word and enter in the table below. Then use context clues to come up with your own definition. Vocabulary Word renounce Sentence Context Guess Definition The day my son Laurie started kindergarten he renounced corduroy overalls with bibs and began wearing blue jeans with a belt Give up To reject or disown. insolently At lunch he spoke insolently to his father, spilled his baby sister s milk, and remarked that his teacher said we were not to take the name of the Lord in vain. From the way the sentence is written you can guess that the word is negative. boldly rude or disrespectful elaborately How was school today? I asked, elaborately casual. The word was being italicized To work out carefully or minutely; develop to perfection simultaneously On Tuesday Laurie remarked suddenly, Our teacher had a friend come to see her in school today. Charles s mother? my husband and I asked simultaneously. My husband and I Occurring at the same time

9 Name Directions: Read the context for each statement from the story Charles that appears in the chart on the left. Then make an inference in the right-hand column by responding to the question in the left-hand column. An inference in a story is a conclusion drawn from the dialogue or narrative Dialogue or Narration 1. [Laurie] forgot to stop at the corner and wave goodbye to me. What can you infer about any anxiety in Laurie about going to kindergarten? 2. At lunch [Laurie] spoke insolently to his father... What can you infer about the type of kindergarten Laurie is attending? 3. Charles wanted to color with green crayons so he hit the teacher and she spanked him and said nobody play with Charles but everybody did. What can you infer about how Charles is regarded by his classmates? 4. What are they going to do about Charles, do you suppose? What can you infer about how the father communicates with his son? 5. We don t have any Charles in the kindergarten. Inference He had no anxiety. He was anxious to go to school. He s going to half day kindergarten. They think he s funny and he s become popular. He tries to be casual with Laurie and treats him like an equal. Laurie is the real Charles. What can you infer about who is responsible for the bad behavior in kindergarten?

10 Thank you so much for purchasing my bundle for the short story Charles by Shirley Jackson. Included in this short story bundle are: Two different sets of questions (Good for different levels of students) Vocabulary in Context Inference Chart Answer Keys Two PowerPoint Lessons The cover font was made by Rowdy in Room 300. Don t forget to leave feedback so that you can earn your TpT credits. Follow my TpT store to learn about new products and sales. Follow me on Facebook or Pinterest for education related posts. Once again thank you for the purchase. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Tammy Manor JugglingELA@gmail.com Have you thought about selling your own teaching resources? If so, you can sign-up on teacherspayteachers.com here: Referred by Tammy Manor Link for New Sellers