Warm-up
1. Play two short videos of excerpts or trailers of children's favorite fantasy movies.
2. After viewing each video clip, ask students the following questions:
• Which parts of the movie could happen in real life?
• Which parts are imaginary?
• Do any of the characters have traits that you wouldn't see in real life? For example, do any characters have magical powers? Are there any nonhuman characters that talk and act like humans?
3. Explain that stories that take place in imaginary worlds are considered fantasy. Ask students if they can think of other examples of fantasy in books, television shows, or movies.
Picturing Imaginary Words
1. Tell students that they will learn about a writer and artist named Lewis Carroll who created imaginary worlds through his poems, stories, and photographs. Display a reproduction of Saint George and the Dragon. Allow students to spend time looking closely at the work of art and then ask them for their initial observations. Lead a discussion about the photograph using the following questions:
• What do you notice about what the children are wearing? What does their clothing tell you?
• What do you notice about the props? What do the props tell you about what is going on?
2. Tell students that Carroll liked to stage tableaux. Invite four students to volunteer to create a tableau imitating the poses of the four children in the photograph. As students pose, ask the rest of the class to look closely at the photograph and provide suggestions on how the student volunteers could more accurately mimic the poses in the picture. After students notice more details, ask them what they think is going on in the photograph.
3. Inform students that Carroll had a great imagination and liked fantasy and storytelling. He even made up his name (his real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). He kept costumes and props in his photo studio, and the children in the photograph are acting out a tale in which a hero named Saint George slays a dragon. Ask students if they see a dragon in the photograph. Tell them that the children in the picture were playing make-believe and appeared to use objects around the studio for props and costumes. Point out the leopard-skin rug used as the costume for the dragon. Ask students if they have ever played make-believe, and if so, invite them to share some of their favorite memories and what they used for costumes and props.
4. Tell students that Carroll often took pictures of children dressed up as characters from stories, such as the mythological character of Achilles (see related work of art). Carroll also wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (Versions of the book are available on the Project Gutenberg Web site at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19033.) Ask students to share what they know about the story of Alice in Wonderland. Make connections to characteristics of fantasy as appropriate.
5. Tell students that they will create tableaux depicting a fantastical character or plot. You may connect this activity to fantasy stories in your curriculum or to popular myths or legends. Provide students with a variety of costumes and props. Remind them to use their imagination when selecting the items for use in their tableaux.
6. Depending on the availability of cameras and age of your students, take pictures of the tableaux or have your students take pictures of their peers. If students take the pictures, have the photographers experiment with where they stand in relation to the tableaux in order to create different effects. For example, students could compare the intimacy of the close-up view of the characters in Julia Margaret Cameron's Parting of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere with Carroll's photograph, which was captured far enough away to include elements of the setting. You may also wish to use an app to give the picture an "old-fashioned" sepia tone.
7. Print out students' pictures, mount each one on a piece of butcher paper, and set aside.
Writing about Imaginary Worlds and Words
1. Tell students that just as they created tableaux inspired by Carroll's photograph, they will write poetry inspired by one of his poems. Distribute copies of Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky." Read the poem aloud dramatically or play a video of an actor reciting the poem. Ask students to summarize what is happening in the poem.
2. Tell students that Carroll not only made up stories and characters but also invented (or coined) words.
3. Focus on a few words in the poem and discuss why they still "make sense."
• Jabberwock (stanza 2, line 1)—A proper name of an imaginary character. (You may wish to point out other imaginary characters from fantasy movies with made-up names, such as Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter.)
• frabjous (stanza 6, line 3)—Sounds like a combination of real words: fabulous, joyous, and fair. (You may wish to point out other examples of invented words from popular media, such as dementor in Harry Potter, which sounds like a combination of demented and tormentor.)
• snicker-snack (stanza 5, line 2)—The term imitates the sound of the blade slaying the Jabberwock and is thus an example of onomatopoeia. Ask students to identify other examples of onomatopoeia in the poem.
4. Pair up students and assign each pair one of the seven stanzas of the poem. To help students comprehend the meaning of each line, have them work with their partners to replace the coined words with real words that they think would fit. Depending on students' level of proficiency, they could also identify whether each coined word is a noun, adjective, or verb.
5. Tell students that they will write poems inspired by one of their own photographs. Display around the room the pieces of butcher paper with students' pictures mounted on them. Have students roam around the room and select one that they would like to write about.
6. Group students according to which photograph they selected—one group per photograph. Have each group work together to brainstorm a list of words and phrases to describe their selected picture. Have them coin words for some of the actions and characters in the scene. Help them create their own words through the following prompts:
• Give your characters imaginary names.
• Select one syllable from two different words. Put them together to create a new word.
• What makes a sound in your picture? What does it sound like, and how would you spell out that sound to create an onomatopoeic word?
7. Have students use both real words and coined words and phrases in original poems based on their photographs.
8. Invite students to read their poems aloud in front of their photographs.
Extension
Have students draw what they think the Jabberwock looks like.
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Common Core Standards for English Language Arts
Grades 3–8
Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Language
3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
Speaking and Listening
SL.3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.3.2 Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
SL.3.3 Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.
Grade 4
Speaking and Listening
SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4
SL.4.2 Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
SL.4.3 Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker or media source provides to support particular points.
Grade 5
Speaking and Listening
SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.5.2 Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
SL.5.3 Summarize the points a speaker or media source makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence, and identify and analyze any logical fallacies.
Grade 6
Speaking and Listening
SL.6.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.6.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
Grade 7
Speaking and Listening
SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.7.2 Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.
Grade 8
Speaking and Listening
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Common Core College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards
Grades 3–8
R.CCR.1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
R.CCR.4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
R.CCR.7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
W.CCR.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
SL.CCR.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Visual Arts Content Standards for California State Public Schools
Grade 3
5.0 Connections, Relationships, Applications
5.2 Write a poem or story inspired by their own works of art.
Grade 4
3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 Describe how art plays a role in reflecting life (e.g., in photography, quilts, architecture).
Grade 5
2.0 Creative Expression
2.3 Demonstrate beginning skill in the manipulation of digital imagery (e.g., computer-generated art, digital photography, or videography).
Grade 6
2.0 Creative Expression
2.4 Create increasingly complex original works of art reflecting personal choices and increased technical skill.
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
4.1 Construct and describe plausible interpretations of what they perceive in works of art.
Grade 7
2.0 Creative Expression
2.6 Create an original work of art, using film, photography, computer graphics, or video.
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
4.2 Analyze the form (how a work of art looks) and content (what a work of art communicates) of works of art.
Grade 8
2.0 Creative Expression
2.3 Create an original work of art, using film, photography, computer graphics, or video.
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
4.2 Develop a theory about the artist's intent in a series of works of art, using reasoned statements to support personal opinions.
4.3 Construct an interpretation of a work of art based on the form and content of the work.
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