The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
Section 1 pages 1-30

Character Sketcher
Your job is to sketch one of the following characters: Digory, Polly or Uncle Andrew

Discussion Director
Your job is to ask 5 questions, the answers to your questions and the page and paragraph where the answers are to be found (if possible). Ask the following:

• 1 Prediction Question
• 1 “Thinking” Question
• 2 Cause/Effect Question
• 1 Fact

Passage Picker
Pick 4 passages that exhibit the following

• 2 Descriptive
• 1 Figurative language
• 1 On your own

Word Wizard
Your job is to complete your role sheet the following words:

• Humming: page 13, paragraph 2
• Pantomime: page 14, paragraph 5
• Bureau: page 20, paragraph 6
• Harp: page 22, paragraph 3
 

Investigator
Uncle Andrew claimed that the material that he used to create the traveling rings was from the island of Atlantis. Your job is to investigate, either online or in the library, the lost island of Atlantis. http://www.activemind.com/Mysterious/Topics/Atlantis/index.html

Find an article that you can share with your group, which provides a history of the island.

You may consider answering the following questions:

Where was the lost city?

When did it exist?

Who were the inhabitants?

Why did people choose to live there?

What happened to the island?

What are some characteristics of the environment?
 
 

Examples of the Jobs for Section I
 

Discussion Director

1. Cause/Effect:
Polly was transformed to another world. What caused her to leave this world?

Answer: She picked up one of Uncle Andrew’s yellow rings. Page 17, Paragraph 6

2. Opinion:
What do you think Polly is experiencing in the other world?

3. Prediction:
Do you think Uncle Andrew will receive a punishment for tricking the children?

4. Cause/Effect:
Why was Digory crying when Polly met him?

Answer: He had to move to London and his father was away and his mother was sick. Page 5, Paragraph 2

5. Fact
Lucy saw some beautiful rings in Uncle Andrew’s office. What were the colors of the rings?

Answer: The rings were either yellow or green. Page 13, Paragraph 1
 

 

Passage Picker


1. Page 13, Paragraph 1
2. But what/her mouth
3. Descriptive
4. This passage is descriptive type of passage because it describes the appearance of the magical rings.
5. What is significant about the different colors of the rings?
6. This passage gives a strong physical description of the rings. This description is important since the rings seem to play a vital role in the remainder of the story.

1. Page 14, Paragraph 5
2. The high/Uncle Andrew
3. Figurative language
4. This passage is an example of both a figurative language passage and a passage of foreshadowing. The line “like a pantomime” is an example of a simile, which makes this a figurative language passage. The passage shows foreshadowing by giving the reader the impression that Uncle Andrew may be like a “demon.”
5. Do you think this description of Uncle Andrew’s appearance will actually correlate with Uncle Andrew’s behavior?
6. The author included this passage in the story to provide the reader with an apprehensive attitude towards Uncle Andrew.

1. Page 23, Paragraph 6
2. Only dust/like fireworks
3. On your own
4. This passage is informative, because it tells the reader about the magical material that was used to create the rings.
5. What would you have done if you had found a box that contained dust?
6. The author included this passage to explain to the reader of the magic that is obtained in the rings.

1. Page 28, Paragraph 5
2. They only/dropping it
3. Descriptive
4. This passage is descriptive, because it explains to the reader how the magical rings must be used in order to work.
5. Do you think that Digory may accidentally touch a ring when he is not meaning to touch a ring?
6. The author included this passage in the story to explain to the reader the directions of using the magical rings.
 
 

Character Sketcher
Uncle Andrew

 

Character Traits

1. Wily
Page 26, paragraph 3 and 4

Uncle Andrew was wily when he sends Polly into a different world without providing her with the means to return to her world.

2. Mysterious
Page 6, paragraph 3

Uncle Andrew was mysterious, because his sister would not allow him to speak to Digory and he spent the majority of his time in his forbidden study.

3. Intelligent
Page 18, paragraph 7

Uncle Andrew showed his intelligence by creating a ring that could transfer people into a New World.

Character Goal:

Uncle Andrew’s goal is to discover new worlds, but he did not want to personally do any of the exploring

Problem:

Uncle Andrew’s problem is he has to depend on children to provide him with the information that he desires.

Solution or Possible Solution:

A possible solution to Uncle Andrew’s problem is that the children do exactly what he wants and safely bring back to him the information that he craves.



 
 
 

Word Wizard


1. Harp, page 22, paragraph 3
2. “How do you harp on that!”
3. Verb, to stick with or continue to think about
4. Verb, to continuously dwell on a subject
5. This word shows the apathetic attitude that Uncle Andrew has towards Polly’s disappearance.

1. Humming: page 13 paragraph 2
2. “There was a faint-a very, very faint-humming sound.”
3. Verb, a buzzing sound
4. Verb, making a buzzing or speech sound
5. This word provides the reader with a feel of the power that these magical rings possess.
 
 


 
 
 



1. Pantomime: page 14, paragraph 5
2. “like a pantomime demon coming up out of a trapdoor”
3. Noun, expression
4. Noun, expression created by only bodily or facial movements.
5. This word not only shows what Uncle Andrew looked like in the study, but this descriptive word is foreshadowing the true character of Uncle Andrew.

1. Bureau: page 20, paragraph 6
2. “ It was only a few days before her death that she told me to go to an old bureau in her house….”
3. Noun, dresser or chest of drawers
4. Noun, chest of drawers
5. Uncle Andrew found the material, to create the magical rings, in a secret drawer in a bureau. This tells the reader of the importance and power that this material obtains, since it was hiding in a bureau.
 


 
 
 


Investigator

The Story of Atlantis

 
Over 11,000 years ago there existed an island nation located in the middle of the Atlantic ocean populated by a noble and powerful race. The people of this land possessed great wealth thanks to the natural resources found throughout their island. The island was a center for trade and commerce. The rulers of this land held sway over the people and land of their own island and well into Europe and Africa.
This was the island of Atlantis.
Atlantis was the domain of Poseidon, god of the sea. When Poseidon fell in love with a mortal woman, Cleito, he created a dwelling at the top of a hill near the middle of the island and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her.
Cleito gave birth to five sets of twin boys who became the first rulers of Atlantis. The island was divided among the brothers with the eldest, Atlas, first King of Atlantis, being given control over the central hill and surrounding areas.
At the top of the central hill, a temple was built to honor Poseidon which housed a giant gold statue of Poseidon riding a chariot pulled by winged horses. It was here that the rulers of Atlantis would come to discuss laws, pass judgments, and pay tribute to Poseidon..
To facilitate travel and trade, a water canal was cut through of the rings of land and water running south for 5.5 miles (~9 km) to the sea.
The city of Atlantis sat just outside the outer ring of water and spread across the plain covering a circle of 11 miles (1.7 km). This was a densely populated area where the majority of the population lived.
Beyond the city lay a fertile plain 330 miles (530 km) long and 110 miles (190 km) wide surrounded by another canal used to collect water from the rivers and streams of the mountains. The climate was such that two harvests were possible each year. One in the winter fed by the rains and one in the summer fed by irrigation from the canal.
Surrounding the plain to the north were mountains which soared to the skies. Villages, lakes, rivers, and meadows dotted the mountains.
Besides the harvests, the island provided all kinds of herbs, fruits, and nuts. An abundance of animals, including elephants, roamed the island.
For generations the Atlanteans lived simple, virtuous lives. But slowly they began to change. Greed and power began to corrupt them. When Zeus saw the immorality of the Atlanteans he gathered the other gods to determine a suitable punishment.
Soon, in one violent surge it was gone. The island of Atlantis, its people, and its memory were swallowed by the sea.
 
This is a summary of the story told by Plato around 360 BC in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias. These writings of Plato are the only specific known references to Atlantis. They have prompted controversy and debate for over two thousand years.