Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may have become a different person?
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
30 minutes total
ByLewis Carroll
Grade6-8
Time30 minutes
Essential question
Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may have become a different person?
Marked passage
Passage location
Chapter II · The Pool of Tears
Start anchor
Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual.
End anchor
I must be Mabel after all, and I shall have to go and live in that poky little house
Passage focus
Who in the world am I?
Ways to teach it
Listening
Listen to the exact passage; visual following is optional. Same question and evidence demand.
Solo
Read the exact passage independently.
Supported
Use narration and sentence highlighting while reading the same passage.
Teacher guide
Close
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and explain why.
Evidence
Use the size changes, comparisons with Ada or Mabel, and Alice's attempts to test memory or knowledge.
Mark
Underline the physical changes Alice notices. Circle each conclusion she draws about who she might be. Star the point where a change in size becomes a question about identity.
Instructional move
Use physical instability to trigger an identity question
Notice
• What evidence does Alice actually have that she has changed? • Why does she treat bodily difference as evidence of becoming a different person? • What parts of identity would remain even if height and shape changed?
Strong answer
Alice uses bodily continuity as a test of personal continuity: if her size changes radically and her knowledge feels uncertain, perhaps she has become another girl. Physical instability becomes evidence in an identity problem.
Think
Answer provisionally: Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may have become a different person? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
Watch for
Do not answer that Alice literally believes height equals identity in a simple way. She is testing what evidence of selfhood she can still trust.
Why this passage
Alice’s changing size is a physical fact, but she uses it to question personal identity: if her body is unstable, perhaps she has become someone else. The passage shows a child using bodily continuity as evidence for a much larger philosophical question.
Write
Write a short evidence-based response to: Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may have become a different person? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
Student tasks
Mark
Underline the physical changes Alice notices. Circle each conclusion she draws about who she might be. Star the point where a change in size becomes a question about identity.
Notice
What evidence does Alice actually have that she has changed? Why does she treat bodily difference as evidence of becoming a different person? What parts of identity would remain even if height and shape changed?
Think
Answer provisionally: Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may have become a different person?
Write
Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage. Use evidence from the assigned passage. Show what you noticed and how the text supports your interpretation.
Ready-to-teach lesson
TumbleTA 6-12 · TEXT-BASED LESSON
BATCH 09 · 6-8 · LESSON 183
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may have
become a different person?
TOTAL TIME
PASSAGE
30 minutes
Who in the world am I?
FIND THE ANCHOR TEXT
Use the Anchor Text Table of Contents in the Enhanced Reader to open the START anchor. Then use the dropdown to select the END anchor.
SECTION / LOCATION
Chapter II · The Pool of Tears
START
Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual.
END
I must be Mabel after all, and I shall have to go and live in that poky little house
PASSAGE ID
sec-alice-01
THE MOVE
Use physical instability to trigger an identity question
WHY THIS PASSAGE
Alice’s changing size is a physical fact, but she uses it to question personal identity: if her body is unstable, perhaps she has become someone else. The passage shows a child using bodily continuity as evidence for a much larger philosophical question.
MARK
Underline the physical changes Alice notices. Circle each conclusion she draws about who she might be. Star the point where a change in size becomes a question about identity.
page 1
NOTICE
What evidence does Alice actually have that she has changed?
Why does she treat bodily difference as evidence of becoming a different person?
What parts of identity would remain even if height and shape changed?
THINK
Answer provisionally: Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may have become a different person? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
WRITE
Write a short evidence-based response to: Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may have become a different person? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
CLOSE
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and explain why.
STRONG ANSWER
Alice uses bodily continuity as a test of personal continuity: if her size changes radically and her knowledge feels uncertain, perhaps she has become another girl. Physical instability becomes evidence in an identity problem.
EVIDENCE
Use the size changes, comparisons with Ada or Mabel, and Alice's attempts to test memory or knowledge.
WATCH FOR
Do not answer that Alice literally believes height equals identity in a simple way. She is testing what evidence of selfhood she can still trust.
SOLO
Read the exact passage independently.
SUPPORTED
Use narration and sentence highlighting while reading the same passage.
LISTENING
Listen to the exact passage; visual following is optional. Same question and evidence demand.
page 2
STUDENT PAGE · SAME PASSAGE, SAME THINKING
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may have
become a different person?
START ANCHOR
Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual.
END ANCHOR
I must be Mabel after all, and I shall have to go and live in that poky little house
Use the Anchor Text Table of Contents in the Enhanced Reader to open the START anchor. Then use the dropdown to select the END anchor.
OPEN THE MARKED PASSAGE IN TUMBLELIT
SOLO: read independently. SUPPORTED: use narration + highlighting. LISTENING: listen to the exact passage. The question and evidence task stay the same.
1.MARK - Underline the physical changes Alice notices. Circle each conclusion she draws about
who she might be. Star the point where a change in size becomes a question about identity.
2.NOTICE - What evidence does Alice actually have that she has changed? Why does she treat
bodily difference as evidence of becoming a different person? What parts of identity would remain even if height and shape changed?
3.THINK - Answer provisionally: Why does Alice treat changing size as evidence that she may
have become a different person?
4.WRITE - Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage.
Use evidence from the assigned passage. Show what you noticed and how the text supports your interpretation.
page 3
Original printable PDF
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