Transcript The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster
A Literary Quest for 6 Grade
Collaboration, Exploration and
Imagination
A Literary Adventure
 I first read The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, as
an adult. I became enamored with the book, its
figurative language, wordplay, and the sheer creativity of
making language come alive and represent something
completely unique. While reading the book, it is almost
impossible NOT to think of the immense educational
opportunities for students. As with any good book, every
time I re-read The Phantom Tollbooth, I discover
something new or interpret a familiar passage in a
completely new way! Join me as we take a quick
journey along with Milo, to see how to incorporate The
Phantom Tollbooth into an amazing learning adventure!
Meet Milo
“It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time,” he remarked one day as he walked dejectedly
home from school. And, since no one bothered to explain otherwise, he regarded the process of seeking
knowledge as the greatest waste of time of all. (9)
 Like many of our students, Milo would rather be
somewhere else, doing something else. Nothing
captures his attention for long, for he’s
perpetually bored and restless.
 In the story, Milo returns home after a typical
non-eventful school day, to discover a large box
in his room. With its contents, Milo constructs a
magical tollbooth which transports him to the
Kingdom of Wisdom. He is given a map, some
coins to pay the toll, precautionary road signs,
and a book of rules and traffic regulations.
The Tollbooth
“One genuine turnpike tollbooth…easily assembled at home, and for use by those who have never
traveled in lands beyond.” (12) “Results are not guaranteed, but if not perfectly satisfied, your
wasted time will be refunded.” – Tollbooth directions (13)
 In the world of education, our tollbooth is the school door; The map, our
curriculum; Our kingdom, the school building; Our traveling companions, the
other faculty and staff; The traveler, our students. As educators, how can we
ensure that our students get the most out of their educational travels?
 Media specialists have the advantage of working with the entire faculty
and student body, knowing the entire curriculum, and having the skills to
incorporate collaboration and information literacy into every aspect of
education.
 How can media specialists help teachers integrate literature and
collaboration into many of their lessons? By thinking outside of the box
(or through the tollbooth), media specialists have a unique opportunity to
introduce teachers to literature that meets a variety of curriculum needs,
with methods and ideas to peak student interest. Danny Callison
states, “Collaboration does not take place because on an educator
needs the other’s expertise as much as the collaboration is built on
shared goals and knowledge that are enriched by a partnership for
instruction.” (2001)
Instructions for Assembly
The following slides are a combination of ideas and learning opportunities presented
within the context of The Phantom Tollbooth, as they could be suggested by a media
specialist to teachers. They can be used to support comprehension of the book or to
expand upon the book’s ideas to enhance student learning. I’ve included an
occasional standard from the Fourth Grade Indiana Academic Standards, to
demonstrate how these activities meet additional educational standards as well. The
slides follow the plot, as Milo makes his way through the Kingdom of Wisdom.
Throughout the slides, I’ve added a few cautionary road signs of my own, to aid in
our exploration. Be sure to look for the following signs:

Stop Sign: Journal or inquiry opportunities

Slow Sign: Take time to enjoy these fun activities

Curves Ahead: Multiple educational opportunities rolled into one concept

Detour: An idea for extended study
The tollbooth has been constructed. Open your book and your minds. It’s time for our
journey to begin.
Expectations
“Expectations is the place you must always go before you get to where you are going. Of course,
some people never get beyond Expectations.” – the Whether Man (19)
 Through the tollbooth, the first person Milo
encounters is the Whether man. The Whether Man
predicts not the weather, but whether people can
make their own decisions.
 Can you define “whether”?
 Place “whether” in a sentence with a clear context
clue.
 We should try to meet them whether it's raining or
not.
The Doldrums
“Well,” continued the Watchdog, “since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to
expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking.” Milo began to think as hard as he
could…And as he thought, the wheels began to turn.” (31)
 It is here that Milo meets Tock the Watchdog, a dog
whose body is made of a large clock. Explore compound
words (language arts). Explore time zones (geography);
time as years, months, weeks, hours, minutes, etc…
 In the Doldrums, Milo encounters the Lethargarians, who
promote laziness. What can we do to give our bodies
energy? Discuss proper nutrition and exercise. (health,
physical education)
Dictionopolis
 In Dictionopolis, the word market is like a Scrabble game.
In Scrabble, letters are given point values according to
their use- the more frequently a letter is used, the lower
the point value. In the word market, letters “taste”
according to their use, the more frequently the letter is
used, the sweeter it tastes. Using Scrabble tiles, add up
the values of this week’s spelling words. Which word has
the most points? Which word has the least? Which word
would taste the best? Why?
 In small groups, view one page or paragraph of a book.
Begin to count: Which word occurs most frequently?
Which letter is used most frequently? How many words
in a sentence? How many sentences in a paragraph?
How can we show this information in a graph?
 Spelling Bee- Spell this week’s words or frequently used
vocabulary.
King Azaz the Unabridged- Ruler
of Dictionopolis
 King Azaz the Unabridged is the ruler of
Dictionopolis. The Media Specialist can review or
introduce the following literacy skills and
terminology- abridged vs. unabridged; the use of
dictionary guide words; the use of dictionary versus a
thesaurus.
 The members of the Dictionopolis Cabinet use as
many words as possible to explain a situation.
Explore synonyms- write 8 words to describe you,
then look them up in thesaurus to find synonyms to
those words. How can we enrich our writing by
using synonyms?
Faintly Macabre
“…today people use as many words as they can and think themselves very wise for doing
so. For always remember that while it is wrong to use too few words, it is far worse to use
too many.” - Faintly Macabre (68).
 To Faintly Macabre (a which, not a witch), “Silence is Golden”.
Explore figurative language: clichés, metaphors, similes,
oxymoron, puns, irony, etc…What kinds of phrases do you hear
your parents or grandparents say? What kinds of phrases do you
say? Explore popular sayings or phrases from recent decades
and compare them to current language trends. (example: groovy
vs. sweet)
 Compare and contrast sentences that essentially have the same
meaning, but contain a significantly different number of words.
Which sentence sounds better? Which is easiest to understand?
In what situation is each sentence more appropriate?
The Princesses Sweet Rhyme and
Pure Reason
 It was the princesses who kept harmony in the
Kingdom of Wisdom. Discuss why King Azaz and
the Mathemagician are at war. Why do these two
kingdoms disagree? What types of characters are
found in each kingdom? Think of reasons why
countries go to war today. What, besides rhyme and
reason, can bring peace to our world?
The Royal Feast
 Milo learns at the Royal Feast that he must
eat his words. Ask the assistance of the
Cafeteria Staff to create word pancakes
(students write words with batter onto a
griddle using a ketchup bottle). Other
options: alphabet soup, Alphabets cereal.
Similar to Milo, students must create a three
word speech to eat.
Chroma the Great and the
Colorful Symphony
 Discuss colors and interpret how they make us feel. Look
at a variety of paintings and discuss how color impacts
what the painting/ artist is trying to convey.
 listen to a variety of symphony performances. How does
the music evoke feeling? If they were playing colors,
what colors do you “hear”?
 Chroma’s symphony plays the colors of the world, without
which, the world would look like a blank coloring book- a
white background with black lines. Allow for “coloring
time” while listening to symphony pieces. Did the music
inspire you to color a certain way or use specific colors?
Dr. Dischord & Dynne
 Dynne has collected all of the sounds.
 How do Deaf people function effectively and happily in a world
without sound? Have small groups construct an inquiry about the
various methods used by the Deaf in a hearing world.
 (communication: sign language, oral communication, TTD devices,
e-mail; everyday devices used by the Deaf such as vibrating alarm
clocks, hearing aids, closed captioning, flashing lights connected to
doorbells and baby monitors, hearing dogs, etc…)
The Island of Conclusions
“Now will you tell me where we are?” asked Tock as he looked around the desolate island. “To be sure,
“ said Canby; “you’re on the island of Conclusions.”… “But how did we get here?” asked Milo… “You
jumped of course,” explained Canby, “…every time you decide something without having a good reason,
you jump to Conclusions…” (168)
 With the PE teacher, explore “moveable” figurative
language phrases: hop to it, jump to conclusions, run
amok, spring into action, roll with the punches, on a
roll, walk in someone else’s shoes, rub elbows, kick
the bucket, etc...
 Explore idioms.
 Canby is introduced only if Milo can figure out the
riddle. Explore the jokes, riddles, puns, limericks,
poetry, plays, etc…
Stop and Pay Your Toll
 Journal: Now that Milo has encountered
Dictionopolis, what do you think will happen
when he visits a place called Digitopolis? What
might it be like there? Who might be the Ruler?
How will Milo behave, as you know him from
home and from his travels thus far?
Digitopolis
 Create your own Digitopolis resident.
The Mathemagician- Ruler of
Digitopolis
 The Mathemagician’s circular office corresponds
to the points of a compass. Explore direction,
using and reading maps and keys, using a
compass. Map the playground or your own
version of the Kingdom of Wisdom.
The Land of Infinity…sort of.
“Where the tallest, the shortest, the biggest, the smallest, and the most and the least of
everything are kept.” – The Mathemagician (191)
 Explore the term infinity.
 Explore averages: What is the average amount of
rainfall in Indiana? The USA? How many times a
day do we change classrooms on average? How
many people in the classroom eat hot lunch in a
week on average?
 Like The Mathemagician’s letter to King Azaz, write a
letter using numbers only. (each letter of the
alphabet corresponds to its number within the
alphabet. A=1, B=2, etc…) Decode a classmate’s
letter.
Stop and Pay Your Toll
 King Azaz and the Mathemagician were afraid Milo would
fail to rescue the princesses if he knew the task was
impossible. Journal: Why do you think Milo agreed to the
task? In what ways did Milo change from the boy he was
before discovering the tollbooth?
 How is the Kingdom of Wisdom like your school or like
your community? In small groups, construct a board
game to demonstrate your school or community.
The Castle in the Air
 Throughout his travels, Milo’s new friends gave him the
tools he needed to be successful in rescuing the
Princesses Sweet Rhyme and Pure Reason. As
educators, we too, give our students the tools to be
successful. Milo’s traveling companions helped to
remind him of what he had and how to use it, and so
must we remind students of how their prior knowledge
and skills continue to assist them in new endeavors.
 As Rhyme reminds Milo, “…many places that you would
like to see are just off the map and many things you want
to know are just out of sight or a little beyond your reach.
But someday, you’ll reach them all, for what you learn
today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the
wonderful secrets of tomorrow.”
Avoid the Terrible Trivium!
“I am the Terrible Trivium, demon of petty tasks and worthless jobs, ogre of wasted effort and monster of
habit.” (213)
 It is easy to rely on workbooks and texts to guide our educational
instruction. How much more interesting and valuable it can be for
both students and educators to add inquiry and collaboration to our
instruction. But, it’s not easy…
 As the Terrible Trivium tells Milo, “Think of all the trouble it saves…
If you only do the easy and useless jobs, you’ll never have to worry
about the important ones which are so difficult.”
 By enriching classroom activities with literature, or vice versa, we
open new doors of discovery for our students. I hope that you’ve
been as intrigued by Milo’s world as I am, and I hope that this brief
presentation has been like a tollbooth to new kingdoms of ideas for
you as educators. Our ride stops here, but the journey
continues…in your classroom.
Words of Wisdom from Rhyme and
Reason:
 “You must never feel badly about making
mistakes,” explained Reason quietly, “as long as
you take the trouble to learn from them. For you
often learn more by being wrong for the right
reasons, than you do by being right for the wrong
reasons.” (233)
 “…but it’s not just learning things that’s important.
It’s learning what to do with what you learn and
learning why you learn things at all that matters.”
- Rhyme (223)
Perhaps a Smaller Kingdom?
 Though a wide variety of
units and areas of study
have been explored here,
one could instead create a
kingdom within a classroomset up a variety of stations
for students to explore some
of these activities and work
their way through Milo’s
journey. Students can create
a map and journal their
experiences as they move
through the story.
 Dictionopolis: use the




dictionary, thesaurus
Digitopolis: fractions,
tangrams, time,
measurement
Valley of Sound: using
headphones-listen to
symphony music
Conduct with Chroma:
create your own
colorful world.
The Doldrums: relax
and read