Gretchen L. Gallagher
Objectives:
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1. After listening to portions of
The Jungle Book
read by the teacher, the students will
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-orally answer literal and inferential questions
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-predict outcomes and draw conclusions
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-summarize parts of the story
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-sequence events using a timeline
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2. After the teacher has completed reading the section of The Jungle Book the students will
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-complete a story board which contains setting, characters, and beginning, middle and ending events from the story
Materials:
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The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling
-copies of the timeline included at the end of this unit, one for each child
-copies of the story board included at the end of this unit, one for each child
Procedure:
The Jungle Book
is made up of seven stories, three of which are about Mowgli and his adventures. Only these three stories will be read to the students for the purposes of this unit. These stories will be read in portions, or chunks. After each portion, the teacher should ask questions of the students. Sample questions are included here, but the teacher should not feel limited to these questions.
A.”Mowgli’s Brothers”
In this story, an infant Mowgli crawls into the wolves’ den and is adopted by Mother and Father Wolf who protect him from Shere Khan, the tiger who wants to kill Mowgli, and from the other wolves who want him to return to the man’s village. The wolves allow Mowgli to stay after Baloo and Bagheera promise to care for him and to teach him the Law of the Jungle. The story then jumps ahead ten years, to a time when Akela, the leader of the wolf pack, is about to be killed because he is old and weak. Mowgli, using fire, saves his own life and that of Akela. He then goes to the man’s village to live, but vows to return and to kill Shere Khan.
Questions:
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1. p. 3-13
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What did Mother and Father Wolf name the baby that crawled into their cave?
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Why do you think they called him “Little Frog”?
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Why did Shere Khan want to kill Mowgli?
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Why don’t the wolves like Shere Khan?
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2. p. 14-20
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Who promised to teach Mowgli the “Law of the Jungle?”
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What price did Bagheera pay to allow Mowgli to stay with the pack?
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Why do you think Mowgli was not afraid to be with the wolves and panthers?
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3. p. 20-31
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How many years have gone by?
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What do you think Mowgli’s life was like during those ten years?
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Why do the animals want to kill Mowgli?
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What is the Red Flower?
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4. p. 32-40
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How did Mowgli save Akela’s life?
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Why did Mowgli return to the man’s village?
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What promise did Mowgli make before he left?
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Do you think he will keep this promise?
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How did Mowgli feel about leaving the jungle?
After finishing the first story about Mowgli, the students will fill in their timeliness with the assistance of the teacher. This is especially important because this first story tells about the beginning of Mowgli’s life in the jungle, and then skips ahead ten years. The next story, “Kaa’s Hunting,” goes back and fills in part of the empty space that the ten year gap left in the tale.
B. “Kaa’s Hunting”
The second story in
The Jungle Book
describes an event which occurred during the ten years while Mowgli was growing up in the jungle. A few years before Mowgli was asked to leave the wolf pack, he was kidnapped by the Monkey People, the Bandar-log, who took him to the ruins of what was once a wealthy, beautiful city. Baloo and Bagheera enlisted the help of their acquaintance Kaa, the python, in rescuing Mowgli. Once they have saved Mowgii, Kaa charmed the monkeys and then feasted upon them.
Questions:
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1. p. 45-.56
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Why did the jungle animals dislike the Monkey People?
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Why did Mowgli first go to speak with the Monkey People?
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Why did the Monkey People want Mowgii to live with them?
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Do you think Mowgii will go to live with the Monkey People?
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2. p. 56-69
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How do you think Mowgli felt swinging through the tops of the trees with the Monkey People, being taken from his friends?
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Who told Baloo and Bagheera where Mowgli was?
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How did Baloo and Bagheera feel when they discovered what had happened to Mowgli? Who did Baloo and Bagheera ask to help them find Mowgii? Do you think they will rescue Mowgii?
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3. p. 69-77
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Where did the Monkey People take Mowgli? What did Mowgli think of the Monkey People?
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Do you think that the Monkey People will be able to keep Mowgli in their city?
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Why did Bagheera and Kaa leave Baloo behind as they rushed to save Mowgii?
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4. p. 77-92
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Why didn’t the Poison People (the snakes) hurt Mowgli?
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Who frightened the Monkey People away from Baloo and Bagheera?
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How do you think Mowgli felt when he saw his friends?
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What did Mowgli promise Baloo, Bagheera, and Kaa to thank them for saving him?
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How did Kaa charm or mesmerize the monkeys, Baloo, and Bagheera?
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Why didn’t Kaa’s charms work on Mowgli?
Again, upon completion of this second story, the students will review the sequence of events and continue to fill in their timeliness They will only write important details in the timeline, and this will help them to summarize the story when they have finished it.
C. “Tiger! Tiger!”
The last of the three Mowgli tales in
The Jungle Book
picks up where the first story leaves off. Mowgli has left the jungle, and has been “adopted” by a woman whose son was killed in the jungle. He had difficulty adjusting to life in the village, but was allowed to herd buffaloes, which made him feel more comfortable. During the several months that he was in the man’s village, Mowgli spoke with Grey Brother, one of Mother Wolf’s cubs. Mowgli, with the help of Grey Brother, Akela, and the buffaloes, successfully trampled Shere Khan to death. The villagers forced him to leave after this triumph because they believed he was a sorcerer who could make animals do his bidding. Mowgli returned to the jungle, but not as leader of the wolf pack. He decided to hunt alone, but for the company of Baloo and Bagheera and his wolf brothers.
Questions:
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1. p. 97-107
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Why was it difficult for Mowgli to stay inside the man’s huts?
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Why did Messua “adopt” Mowgli?
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How did Mowgli find out what was happening in the jungle?
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How did the other children treat Mowgli?
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Why didn’t he get angry at them?
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What job was given to Mowgii?
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Do you think he will do this job well?
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Why?
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2. p. 107-115
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Who has returned to Mowgli’s part of the jungle?
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What is it like to herd buffalo?
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Who has come to help Mowgli kill Shere Khan?
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3. p. 115-127
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How did Mowgii, Grey Brother, and Akela kill Shere Khan?
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Who tried to steal the tiger skin from Mowgli?
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Why did the villagers chase Mowgli from their village?
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Where did Mowgli go to live?
Upon the completion of these tales, the students will finish their timeliness The children will review the events of the story in preparation for making their story boards.
D. Storyboard Activity
A storyboard is used by film-makers when they are planning how they will shoot each scene. The screenplay, or in this case, the story, is represented pictorially so that the director will be able to clearly set up each shot and to shoot it correctly. The storyboard will be used in this case to reinforce the main details of the story that the children just heard, and also to prepare them to view the film versions of
The Jungle Book
. In completing their own storyboards, they will feel as though they were the ones to create or direct a film version of the story they have just heard. They will also be able to see whether the events that they chose to include in their storyboards were included in the films they have seen.
The teacher may copy the storyboard worksheet onto construction paper or oaktag, if possible, and then distribute one copy of the storyboard worksheet to each child. The children should be instructed to draw the setting of
The Jungle Book
as they imagined it to be while listening to the story in the box at the top left of the page. They should draw the main characters from the story as they pictured them in the box at the top right of the page. Beneath these two boxes are three boxes. The children will draw pictures showing what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story in these boxes.
