Through the Looking-Glass

Objective

Students will listen to and discuss the opening chapter of Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, identify key story details (characters, setting, and the "let's pretend" game Alice plays), and practice making predictions about what might happen when Alice passes through the mirror.

Materials

• The provided text of "Through the Looking-Glass," Chapter I: "Looking-Glass House" (read aloud from the resource)
• Chart paper or whiteboard and marker
• Paper and pencils for each student

Warm-up (~5 min)

• Ask students: "Have you ever looked in a mirror and wondered what it would be like if you could step inside it?"
• Take 2–3 quick answers aloud.
• Tell students they are about to hear a story about a girl named Alice who imagines exactly that with her kitten, Kitty.

Main Activity (~25 min)

1. Read Aloud (15 min): Read Chapter I aloud to the class, starting from "One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it..." through to Alice climbing onto the chimney-piece and stepping through the glass into the Looking-Glass room.
2. Pause Points: Stop briefly at these moments to check understanding:
3. After the kitten unwinds the ball of worsted — ask: "Why is Alice cross with the kitten?"
4. After Alice lists the kitten's three "faults" — ask: "What are the three things Alice says the kitten did wrong?"
5. After Alice describes Looking-glass House (the room, the books with backward words, the passage) — ask: "What does Alice imagine is different about Looking-glass House?"
6. After Alice says "Let's pretend" and turns the kitten into the Red Queen — ask: "What is Alice's favorite game to play?"
7. Class Discussion (10 min): On chart paper, write two columns: "Our World" and "Looking-Glass World." As a class, list details Alice describes about the mirror room (e.g., books with backward words, a passage that "may be quite different on beyond," a real fire in the fireplace). Discuss: "Why do you think Alice wants so badly to get through the glass?"

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

• Hand out paper and pencils.
• Ask students to write 2–3 sentences answering: "What is one way Looking-glass House is the same as Alice's real house, and one way it is different?"
• Then have them add one sentence predicting: "What do you think Alice will find next in Looking-glass House?"
• Collect exit tickets or have a few volunteers share aloud.

If Time Remains

Have students turn to a partner and take turns pretending to be Alice talking to Kitty. One partner can say a line like Alice's ("Let's pretend...") and the other responds as the kitten might, using only actions (like a purr or a paw touch) since Kitty cannot talk — just as described in the story.