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, ; 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 classroom- set 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