The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Pre-reading task
‘Wherever he was he wished he was somewhere else, and when
he got there, he wondered why he’d bothered. Nothing really
interested him – least of all the things that should have.
“It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time,” he
remarked.’
1. Circle the word which most aptly [spot on] describes the boy’s state:
disinterested
bored
board
uninterested
wishful
2. Imagine you are an Agony Aunt: give this lad some good advice!
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3. Think of situations where you have felt just like the boy above, when things
have not lived up to your expectations and nothing has seemed worth the
effort you’ve put into it. Describe one:
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4. When that happens, what do you do to make life more interesting again?
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The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Chapter 3: Word market – synonyms
Once you’ve read chapter 3 you’ll know that a synonym is:
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Copy each word from the box below next to its synonym in the table!
proclamation
greetings
market
warned
crossly
wisely
unabridged
showing
curiously
huge
gauche
exactly
ridiculous
booth
chance
state
definition
rebuked
various
scold
absurd
angrily
announcement
bazaar
cautioned
clumsy
complete
displaying
immense
interestingly
knowledgeably
meaning
miscellaneous
nation
opportunity
precisely
reprimand
salutations
scolded
stall
Now look for your answers in the word search!
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The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Wordsearch
P
C
R
O
S
S
L
Y
l
X
S
K
I
G
N
M
E
D
C
U
B
I M
R E
I O
E N
WE
R E
A I
S E
Y T
C F
I X
H A
WO
K X
K I
X N
V G
I C
X R
N A
R I
I N
B U
T M
C O
R L
X C
R H
D T
C I
G N
A Y
V L
S L
WI
O I
U G
E D
T I
O U
B R
G C
R T E
K E D
A R K
W I M
T Y U
A V N
J M K
X C A
H E S
C A I
U U C
Y I L
X WI
S E L
U S V
N A B
V G A
O N O
I S L
I D G
M R T
R S
F I
E T
O G
S T
U B
X C
V T
T F
O I
T L
WA
O S
Y U
A R
R I
U C
P O
T Y
E D
H G
B
H
G
T
U
A
O
L
I
M
O
R
L
M
S
D
H
L
U
M
I
C
G
I
R
I
S
A
O
S
D
Y
N
X
I
C
C
E
I
N
A
N
H
T
S
O
E
D
C
B
T
H
V
E
Y
E
E
U
C
S
D
R
G
A
M
V
B
X
E
L
N
D
H
A
D
C
X
L
R
H
D
M
T
A
N
U
L
E
A
R
T
Y
U
D
R
R
U
Y
A
I
T
U
I
C
C
C E
C S
A T
O R
C T
E Y
U P
I M
L N
O K
I O
WI
I R
A R
N N
O U
L X
E X
G C
K E
V X
J
S
C
O
L
D
I
O
L
G
U
S
O
Y
D
S
Y
T
T
B
R
A
O
L
D
Y
S
C
A
G
H
S
T
A
T
E
L
D
S
L
Y
D
R
E
S
F
D
E
F
I
N
I
T
I
O
N
K
Y
A
U
G
H
E
When you have found all 20 words, look for the 13 letter name that
is left.
It is:
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The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Answer OHT
P
C R E B U K E D
R
O
MA R K
O
C
S
L
S R
A
L
I
M
Y
D
A
I
C
S
U
H
L
O
WI S E L
I
N
G A
C H A NC E
E T G
R
S
C
O
T L Y D
D
E
F
I
N
N
G
I
OU S T
T I
A O
T N
E
U S L Y
E X A C
B
E
O
T
O
I
T
T
I
H
O
V A R I
WA R N E D
O
Y U
S
C U R I O
U C H E
H
D I C T I O N O P O L I S
U
G
U NA B R I D G E D
E
© 2008 www.teachitprimary.co.uk
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The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Chapter 4: Spelling Bee
The Spelling Bee has left a trail of words amongst the DIY letters. Find them
for him by circling any words you recognise:
e.g.
lsdvegetableklgidoseatwordsnbapprkfuoswmapplerikls
ysgalarmedpejymscrispmbsaqjdpeoplel
afwassistancectmyqantpwidlvxiperhaps
erkflxklsdassureprtmisapprehensionhf
qupeacefulkcxaodspeechaspeakwijnal
mbqibjxexcitedlydroxknockingqupuasb
frdangerouslyxzinfuriateopsquashedkr
yictegpersistentlyvgspfyhvswungljshir
Help the Spelling Bee sort these letters into their right order to spell the words
correctly:
tacwh
linettlec
raonhet
ourhabonle
douthes
gainys
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The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Answer OHT
Well done if you’ve spotted
the words within words, like
squashed
y s g a l a r m e dp e j y m s c r i s pm b s a q j d p e o p l el
a f w a s s i s t a n c e c t m yqant p w i d l v x i p e r h a p s
e r k f l x k l s d a s s u r ep r t m i s a p p r e h e n s i o nhf
qu pe ace fu l k c x a o d s p e e c h a s p e a kwij nal
mbqi bj xexcite dly d r o x k n o c k i n g q u p u a s b
f r d a n g e r o u s l yx z i n f u r i a t e o p s q u a s h e dkr
y i c t e g p e r s i s t e n t l y v g s p f y h v s w u n glj shir
Can you spot any
more words?
Correct words:
watch
intellect
another
honourable
shouted
saying
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The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Chapter 5: There is a play on the homophone ‘witch’/ ‘which’
which = choice; witch = (usually old) woman who casts magic spells
I can’t decide which costume to wear for the fancydress party: shall I go as a witch or a fairy?
e.g.
Section A :
1)
Do you know ________________ cup of tea is for me?
2)
The ________________ lured children into her gingerbread house.
3)
It’s up to you ________________ type of cake you choose, carrot or
lemon.
……………
the same
A homophone is a word with the same ________________ as
another word, but a different meaning and a different spelling.
Can you think of some more homophones?
Night / knight ; know / ............ ; sun / ............ ; site / ........................ ;
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Section B:
Now you try
1)
Write two sentences using ‘night’ and then ‘knight’, making the
meaning of each word clear.
2)
Write at least three more sentences using different homophones, making
the meanings clear.
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Page 7 of 11
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Chapters 10 & 11
Chroma says his musicians play all the colours and Milo watches them ‘play’ a
glorious sunset. We can use words to create a glorious sunset in a poem. Use
the image tree below to conjure up images from which to build your poem. Do
you see how the ideas on the bottom row have developed from the images at
the top?
SUNSET
Palette of
colours
Paint
brush
Swirling mix
of hues
Sun goes
to bed
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Stripy
blanket
Array of
shades
.......................
.......................
Now use your best image ideas to build up your own picture of the sunset –
make sure you can ‘see’ the picture in your head.
e.g. I see my sun as a sleepy child after a fun day at play, pulling up a
brightly striped blanket and settling down for the night.
Describe your image and build it up:
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The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Chapter 11
Dr KAKOFONOUS A. DISCHORD needs help with an experiment.
Circle all the ‘awful noise’ words for him.
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Page 9 of 11
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Chapter 13
‘You’ll often be hungry for sounds as well as food’ the Soundkeeper tells Milo,
then lists some of the sounds he might want to hear.
Write about some of your favourite sounds.
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The poet John Betjeman said, ‘Childhood is measured out by sounds and
smells and sights.’
What do you think he means?
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The writer Rudyard Kipling said, ‘Smells are surer than sights and sounds
to make the heartstrings crack.’
Do you agree? What are your favourite smells?
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The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Other teaching ideas:
•
Explore the way the writer plays with literal and figurative meaning
and the subtle humour that results.
•
In Chapter 5 the Witch introduces us to aphorisms, e.g. Brevity is the
soul of wit. Research the meaning and use of other aphorisms.
•
In Chapter 9 Alec talks about people whose legs grow up. Ask the
children to draw what such a person would look like, give him/her a
name – and then give them an adventure! (Written or oral)
•
In Chapter 12 the Soundkeeper shows Milo that laughter looks like ‘a
thousand tiny, brightly coloured bubbles’. Ask the class to think of some
sounds and write them in a font and colour that shows how they sound
[try ‘laughter’ for a start].
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