Penguin Readers Factsheets
level
E
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
1
A White Heron and Other
American Stories
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3
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5
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by Sarah Orne Jewett and Others
ELEMENTARY
S U M M A R Y
White Heron (1886) tells the story of nine-year-old Sylvia
who lives with her grandmother on a farm in New England.
She loves the woods and the animals and birds; especially
the white heron. She meets a young man in the woods who kills birds
to put on display. Sylvia likes the young man, loves him even, but is
horrified when she learns he wants to kill the heron. Nevertheless she
wants to please him and goes in search of the heron’s nest. When
she finds it, she cannot bring herself to tell him. She knows she will
lose her new friend, but she cannot betray the heron.
A
In The Story of an Hour (1899), Brently Mallard is reported dead
after a train crash. His wife has a weak heart, so her sister Josephine
tries to break the news gently. At first, Mrs Mallard is distraught, but
her misery lifts as she begins to realise his death means that she is
free. However, Brently Mallard is not dead; he had travelled on a
different train. When Mrs Mallard sees him, she dies of shock.
The Complete Life of John Hopkins (1809) tells the story of John
Hopkins who lives a boring existence with his boring wife in the city.
One day uncharacteristically, he picks a fight and when the police
appear, he runs away. A car stops and picks him up and takes him to
the house of a beautiful young woman. She claims she is being badly
treated by a young man who lives in the house. John Hopkins agrees
to help her. He goes to the man’s room prepared to fight; but the man
gently takes him by the arm and pushes him outside the front door.
The problem between the young man and woman had been trivial
and they quickly make up. John Hopkins returns home after his
attempt to escape the boredom.
Luck (1867) is the story of Arthur Scoresby a famous and much
decorated general. To the world he is a fearless war hero. To his
former army teacher he is a somewhat pathetic figure who lacks
intelligence and who rose to his position only by a series of lucky
coincidences. His teacher reveals how, because he felt sorry for him,
he had schooled him to pass his army exams and was shocked when
he passed everything with flying colours. He then watched with
horror as Scoresby rose through the army ranks winning medal after
medal, not because he was a talented leader, but simply because he
was lucky.
The Tell Tale Heart (1843) is a murder story. The killer tries to
convince us he is not crazy but we know he is. He and his victim, an
old man, live in the same house. The killer doesn’t hate him, but he
hates his eyes; he is afraid of his eyes. At night he creeps into his
bedroom and watches him. One night the old man’s heart beats so
loudly the killer is afraid the neighbours will hear so he murders him
and hides his body under the floor. The neighbours hear the screams
and call the police. At first, the police believe the killer when he tells
them he was just having a nightmare and they all laugh and joke
together. Suddenly he hears the old man’s heart beating. It gets
louder and louder and he is so sure that the police can hear it too,
that he confesses to the crime.
ABOUT THE WRITERS
Sarah Orne Jewett (1849–1909) was born in Maine. As she was
growing up she would often accompany her physician-father on his
rounds through the New England countryside. What she learned
about the people and their culture was later reflected in her books.
Her novels and stories reflect a way of life that was fast disappearing
with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, making her an important
writer of the local-colour literary genre in American literature. She
wrote with great warmth and humour and was particularly interested
© Pearson Education 2001
in relationships. Her most outstanding book The Country of the
Pointed Firs was published in 1896.
Kate Chopin (1851–1904), born in St. Louis, Missouri of IrishCreole descent, married a Creole businessman from Louisiana where
she lived until after her husband’s death (1883). Drawing on the life
and setting of Louisiana, her early writings earned her a reputation as
a local colourist. Her most important novel The Awakening (1899)
was ahead of its time, focusing on subjects such as female
oppression and sexuality, thereby threatening the social mores of her
time. It was also significant in that it marked the transition of
American women writers from themes of romance and domesticity to
the exploration of the needs of women. Now widely read and highly
regarded as a feminist work, at the time it evoked venomous critical
abuse and personal condemnation. The Story of an Hour sees
parallels in Kate Chopin’s own life. The sudden deaths of her
husband and parents provided her with insights that could only be
acquired through such experiences. It is not unlikely that the setting
and events of this story drew as much from personal experience and
observation as from imagination.
William Sydney Porter (1862–1910) wrote under the pen name
O Henry and was born in North Carolina. His own life was as eventful
as his stories. It was not a happy one, apart that is, from the first four
years of marriage to Athol Estes. It was she that first encouraged him
to write. In 1896, he was charged, some say unjustly, with
embezzlement from the First National Bank in Austin, where he had
worked as a teller. He fled to Honduras to avoid jail, but returned six
months later to visit his dying wife and soon after her death was
sentenced to prison. There he spent his time writing and emerged
two years later as O Henry, one of the country’s most well-known
writers. Although a great success, he was never a happy man. He
died a penniless alcoholic in a NY hospital. His famous last words
were: “Turn up the lights; I don't want to go home in the dark.” He
wrote hundreds of stories and is particularly famous for the
unexpected twist of his endings exemplified in The Gift of the Magi;
perhaps his most famous work.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
His life was marred by much unhappiness. His parents died when he
was a baby and he was taken in by John Allan (hence his middle
name), a Richmond merchant. Their relationship was always stormy.
He was forced to leave the University of Virginia for non-payment of
gambling debts in 1827 and later was dishonourably discharged from
the army. In 1836 he married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia; her
death a few years later was a heavy blow. Prone to bouts of
depression and alcoholism he made a suicide attempt in 1848. He
died the following year after being found unconscious on a Baltimore
street. He is well known as a poet and critic but most famous as a
master of the short story form, especially tales of the mysterious and
macabre. One of the best examples of this is The Fall of the House
of Usher. He is also considered the father of the detective story and
the psychological thriller. He is deemed by many to be one of the
most brilliant and witty writers in American literature.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 – 1910) wrote under the pen
name Mark Twain and was born in Florida, Missouri. When he was
four, his family moved to Hannibal on the Mississippi River. After his
father's death in 1847, to help support the family, he was apprenticed
to a printer and wrote for his brother's newspaper. Following this he
held a variety of jobs among them that of riverboat pilot and it was
from a riverboat term that his pen name was born. His numerous
travels are widely reflected in his writings. He also drew on his
childhood along the Mississippi River to create much loved
Penguin Readers Factsheets
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
masterpieces such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). Noted for their use of authentic
language, they provide a valuable record of American life along the
Mississippi River prior to the ravages of the Civil War. Twain is best
remembered as a humorist whose incisive wit attacked what he saw as
the hypocrisy and self-importance of those around him. He despised
the injustices of racism and was deeply committed to freedom. The
underlying themes of his writing support equality for all races.
C ommunicative activities
The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections
of text as the exercises at the back of the Reader, and
supplement those exercises. For supplementary exercises
covering shorter sections of the book, see the
photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of the Factsheet.
These are primarily for use with class readers but, with the
exception of discussion and pair/group work questions, can
also be used by students working alone in a self-access
centre.
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
1 Picture Flick
(a) Put students in pairs. Student A selects any picture
in the book and describes it to student B who flicks
through the book to identify it. Student B does the
same. Continue for the time available.
(b) Students use the pictures and titles to speculate
about the stories.
2 Story Flick
Students compete to skim the story to find the names of
as many characters as possible and one detail about
each. Information is collated and students collaborate to
make predictions about the story using the information
together with the title and pictures.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE STORIES
‘A White Heron’
Students write a letter from:
(a) Sylvia to the young man to explain why she didn’t tell
him about the heron.
(b) Sylvia to her mother telling her about her life in the
country.
(c) Mrs Tilley to her daughter telling her about Sylvia.
‘The Story Of An Hour’
In pairs, students imagine what Mrs Mallard might have
done if she had been ‘free’.
‘The Complete Life Of John Hopkins’
1 Students role play Mr and Mrs Hopkins and Bess and
Ralph talking about their different lives and getting to
know each other over a meal.
2 Students A looks at the picture on page 21. Student B
looks at the picture on page 23. They discuss similarities
and differences between their pictures without looking at
the other picture. They need to ask questions like:
How many people are there in your picture? Are they
sitting or standing? etc.
‘Luck’
1 Students skim the story to find a word or phrase they
don’t know and check the meaning. They write the word
on a piece of paper.
© Pearson Education 2001
2 Students mill, teaching their words to each other,
memorising as many as they can.
3 Pairs then compete to recall all the word they have
heard and their meanings.
‘The Tell-Tale Heart’
Students work in pairs or small groups. They:
(a) role-play the police interrogating the killer at the police
station.
(b) write up a police report after the above interrogation.
(c) produce a short newspaper article outlining the
discovery of the body.
(d) role-play the neighbours gossiping about the killer and
the old man.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
1 Make a list of all the characters in the stories and a list
of the roles played by each character (e.g. Mrs
Tilley/Sylvia’s grandmother, etc). These are given to
students on strips of paper. They marry the characters
with their roles and the stor y. This can be extended, for
more able classes, to include details such as where they
live and something they said or did in the story.
2 Students work in pairs or small groups. They take it in
turns to read aloud a short passage randomly selected
from the book. The other student guesses which story it
is from and any relevant details.
3 Students work in pairs or small groups. One selects a
picture at random and describes it. The others have to
guess which story the picture is from.
4 Each member of the class selects a picture and gives a
mini presentation to the rest of the class about the
picture and how it fits into the story.
Glossary
It will be useful for your students to know the following new words. They
are practised in the 'Before You Read' sections of exercises at the back
of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman Active
Study Dictionary.)
The White Heron
cow (n) a farm animal that gives us milk and meat
heart (n) the organ inside your chest that controls the blood flow.
heron (n) a bird (see the cover)
nest (n) the home that a bird makes in a tree
surprised (adj.) you feel like this when something that happens that
you don’t know that is going to happen.
whistle (v) a sound like singing you can make by putting your lips
together and blowing.
The Story of an Hour
scream (v) to cry loudly because you are afraid.
The Complete Life of John Hopkins
cigar (n) like a cigarette but fatter .
complete (adj) whole
Luck
army (n) the men that fight for a county when there is a war.
general (n) an important officer in the army
lantern (n) a light that uses oil
luck (n) when good things happen to you
medal (n) something you get in the army for fighting very well
officer (n) an important man in the army
The Tell Tale Heart
smart (adj) intelligent (Am. Eng.)
tell-tale (adj) something that tells people something about you (e.g.
when you smoke people can smell it)
Publis h ed and dis trib ute d by Pea rson Education
Fact shee t w rit t en by Gisel a S zp ytk o
Fa ctsh eet ser ies dev elo ped by Louis e James
level
2
Penguin Readers Factsheets
level
E
Student’s activities
1
A White Heron and Other American Stories
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3
Photocopiable
4
Students can do these exercises alone or with one or more
other students. Pair/group-only activities are marked.
5
A WHITE HERON
Activities before reading the book
1 Discuss
(a) Do you live in the town or the country?
(b) What are the good and bad things about living in
the country?
(c) What can you find in the country?
2 Fill the gaps in the passage with words from the box.
birds girl kill stranger friend
A White Heron is about a little ... . Sylvia’s only friends
are ... and animals. But then one day a ... comes. He
is a new ... , but he likes to ... birds. Will Sylvia tell him
about the white heron?
3 Will Sylvia tell him about the white heron? What do
you think?
Activities while reading the Book
1 Are these sentences true or false?
(a) Sylvia likes living in the country.
(b) Sylvia hates the cow.
(c) The cow gives a lot of good milk.
(d) Sylvia is very shy.
(e) Sylvia came to the country as a baby.
(f) Mrs Tilley is Sylvia’s mother.
(g) Sylvia’s mother has 2 children.
(h) Sylvia likes the boy with the red face.
2 Put these sentences in the right order.
(a) She climbed onto a long branch.
(b) The big tree helped her to climb.
(c) She saw the ships on the ocean.
(d) She saw the white heron.
(e) She walked through the woods.
(f) She jumped across to the big tree.
(g) She climbed up the big tree.
(h) She didn’t tell the young man.
(i) She stood at the top of the tree.
(j) She climbed the smaller tree.
(k) She left the house quietly.
(l) Sylvia went to look for the heron.
3 What do you think?
(a) Does Sylvia go to school?
(b) Why didn’t Sylvia tell the young man where the
heron’s nest was?
(c) Did Sylvia and the young man become friends
again after the story?
Activities after reading the book
1 Fill the gaps with the words in the box.
surprised higher weak stopped branches
The little girl climbed ... and higher. The big tree was ...
when it felt the little girl in its branches. It carefully
moved it’s smallest ... and put them under her feet. It
wanted to help this light little person. It ... the wind for
her. The old tree loved its new friend. It loved her more
than the birds and the animals in the woods. She was
© Pearson Education 2001
small and ... , but she wasn’t afraid.
2 What do you think?
(a) What country is the story in?
(b) Why is it called New England?
(c) Who was more important the young man or her
friends in the wood?
THE STORY OF AN HOUR
Activities before reading the book
Tell your partner
(a) What was the most important hour of your life?
(b) Do people feel free when they are married?
Activities while reading the book
1 Put these sentences in the right order.
(a) Josephine screamed: Brently Mallard was
standing there.
(b) When Mrs Mallard saw him she died.
(c) Brently Mallard went on a train journey.
(d) She felt very happy.
(e) She told her gently because Mrs Mallard had a
weak heart.
(f) Josephine told Mrs Mallard her husband was
dead.
(g) Mrs Mallard cried loudly: then she started to think.
(h) A train crashed killing many people.
(i) Suddenly she understood: she was free.
(j) He was not dead because he travelled on a
different train.
2 What do you think?
(a) Did Mrs Mallard love her husband?
(b) Was she happy with him?
(c) Did she die of happiness?
Activities after reading the book
1 Complete the gaps with the words in the box
death dies different freedom gently killed
suddenly weak hear t
Mrs Mallard is married to Brently Mallard who is ... in a
train crash. Because Mrs Mallard has a ..., her sister
Josephine tries to tell her the news ... . At first she is
very unhappy, but then she ... understands that his ...
means her ... . However, Brently Mallard is alive
because he has travelled on a ... train. When Mrs
Mallard sees him she ... of shock.
2 You are Josephine. Write a letter to your parents about
what happened to your sister.
THE COMPLETE LIFE OF JOHN HOPKINS
Activities before reading the book
Discuss with your partner
(a) What are the most important things in life?
(b) Is it important to be rich?
(c) Marriage is boring. Do you agree?
(d) Think about a boring life. Describe it.
6
ELEMENTARY
Penguin Readers Factsheets
Student’s activities
Activities while reading the book
1 Read the first paragraphs on page 17. Do you agree?
2 Who said these things? Who did they say them to?
(pages 19 to 22)
(a) Jump in.
(b) I’d like to help her but she never asks me.
(c) He hit one or three or eight policemen.
(d) You can go.
(e) He’s very unkind to me.
(f) Will you help me.
(g) Give me a flower from your hair.
(h) Bess, you read too many stories.
(i) He has very big teeth.
3 What do you think?
(a) Mr Hopkins gave a flower to the neighbour’s
daughter. Where did he get it?
(b) Are Ralph and Bess married?
(c) Did Mr Hopkins visit Bess and Ralph again?
(d) Did Mr Hopkins tell his wife about his adventures?
LUCK
Activities before reading the book
1 Find these words in your dictionary.
General Officer Medal army fight war
2 Work with a partner
Look at the pictures on page 25 and 28. What do they
tell you about the story?.
3 Tell your partner
(a) Are you lucky? When were you lucky in your life?
(b) What makes people lucky?
(c) Do you know anyone famous?
(d) Do you want to be famous?
(e) What do you think about war?
Activities while reading the book
1 Choose the correct answer.
(a) The General's name:
(i) is Arthur Scoresby.
(ii) isn't Arthur Scoresby.
(b) The writer likes the General because:
(i) he is strong.
(ii) he has a good face.
(c) The General is different Because:
(i) he smiles at people.
(ii) he doesn't smile at people.
(d) The writer's friend is:
(i) older than the General.
(ii) younger than the General.
(e) His friend tells him the General is stupid: the writer
(i) believes him.
(ii) doesn't believe him.
(f) In class Scoresby was the:
(i) most intelligent student.
(ii) least intelligent student.
(g) Scoresby passed all his tests because:
(i) he was intelligent.
(ii) his teacher helped him.
(h) The General was more:
(i) intelligent than lucky.
(ii) lucky than intelligent.
2 What do you think?
(a) Why does the writer give the General another
name?
(b) Is the General more intelligent than his teachers
believes?
(c) Is the teacher jealous of General Scoresby?
© Pearson Education 2001
(d) Does the writer change his mind about the
General?
TELL TALE HEART
Activities before reading the book
1 What stories do you like?
(a) Stories that make you laugh?
(b) Stories that make you cry?
(c) Stories that make you afraid?
2 Discuss
(a) Which type of story is this? Look at the title and
pictures.
(b) Which can you watch or read before you sleep?
(c) Are you afraid of the dark?
(d) Are people who kill crazy?
(e) Describe the colour of your partner’s eyes.
Activities while reading the book
Before the killing
1 What does the writer mean when he says these things?
(a) ‘When I was sick.’ What type of sickness did he
have? Guess.
(b) ‘I had to kill the old man.’ Why did he have to kill
him?
(c) ‘I loved the old man.’ What did he love about him?
(d) ‘I planned everything. Nobody saw anything.’
What did he plan?
(e ‘The eye was never open so I didn’t do the job.’
What was the job? Where was he?
(f) ‘For one long hour I didn’t move and he didn’t
move.’ Where was he?
(g) ‘He asked questions inside his head.’ Asked
questions? What questions? What were the
answers?
2 What do you think?
(a) Why do the writer and the old man live in the
same house?
(b) Did the old man know that the writer was in his
bedroom at night?
The killing and after
3 Are these sentences true or false?
(a) The old man is killed with a gun.
(b) The body is cut into six pieces.
(c) Everything is left very clean.
(d) The police come at 4 in the morning.
(e) The writer is afraid when they came.
(f) The writer screamed in the night.
(g) The old man is away in the country.
(h) The police leave the house quickly.
(i) The writer can hear the old man’s heart.
(j) The police can’t hear the old man’s heart.
(k) The writer tells the police where to find the body.
(l) The old man is still alive.
4 What do you think?
(a) Did the policemen hear the sound?
(b) Why did the writer think they did?
(c) Was the writer crazy?
(d) Did the police arrest him?
(e) Did they find the body?
(f) Did the writer go to prison?
(g) Which country is the story in?
Activities after reading the book
1 Tell the story you like the best to your partner. Your
partner can help you.
2 What happened after the story finished? Guess.
Publ ished an d dist ri buted by P e ar so n E duca tion
Factsheet written by Gisela Szpytko
F act sheet s eri es devel oped b y L ouise J am es
level
2